CommonWealth Magazine: police reform compromise reached; state budget fails funding schools

From CommonWealth Magazine we share two articles of interest for Franklin:

"AFTER FOUR MONTHS of closed-door negotiations, six members of the House and Senate reported out compromise police reform legislation on Monday that establishes a certification system for officers and punts the contentious issue of immunity to a special legislative commission.

The bill released by a House-Senate conference committee would create a civilian-led Peace Officer Standards and Training commission that will establish standards for police, investigate misconduct claims, and decertify officers found in violation.

The proposed legislation bars the use of deadly force unless all de-escalation tactics have been used and failed. Chokeholds, similar to what killed Eric Garner in 2014, and restraining of the neck are prohibited. The legislation also requires that, if an officer witnesses another using deadly force improperly, he or she is required to intervene."

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/criminal-justice/compromise-police-reform-bill-reported-out/

 

 

"AFTER MONTHS OF limbo, the state budget working its way through Beacon Hill obscures a difficult truth—funding levels will fall short of what our schools, particularly those that are the most under-resourced, need to successfully educate their students for the rest of the year. The challenges will remain even if the COVID-19 pandemic subsides over the coming months. We need targeted, progressive tax revenue to give our schools the resources to successfully navigate this crisis.

So far, the state’s answer to the pandemic is to repeatedly lower the bar for how it defines a safe return to school rather than providing adequate resources so schools can really be safe. One in 10 of the 1,800 school buildings in the state is over a century old, a figure that is true for one in five in our Gateway Cities which educate many of our state’s lowest-income students. Making these buildings safe for both students and faculty requires upgrading airflow and ventilation. Districts also must provide safe transportation for students. This costs money. Given the link between community wealth and the historical legacy of racism, kids of color and the schools that educate them tend to have fewer resources than those in wealthier districts. "

Continue reading the article online 

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/education/state-budget-plan-fails-our-schools/

FTC Consumer Alert: Giving wisely in the time of COVID

Giving wisely in the time of COVID by Rosario Méndez, Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC Thanks to COVID-19, many charitable organizations are faced with greater demand for their services, but less in donations as people have less to give. Now, more than ever, it's important to make sure that your donation will be used wisely and well. Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, and as you consider new places to send your donations, now and throughout the holiday season, don't forget these four tips for giving wisely: Read more >  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/11/giving-wisely-time-covid This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

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In the News: Town Council candidate statements

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin: 

"Election season is not yet quite over for Franklin, which is holding a special town election next week — unusually on a Saturday — to fill a vacancy on the Town Council.

Franklin's special town election will fill a seat on the Town Council.

There are four candidates seeking the post left behind this fall by nearly three-year member Eamon McCarthy Earls, who exited the top governing board to pursue law studies. Candidates include Greg Chiklis, Alan Earls, Cobi Frongillo and KP Sompally.

The special election is set to take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. next Saturday. Polls will be open at Franklin High School, 218 Oak St.

Candidates all provided statements, which appear here in the order candidates will be listed on the ballot."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.milforddailynews.com/story/news/2020/11/27/four-seek-council-seat-franklin-special-election/6419639002/

For all the relevant info for the special election scheduled for Dec 5 to fill one Town Council seat visit the "election collection" https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/08/2020-election-collection.html

 

2020 Election Collection

Franklin (MA) School Committee - budget workshop - Dec 1

The School Committee has a budget workshop scheduled for Tuesday, Dec 1, 2020. This is the second one this year. Recall five of the seven members were new to the committee for the first workshop held in January 2020 (pre-COVID-19) was both learning experience as well as preparation for the FY 2021 budget cycle.

The world has changed a little bit since January 2020. The School Committee is now somewhat more 'experienced' albeit during this pandemic period. This workshop is designed to help them prepare for the FY 2022. 

(Note: the fiscal government calendar runs from July 1 to the next June 30, with the year called as the ending June year. So we are operating in Nov 2020 in the FY 2021 fiscal budget and planning for the budget that would fund operations for July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022 - hence FY 2022).

There is a lot of information in the prelease packet for this workshop. To continue to frame the budget process is this overview.

budget process overview

The full agenda doc (with links to supporting material and connection info) can be found  https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/budget_workshop_agenda_0.pdf

From the archives: the audio file and notes from the first workshop Jan 14, 2020

• Jan 14,2020 (budget workshop) (audio)   https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/01/fm-192-school-committee-budget-workshop.html

FHS' Cain, O'Neill, and Moccia named boys soccer all-stars for Fall 2020

Below are the official 20020 Hockomock League Boys Soccer All Stars, selected by the coaches in the league.

KELLEY-REX DIVISION ALL STARS

Ethan Cain, Franklin
Terry O’Neill, Franklin

Honorable Mention:

Ben Moccia, Franklin

For the full listing of the Hockomock League all-stars

https://hockomocksports.com/2020-hockomock-league-boys-soccer-all-stars/

FHS boys soccer all-stars for Fall 2020

What changes after COVID-19

From The Washington Post, an article of interest for Franklin:

"We’re almost there.” That’s what I’ve been thinking recently, and especially during our eerily sparse Thanksgiving celebrations. Things may be unpleasant now, but if everything goes well, then sometime next summer, we should reach the end of this miserable journey through plagueland.

But on closer inspection, the more I realize I don’t really know what “there” will look like. For all the talk of a “return to normal,” large chunks of the old normal are due for a post-covid-19 rethink. And I’m not just talking about movies heading to video or takeout cocktails — though, please, let’s keep the takeout cocktails. The more I think about it, the more I think I’m talking about practically everything.

The most obvious place to start is with the health-care system. Hopefully, people are already considering how to strengthen the medical supply chains that broke early in the pandemic and stayed broken too long — including reforming the reimbursement systems that reward medical procedures rather than basics such as protective equipment. We need to reward nursing homes for the basics, too, like cleaning and infectious-disease control, rather than costly extra services — a perverse system that damn near amounted to geronticide when the pandemic hit. These things should have been fixed decades ago; the next best time is right now."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/29/what-changes-after-covid-19-im-betting-everything/

When we get out of this pandemic is still open for speculation, but let's take some time to discuss what the post-pandemic period will look like. Feel free to comment on:

• What has changed and should remain?
• What has changed and should return to 'normal'?

To get things started, I propose the meeting protocol of hybrid should be the new normal. The Zoom access provides opportunity to participate more so than ever could fit in the Council Chambers. 

a recent School Committee meeting with 45 participants in Zoom, others in the room and others watching via cable

CommonWealth Magazine: "Not easy being young during COVID"

From CommonWealth Magazine we share an article of interest for Franklin: 

"WE’VE KNOWN for as long as COVID-19 has been in our collective headspace that the illness is most threatening to older people. But when it comes to financial and mental health, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic fall most heavily on young people.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the MassINC Polling Group has surveyed Massachusetts residents on many elements of physical, mental, and economic well-being. The data clearly illustrate that the coronavirus crisis is one that piles impacts on vulnerable populations.

Groups hardest hit by the pandemic are disproportionately young — immigrants, frontline workers, people of color, and Gateway City residents. Add this to the fact that COVID also poses specific challenges to people just because of their phase of life, not because they fall into any of these groups. Young people are much more likely to be part-time and hourly workers, renters, and parents of young children, all of whom are facing unique hardship. All of this is often overlooked in conversations focusing on the virus itself, since young people tend to be at relatively lower risk of serious health impacts."

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/not-easy-being-young-during-covid/

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/not-easy-being-young-during-covid/