"$8 for residents, $12 for non-residents"

By Krista Perry/Daily News correspondent

GHS

Posted Jun 22, 2008 @ 09:55 PM

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School days are over and regional swimming spots are opening to let residents cool off.

Despite a tight town budget, the Franklin Recreation Department will aim to break even with outside revenue so that residents do not feel the effects of budget constraints on summer activities.

"Our budget is a little over $400,000," said Recreation Director Ryan Jette. "We charge patrons so we can break even. We try to be a self-supporting entity."

This year, the Recreation Department is sponsoring movie nights at Beaver Pond, during which kids can play soccer or Whiffle Ball for an hour before watching a movie. A 20-by-14-inch movie screen will be set up on the turf. On July 18, "Bee Movie" will be shown, and on Aug. 15, "Shrek 3." Games start at 7 p.m., the movie will start at 8 p.m., and admission is $3.

"Families bring their lawn chairs and eat snacks," Jette said. "We are bringing a great service (to Franklin)."

Read the full story in the Milford Daily News here

In the Globe - fundraising, new school construction

"We're in a little bit of a holding pattern"

By Rachel Lebeaux Globe Correspondent / June 22, 2008

More than 40 schoolteachers are expected to lose their jobs after Franklin voters turned down a tax increase, but town leaders are still searching for ways to inject money into the cash-strapped school system.

Last week, Town Councilor Bob Vallee asked the council to consider transferring $1 million from the town's stabilization account to the school department in order to retain some of the teachers. The council's chairman, Chris Feeley, agreed to hold a discussion at its July 9 meeting.

Part of the budget crunch for next fiscal year stemmed from town officials' reluctance to dip into Franklin's stabilization fund, which stands at $4.3 million, as they have in previous budget cycles.

Read the full article in the Boston Sunday Globe West section here

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"We're building schools for education, not for phys ed, not for the arts, not for community events"

By Rachana Rathi Globe Staff / June 22, 2008

The town of Wellesley has a vision: a $159 million new high school, where its students will have access to a theater, a state-of-the-art broadcast studio, and an indoor track. In Norwood, the plan is to spend $80 million to $100 million on a new high school with a gym large enough to replace the two they have now, and maybe even a replica of the old school's landmark clock tower.

Both plans face a major hurdle: the state, on which each project depends for significant funding help.

State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill has made it clear that he will use the power of the purse to control the costs of local school projects. He criticized the Wellesley proposal for being too extravagant, likening it to the new Newton North High School under construction for $197.5 million. He vowed to prevent any more such projects in Massachusetts, saying earlier this year that the state's job is "not to build Taj Mahals."

Norwood has already received the go-ahead from the state to design its project, along with a commitment for funding, although the money is conditional on the school's final design being approved. Wellesley has yet to even meet with the state. Officials in both towns are concerned that they won't be allowed to build the schools they want, or believe their communities can afford, and Cahill is doing little to allay those fears.

Read the full article in the Boston Sunday Globe West section here

Franklin Matters: Vallee doesn't want the teacher layoffs

One in a series of podcasts on Franklin (MA) Matters. This one presents the New Business section of the June 18, 2008 meeting where Councilor Vallee objects to the "massive teacher layoffs".

Time: 6 minutes, 53 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:

During the New Business section of the Town Council meeting of June 18, 2008 some interesting discussion occurred. I have captured the 3 and half minutes or so here for you to listen to. I’ll come in after this segment with my analysis.

Oh, one other item before you listen, only five members present (Feeley, Vallee, Bartlett, Pfeffer, McGann) and four absent (Whalen, Mason, Doak, Zollo), there is a procedural discussion on what vote is required to bring the item to an agenda item. A simple majority ultimately is required, or 3 of the five present.

after listening to the segment

Okay, so what has just happened?

Vallee for all his experience shows his lack of knowledge of the protocol required. While I would love to find money to save the layoffs, Vallee would have been better off spending his time on the circuit with the other members of the Town Council, School Committee and Finance committee explaining the override.

The recent audit report (also covered in a recent podcast) reiterates the need to keep the savings account at around 5-10% of our annual budget. We are slightly under that already. It is fiscally irresponsible to take more money to avoid the layoffs. It would have been fiscally responsible for Vallee to have expressed his support during the override campaign.

Coming in now, after the decisive vote. Sorry, it is too little, too late in the game.

A nice recap of the situation was presented in the Milford Daily News. The link is available in the blog post that accompanies this podcast.

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This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

For additional textual information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve dot gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

Where in Franklin? #50

Where in Franklin? #50, originally uploaded by shersteve.

I was riding around town looking for pictures for the Rainbow Challenge and found this as an entry for "blue".

The guidelines to play Where in Franklin? can be found here .

Enjoy!

Where in Franklin? Answer #49

Pine Woods along trail, originally uploaded by lastonein.

Yes, after some time focused on the override, the Where in Franklin series will resume.

This entry had been provided by Susan Speers. The location was identified by Joel D'Errico. Susan described the location as:

"It's on one of the trails on the protected open space around Franklin Woods, off Lincoln Street. Land owned by Metacomet Land Trust, which links with Conservation Commission land."

Thanks for playing!

Stay tuned for the next opportunity.

"It doesn't get more exciting than this"

By Krista Perry/Daily News correspondent

Milford Daily News

Posted Jun 21, 2008 @ 11:26 PM

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FRANKLIN —

Many high school students sit in class all day dreaming about getting their big break into stardom and touring Europe in a bus with their own band. Now, 15 students at the Franklin School of the Performing Arts are living that dream.

Electric Youth, a group of 14- to 18-year-olds, is performing their Broadway hits and American popular music for audiences in Austria, Slovena and Italy during its 7th annual one-month European tour. The group recently completed its third concert in Obergrafendorf, Austria, just outside of Vienna, in front of a very zealous audience.

"American music plays very well in Europe,'' said Raye Lynn Mercer, founder and director of the Franklin School for the Performing Arts, in a telephone interview.
"The audience in Obergrafendorf was so enthusiastic. We did three encores.''

Andrew Holmes, a senior member of Electric Youth from Holliston who will attend the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music next fall, said that he loves the idea of being on tour in Europe.

"I love going from place to place with 15 of my best friends. I love being able to wake up and be somewhere completely new,'' said Holmes, in a telephone interview. He is on his third trip to Europe with Electric Youth. ``At first it was scary but I learned to love it.''

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

For more about the Franklin School for Performing Arts visit their website.

Spreading the word

The podcast is now available via iTunes. There is a box on the right column so you can subscribe and listen via your iPod or other MP3 player as well as clicking on the individual links in the posts here at Franklin Matters.

I have created a group in Facebook: "I Believe Franklin (MA) Matters". For those who use Facebook, this will provide an opportunity to spread the word.