"needs to fix critical problems"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jun 27, 2008 @ 10:29 PM

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FRANKLIN —

After months of a stressful budget season and failed tax override attempt, the School Department finally received good news last week.

Assistant Superintendent of Schools Maureen Sabolinski announced the Massachusetts School Building Authority has invited the town to submit a letter of interest for a building project at Franklin High School.

The department had applied and was rejected two years ago, she said, and this is the first opportunity to reapply. The state did not give feedback explaining why it rejected the application, she said.

"We are very fortunate to get a second chance on potential state funding," said School Committee member Ed Cafasso.

"We need to come together as a community to seize this chance as quickly as possible. We are at a crossroads in terms of shaping the future of the high school. It's decision time. We owe it to the community to act decisively," said Cafasso.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Franklin Matters: Sch Com Mtg 6/24/08

Another in a series of podcasts on what matters in Franklin (MA). This one features three segments from the School Committee meeting of 6/24/08 reviewing the depatures from the district due to the budget cuts, the reallocation of some funds to add back 3 teachers, and the closure of the Brick classroom.

Time: 16 minutes, 39 seconds



MP3 File

My notes preparing to record this session:

Features three segments from The School Committee meeting of 6/24/08

In this first segment Asst Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski
Reviews the totals for the teacher layoffs done in May
Lists the categories of layoffs and other departures from the district
There will be some hiring to replace some people whose positions were not cut
Ed Cafasso reiterates a few key points on the numbers

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In this second segment, Jeff Roy starts the discussion on the 180,000 unallocated funds in the budget
You may recall that this amount was in the hardcopy of the budget but didn’t calculate properly leaving the total unallocated
Sue Rohrbach reports from the budget subcommittee their recommendation
Maureen Sabolinski outlines the proposal to add three teachers in the elementary schools
Consensus was reached by the elementary principals on this decision
Reduces the districts net loss to 42 teachers

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In the final segment, Jeff Roy confirms that as the school and fiscal year come to a close that the district will complete the year at budget, with no surprises
Paula Mullen opens the discussion on the Brick classroom status
Maureen Sabolinski provides Details on the Davis Thayer situation with 2 kindergarten classes in one building
Cafasso closes expressing the committee hard choice in tough budget times

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The state has re-opened applications for school building projects, so the FHS renovation or building discussion will move to the forefront in the next couple of months to meet the state application date in Sept.
The July 9th Town Council meeting school audit/budget update to be presented
Next school committee meeting on July 15th

Stay tuned, stay involved

The holiday week ahead should be quiet, very few meetings, fireworks at the high school, and carnival rides and music on the common, but no parade, enjoy the 4th

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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

"the traffic from Interstate 495 will be louder"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jun 28, 2008 @ 10:46 PM

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FRANKLIN —

The sisters of Mt. St. Mary's Abbey lead a simple life, and they plan to use the latest green technology to keep it that way.

The Cistercian community of 52 women grow most of their own food, adopting a vegetarian diet out of a philosophy of frugality and austerity. They use a solar-powered electric fence to hold their sheep and alpaca, and sustain their physical needs by making and selling candy.

In 2006, Sister Mariann Garrity replaced all of the incandescent bulbs at the abbey (about 200 light fixtures) with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights.

This summer, the Cistercians of the Strict Observance at Mt. St. Mary's Abbey are getting further swept up in their efforts to conserve, putting a 40-meter-tall wind turbine in the field beside the sheep pasture, in the middle of their 580-acre property, which is split between Franklin and Wrentham.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

"nothing beats the flavor"

By Krista Perry/Daily News correspondent
GHS
Posted Jun 27, 2008 @ 10:52 PM

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FRANKLIN —

Local farmers and artisans lined the paths of Town Common yesterday for the third Friday in a row to sell their fresh produce and crafts to zealous customers.

The variety of the produce and the ability of local farmers to concentrate on specialty crops makes this farmers' market unique, many vendors said.

"This farmers' market is great for building the community," said Catherine LaValle, of Grateful Farm, an organic farm in Franklin. "People know our produce is fresh and that we do not use harsh chemicals."

LaValle said the presence of the farmers' market every Friday gives local farmers an opportunity to succeed during a terrible economy. Competition with larger farms is very high, she said.

Despite the hard times, LaValle said that Grateful Farm takes pride in the way they treat the earth.

"Many large farms do not rotate their crops and the soil loses its nutrients," she said. "We grow all kinds of different vegetables in all kinds of colors. You can't get that at a grocery store."

Read the full story in the Milford Daily News here

"as you learn more, you evolve "

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jun 27, 2008 @ 12:10 AM

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FRANKLIN —

The Conservation Commission last night took a step forward in its plan to cut select trees from about 25 acres of the Franklin State Forest bordering Summer Street to keep the forest healthy and thriving.

The commission voted to allow Conservation Agent Nick Alfieri to prepare an request for a proposal to hire a consultant who will draw up a forest management plan.

Two commission members, Pearce Murphy and Jon Fournier, voted against the plan. "I feel ... for 10,000 years, forests have survived" without human intervention, Pearce said.

Commenting that he is not speaking for or against the plan, Alfieri advised the commission that it will have complete control over which trees it wants chopped, and they can change their minds even after consultants create a plan.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

"it just means other things won't get done"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jun 26, 2008 @ 12:26 AM

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FRANKLIN —

Taking a break from packing boxes, wrapping up "small issues" and moving out of Town Hall yesterday, Lisa Piana reflected on her 3 1/2 years as downtown manager, saying she is most proud of the work she's done in bringing people together.

Her role as the town's downtown manager ended yesterday, due to Town Council's recent decision to stop funding the position.

She had two separate roles, splitting her duties between working for the town nine hours a week and working for the Downtown Partnership 12 hours a week. She will remain the executive director of the Downtown Partnership.

"The downtown manager was the point-person to bring the community together with the town to make projects happen" - like attracting $30 million worth of development from Canton developer John Marini, she said.

"It's going to make a big difference for downtown retail," said Piana.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

"It's not a shell game"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jun 25, 2008 @ 10:01 AM

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FRANKLIN —

At the recommendation of Assistant Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski, the School Committee last night agreed to use $180,000 of unspent money found in the athletic revolving account this year to put three teachers back in the classroom.

Former acting Finance Director for schools Paul Funk notified the committee of the accounting oversight this spring, but the committee opted to wait for the results of the Proposition 2 1/2 tax override on June 10 to decide how to use the money.

"In the past, the superintendent (Wayne Ogden) recommended using it for bringing back three teachers. We said right up front, teachers, teachers, teachers," which will reduce class sizes, Sabolinski said.

The School Committee agreed to allow principals to hire a Grade 4 teacher at Helen Keller Elementary School, a Grade 3 teacher at Oak Street Elementary, and a Grade 2 teacher at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, as class sizes there were slated to be 28 to 30 students, Sabolinski said.

"There was consensus among all elementary school (principals). A lot of thought went into making those recommendations. They looked at the needs of students in those classrooms," Sabolinski said.

School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy noted the district is still losing the vast majority of teachers they expected to this spring.

"It's only three teachers out of 45, so it's a net loss of 42 teachers," Roy said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.