Live reporting - FHS Update

2. Guests/Presentations

a. FHS Update – Peter Light

Viewing a quality movie tour and intro to FHS produced by the school for Panther Pride Night.

updated: 7:32 PM

Peter Lights comments after the video.

The video was all student work, production, script, made contacts with Alumni to return for interviews, etc.

From the PSAT scores, 2 FHS students were semifinalists amongst 5,000 across the country. The program averages 1.5 students per high school and Franklin has 10.

Friday halftime, Senior players recognized 20 faculty for their educational contribution over their high school years.

FHS Discipline stats:

• Tardiness has decreased 20% this year with an increase in student population.
• Tardiness to school down 33%.
• Misbehaving in class down 60%.

Impressive numbers! The full sheet is shown below:

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Armenio: I was impressed with the entry to the Panther Pride Night. The one thing that really impressed me were the kids talking to kids. I could not get over the attendance.

Light: We are going to estimate that we had about 750 people over the course of the night. Thanks to Bob Lima for the layout and to the PCC (Barbara Brunelli esp.) for all the help they did to create a great night.

Kelly: the discipline speaks well for the job you are doing. Can the video be posted for others to view regularly.

Light: we don't have a video server but we can try to find a way. (Steve Sherlock can help with this)

Rohrbach: Can you leave the marketing program for us to view? Can you reach out to the 6th grade? They are getting inundated with materials from other schools. This would help them think about and make a decision.

Rohrbach: Why are the numbers down?

Light: we are trying to figure that out. One factor clearly is that there are less passes in the hallway so there is less opportunity for somethings to occur. We have the asst principals in the hallways instead of teachers. The one stat that is up is cutting classes. We are better at catching them because they are in the hallway and looking for them.

Sabolinksi: One thing is you and your administration has made the students more responsible for their own behavior. You have changed that whole atmosphere.

Light: Give credit to the teachers, they are teaching more during the day.

Trahan: you have changed the face of the high school, thank you.

Mullen: I don't like to repeat things that others have said. It is great work there with the administrative team, the teachers, the students. If you would have told me last year of the change that would have occured, I would have said, "yea right." but you have.

Roy: in the eyes of my 8th grader, he really enjoyed the night. The evening flowed, there was something to do.

Light: All the music in the video was produced by the students.

Live reporting - School Committee 10/27/09

Attending: Armenio, Cafasso, Kelly, Mullen, Roy, Rohrbach, Trahan

Missing:

1. Routine Business

Citizen’s Comments  none

Review of Agenda  none

Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the October 13, 2009 School Committee Meeting.
 motion to approve minutes, passed 7-0

Payment of Bills - Mr. Kelly
Motion to approve, 7-0

Payroll - Ms. Armenio

FHS Student Representatives

Correspondence: None


Sabolinski made the announcement that the Kennedy School was one of 12 schools in the State to be highlighted for high growth according to the new State MCAS reporting released today.

Candidates Night - Photo Slideshow

Here are the photos from the Candidates Night in the Council Chambers on Monday evening, October 26th.



If you click through to Flickr to view the photos, the captions identify the candidates. This slide show format, hides that info.

Candidate Forum Town Council/Board of Health

The collection of live reporting posts from the Franklin Candidates Forum at the Municipal Bldg on Monday evening, Oct 26th can be found here

• Live reporting - Closing comments
• Live reporting - Council questions continued
• Live reporting - Town Council candidates
• Live reporting - Town Council candidates
• Live reporting - Town Council candidates
• Live reporting - Borad of Health 1 minute intro, q...
• Live reporting - starting now
• Live reporting - Board of Health candidates
• Live reporting - Candidate night
• Live reporting - Candidate night
• Live reporting - Franklin candidate debate night  

In the News - candidate views, BMI question

The Milford Daily News recap of the Candidate Forum can be found here

Franklin candidates express views at forum

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

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One item scheduled for discussion at the School Committee meeting Tuesday night is covered in the news today:

Franklin schools to weigh BMI question

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Live reporting - Closing comments

2 minutes for closing comments by each candidate

Mason - essential for citizens to exercise their right to vote. The decisions the Council make will be critical over the next two years.

McGann's statement being read by Larry Benedetto. Public safety, schools and the seniors are our primary concerns Promote increased mixed use development.

Pfeffer - I don't have all the answers, nobody else does either. We are all volunteers trying to make it work under tough circumstances. Seniors in Franklin are making decisions between food and medicine right now.

Vallee - I decided to return to the council because the cuts will have to made and be fair and equitable. Let's not dissect our school system to lose it's accreditation. I am concerned about the seniors and others with low income. We need to be vigilant about finding new revenue streams. I wan to reinforce and re-look at some bylaws.

Whalen - I am very concerned about the projected deficit for next year ($5-7 million). I would like to maintain a level service budget. It will be difficult but should be achievable.

Zollo - The strength of any community is how it treats its most vulnerable. It is not any one group. It can be one or more as the circumstances go. I am discouraged by some of the things said about having somethings off the table. In this crisis, everything must be on the table. Service on the council should help to generate a greater level of pride in Franklin. I urge you all to vote, there needs to be civic participation on Nov 3rd.

Avakian - There has been always a fiscal problem, we didn't know how to spend the money in the times of high grown, now we don't know where to cut. This is our community our town.

Ballenger - I think it obvious we are heading to a fiscal crisis. We will get through this. Look for as many solutions outside the normal. Use of college students for labor; i.e. cheap labor. Ask the citizens of Franklin to donate some time and not just their money. You don't know until you ask.

Jones - A lot of topics have come across tonight, there will be lots of solutions too. It takes a tough individual to put aside biases to deal with the issues. I am that individual. Respect, honor, dedication. Never give up, never give in.

Kelly - Thanks for the opportunity for sharing my opinions in this forum. The challenges are here. My participation on the School Committee and Long Range Planning have prepared me for the challenges. You vote on Nov 3rd will show me how much you know and love the Town.

Powderly - I hope everyone comes away from the Forum with a better idea of what we all bring. The budget crisis is real but we have a lot of strengths, our energy should be spent on addressing the causes of the crisis, like our over reliance on the State Aid. Communication is a two way street. Please vote, please make sure your friends vote.

Live reporting - Council questions continued

Ballenger proposing to use some of the Franklin properties as "long term leases" rather than sell it off. The leases, if possible, would generate some income for the town.

Jones mentions Town Clerk should remain as an elected position, Treasurer/Collector can be appointed. Does not completely agree with the staggered terms as it can be interpreted in many different ways.

Kelly maintaining services will be a large issue, keeping the community safe, and improving the education for the children are the other two.

Powderly the evidence I have seen supports a single tax rate. The Board of Assessor and Town Council need to justify that to the citizens. The issue would be how the long term Franklin family business would bear the increased rate under a split tax. The EMC's might be able to handle it but maintaining the smaller would be a concern.

Pfeffer every year seems to be the worst. We are in a unique position and need to do everything we can do.

Vallee all the towns have water bans. The State limits how much we can distribute. We have enough.

Whalen capital expenditures are necessary, we need to maintain equipment, we always have more requests than we have funds for.

Zollo raises the Financial Planning Committee report that was endorsed by the current council and that the new council should do so as well. It is important to education the citizens on how much we spend and where, schools, police, fire, etc.

Avakian we have approved the bond for the study, we should wait to see what the report comes back with. It will depend upon what our fiscal situation is.

Ballenger the Finance Committee will need to work closely with the council and take Mr Nutting's recommendations under advisement. It will have to be a working partnership.

Jones I don't support an override until we have a viable plan in place to explain to the citizens on what will be spent, where and why. Any cuts on the state side will trickle down to us. It needs to be made as clear as possible for the citizens.

Kelly I would look for a partner who can work with all the organizations in the Town.

Powderly The Franklin Downtown Partnership has done a fabulous job. We are the city that calls itself a Town. We like the small town feel. I'd love to have a more active relationship with the project.