W.A.S.T.E.D presents: The Prevention of Underage Drinking - Community & Parent Forum
When:
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Where:
Franklin High School Lecture Hall
This national event is sponsored by the Federal Government’s Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking and statewide by the MA Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. The forum will address local initiatives, offer practical strategies for communicating more effectively with teens, identify community resources and discuss prevention solutions for parents in the Franklin community. The panel will include Officer Dan MacLean, Mardi Donovan, Bill Phillips, New Beginnings Programs, and students and parents of students in recovery.
Coordinated as part of the Franklin Community Health Council
W.A.S.T.E.D had previously held an evening at FHS on December 2, 2008. Information (pictures, text and audio recordings) can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2008/12/wasted-info-session-120208.html
Franklin, MA
Monday, April 26, 2010
"Parent involvement is key"
The forum, sponsored by the Community Health Council, will feature a range of speakers who say drug abuse starts as early as middle school.
"Middle school is probably one of the most vulnerable times for a young teen because it's a huge shift from elementary to middle school. There's a shift in the structure of the day, and students are functioning more independently - not as coddled (as they might've been)," said Vicky Grauer, a child and adolescent therapist and director of Arbour Counseling Services in Franklin.
"It's a very vulnerable time, and a lot of kids are ill-equipped to handle that transition."
Forum aims to help parents keep kids from getting 'wasted'
from The Milford Daily News News RSSSunday, April 25, 2010
"working with the very young is often more effective than waiting"
“When you’re 3, your life is hard,” the mother says. “You get angry.” Now the boy is 7 and in the first grade, and the daily battles are over. His mother says she believes her son’s behavior improved in part because he matured, but also because she and the boy’s father learned to respond better when he became upset. “He’s still a sensitive kid, and he still gets mad,” she says. “Now he’ll go, ‘Grrr,’ but he doesn’t slam a door.” Expectations are that he will flourish. And as for the mother, “I understand him better,” she says.Read the full article in the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine here:
Little kids, big problems
Why early-childhood mental health services make sense.This effort is aligned with that of the Early Childhood Development Center in the Franklin, MA school system and discussed further as part of the kindergarten program that can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/full-day-kindergarten-free-or-tuition.html
FM #65 Week Ending 4/25/10
Let's spend less than ten minutes to find out what matters in Franklin, MA as the week ends April 25, 2010.
Time: 6 minutes, 4 seconds
MP3 File
Session Notes:
This internet radio show or podcast is number 65 in the series for Franklin Matters.
Let's take about 10 minutes to review what matters in Franklin, MA as this week comes to a close on Sunday April 25th.
In this session I'll cover Earth Day activities on Saturday April 17th , Saturday April 24th and look ahead to both the School Committee meeting on April 27th and the Town Council meeting on April 28th
Earth Day on April 17th was not good weather and also the first day of some folks school vacation week so both those factors may have contributed to only about 100 or so folks helping clean up around Franklin. I also was out of town for a wedding on that weekend and unable to participate myself.
The raised garden beds were set up. I did manage to get pictures of those at the Senior Center, ECDC and Charter School on Monday. A link to that posting will be in the show notes.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/franklin-ma-raised-garden-beds-in.html
The Charles River Watershed Cleanup was held on Saturday the 24th. I stopped by Whole Foods Market in Bellingham to see how David Dobrzynski was doing as the local coordinator. He had over 300 folks scattered amongst his area and many good stories to tell. He suggested I head off to the VFW Post 3402 on Pond St where I could see the BSA Venture Crew 22 which had retrieved 125 tires from along Mine Brook.
The details and photos of their great work will be included in the show notes.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/there-be-tires.html
In preparation for the budget discussion at both the School Committee and Town Council meetings this week, I have a number of items to share:
You may recall that I recorded the budget workshop conducted back in January. The audio recordings and worksheets from each of the budget sections are available here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/budget-workshop-collection-12510.html
The Financial Planning Committee is updating the Long term or 5 Year Plan for presentation at the Council meeting on the 28th. You can review their prior plan here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_BComm/financial%20planning%20committee%20report/
I have worked with the Franklin Town Clerk, Debbie Pellegri, to compile a comprehensive listing of all the debt exclusion and operational override votes that Franklin has had the opportunity to vote on over the years. The listing is available for your review.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkwjbnXDBhczdHp1bjBJSF9sOVY1ZXlERmFPNHkxZnc&hl=en
The School Committee agenda references a discussion on the budget but there are no documents to indicate what options to balance the budget are up for discussion. So if you recall from their meeting on the 13th that everything would be on the table, it still sounds like everything is on the table.
The Town Council agenda includes the update from the Financial Planning Committee and an action item for an override question. The amount itself is open and remains to be determined by the discussion.
These two meetings will be critical to understanding what choice we will have, if we are provided the choice to vote on an override. Word is already on the street that there may not be enough votes for that.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/franklin-ma-role-of-town-council.html
If you think you should have an opportunity to vote on an override, then I would suggest that you let the Town Council know or show up to the meeting in person on the 28th.
Whether you are in favor of an override passing or not, having the opportunity to vote on one I think is key!
As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don’t like something, please tell me
Thank you for listening!
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission
I hope you enjoy!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to listen to the audio recording
Time: 6 minutes, 4 seconds
MP3 File
Session Notes:
This internet radio show or podcast is number 65 in the series for Franklin Matters.
Let's take about 10 minutes to review what matters in Franklin, MA as this week comes to a close on Sunday April 25th.
In this session I'll cover Earth Day activities on Saturday April 17th , Saturday April 24th and look ahead to both the School Committee meeting on April 27th and the Town Council meeting on April 28th
Earth Day on April 17th was not good weather and also the first day of some folks school vacation week so both those factors may have contributed to only about 100 or so folks helping clean up around Franklin. I also was out of town for a wedding on that weekend and unable to participate myself.
The raised garden beds were set up. I did manage to get pictures of those at the Senior Center, ECDC and Charter School on Monday. A link to that posting will be in the show notes.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/franklin-ma-raised-garden-beds-in.html
The Charles River Watershed Cleanup was held on Saturday the 24th. I stopped by Whole Foods Market in Bellingham to see how David Dobrzynski was doing as the local coordinator. He had over 300 folks scattered amongst his area and many good stories to tell. He suggested I head off to the VFW Post 3402 on Pond St where I could see the BSA Venture Crew 22 which had retrieved 125 tires from along Mine Brook.
The details and photos of their great work will be included in the show notes.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/there-be-tires.html
In preparation for the budget discussion at both the School Committee and Town Council meetings this week, I have a number of items to share:
You may recall that I recorded the budget workshop conducted back in January. The audio recordings and worksheets from each of the budget sections are available here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/budget-workshop-collection-12510.html
The Financial Planning Committee is updating the Long term or 5 Year Plan for presentation at the Council meeting on the 28th. You can review their prior plan here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_BComm/financial%20planning%20committee%20report/
I have worked with the Franklin Town Clerk, Debbie Pellegri, to compile a comprehensive listing of all the debt exclusion and operational override votes that Franklin has had the opportunity to vote on over the years. The listing is available for your review.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkwjbnXDBhczdHp1bjBJSF9sOVY1ZXlERmFPNHkxZnc&hl=en
The School Committee agenda references a discussion on the budget but there are no documents to indicate what options to balance the budget are up for discussion. So if you recall from their meeting on the 13th that everything would be on the table, it still sounds like everything is on the table.
The Town Council agenda includes the update from the Financial Planning Committee and an action item for an override question. The amount itself is open and remains to be determined by the discussion.
These two meetings will be critical to understanding what choice we will have, if we are provided the choice to vote on an override. Word is already on the street that there may not be enough votes for that.
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/franklin-ma-role-of-town-council.html
If you think you should have an opportunity to vote on an override, then I would suggest that you let the Town Council know or show up to the meeting in person on the 28th.
Whether you are in favor of an override passing or not, having the opportunity to vote on one I think is key!
As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don’t like something, please tell me
Thank you for listening!
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission
I hope you enjoy!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to listen to the audio recording
Letter from Ed Cafasso
Hello everyone,
I hope you had a pleasant school vacation week. The end of vacation means getting back to work, and this week the School Committee and Town Council have their work cut out for them.
Two crucial evening meetings are on the agenda that I hope you will at least follow closely if not attend in person. On Tuesday at 7 p.m., the School Committee will meet at the Municipal Building to make key decisions on the fiscal 2011 school budget.
Flat-lining local and state revenues combined with increased costs have created an estimated $1.8 million shortfall in the school budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Three factors are driving the higher costs – a 36% increase in mandated special education costs; a 10% hike in health insurance costs; and, contractual salary hikes (keeping mind that school administrators and employees voluntarily accepted a pay freeze during the current fiscal year.)
In reality, our costs are higher than the $1.8 million, but we are hoping to keep the requested budget increase to the bare minimum by using more than $750,000 in one-time federal and special local funds to close the gap. The $1.8 million your schools need would ensure that we can provide your children and the community the same level of service next year as we are this year.
To get all the details, I urge you to visit the School Department’s budget page at: http://www.franklin.k12.ma.us/co/supt/budget/FY2011Budgetbook.pdf. There you will find a complete overview of the district’s budget, the factors driving it, our academic performance, enrollment data, and individual proposed budgets for each school.
The presentation also details the many cuts and efficiency moves the School Committee and school administration have made in the last decade to try to keep costs down and to live within our means. Equally as important, the presentation shows how Franklin has fallen far below the state average for spending on all facets of education.
Tuesday night, the School Committee has two objectives: The first is to ask the Town Council to fund our proposed, level service fiscal 2011 budget, which is likely to mean that the Council will ask the community to support an override of the limits imposed by Proposition 2 ½.
The second is to discuss possible budget cuts and program reductions if the Council fails to put an override on the ballot or if one fails to win a majority from the voters. The Franklin Public Schools remain a fantastic bargain in a community that offers a nice quality of life with incredibly low property tax rates. Your schools spend well below average in every cost category, but your students consistently score well above average on every academic benchmark. It’s a record to be proud of, but it’s highly unlikely to continue unless we provide more financial support.
On Wednesday night, also at 7 p.m., the Town Council will consider our budget request and also discuss the municipal budget and the town revenue picture. Members of the Long Range Financial Planning Committee, which released a fantastic analysis of town finances last year, also will present information.
The town budget is reportedly facing a deficit of $200,000, but even that amount is artificially low since it appears many positions are being left vacant in departments like fire, public works and the library in an effort to make ends meet.
Many times over the many years of my service on the School Committee, I have asked you to let your voices be heard on issues that directly impact your children’s futures, your property values and your quality of life.
This Tuesday and Wednesday night, you will once again have the opportunity to ask your elected officials to protect those things by taking the steps necessary to seeking adequate financial support.
Your schools have worked hard with far less funds than they need to give the young people of this community the kind of education that hundreds of other communities in the state wish they could provide. This week, I hope you will actively and publicly support our honest effort to continue that same level of service to you, your friends and your neighbors.
This e-mail reflects my opinion alone and is provided as a constituent service. As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. If you are receiving duplicate e-mails or if you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please let me know and I will remove you from the distribution list. If you know of someone you would like to add to the list, please send along their e-mail address.
Thank you!
Ed Cafasso, Member
Franklin School Committee
edcafasso@comcast.net
I hope you had a pleasant school vacation week. The end of vacation means getting back to work, and this week the School Committee and Town Council have their work cut out for them.
Two crucial evening meetings are on the agenda that I hope you will at least follow closely if not attend in person. On Tuesday at 7 p.m., the School Committee will meet at the Municipal Building to make key decisions on the fiscal 2011 school budget.
Flat-lining local and state revenues combined with increased costs have created an estimated $1.8 million shortfall in the school budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Three factors are driving the higher costs – a 36% increase in mandated special education costs; a 10% hike in health insurance costs; and, contractual salary hikes (keeping mind that school administrators and employees voluntarily accepted a pay freeze during the current fiscal year.)
In reality, our costs are higher than the $1.8 million, but we are hoping to keep the requested budget increase to the bare minimum by using more than $750,000 in one-time federal and special local funds to close the gap. The $1.8 million your schools need would ensure that we can provide your children and the community the same level of service next year as we are this year.
To get all the details, I urge you to visit the School Department’s budget page at: http://www.franklin.k12.ma.us/co/supt/budget/FY2011Budgetbook.pdf. There you will find a complete overview of the district’s budget, the factors driving it, our academic performance, enrollment data, and individual proposed budgets for each school.
The presentation also details the many cuts and efficiency moves the School Committee and school administration have made in the last decade to try to keep costs down and to live within our means. Equally as important, the presentation shows how Franklin has fallen far below the state average for spending on all facets of education.
Tuesday night, the School Committee has two objectives: The first is to ask the Town Council to fund our proposed, level service fiscal 2011 budget, which is likely to mean that the Council will ask the community to support an override of the limits imposed by Proposition 2 ½.
The second is to discuss possible budget cuts and program reductions if the Council fails to put an override on the ballot or if one fails to win a majority from the voters. The Franklin Public Schools remain a fantastic bargain in a community that offers a nice quality of life with incredibly low property tax rates. Your schools spend well below average in every cost category, but your students consistently score well above average on every academic benchmark. It’s a record to be proud of, but it’s highly unlikely to continue unless we provide more financial support.
On Wednesday night, also at 7 p.m., the Town Council will consider our budget request and also discuss the municipal budget and the town revenue picture. Members of the Long Range Financial Planning Committee, which released a fantastic analysis of town finances last year, also will present information.
The town budget is reportedly facing a deficit of $200,000, but even that amount is artificially low since it appears many positions are being left vacant in departments like fire, public works and the library in an effort to make ends meet.
Many times over the many years of my service on the School Committee, I have asked you to let your voices be heard on issues that directly impact your children’s futures, your property values and your quality of life.
This Tuesday and Wednesday night, you will once again have the opportunity to ask your elected officials to protect those things by taking the steps necessary to seeking adequate financial support.
Your schools have worked hard with far less funds than they need to give the young people of this community the kind of education that hundreds of other communities in the state wish they could provide. This week, I hope you will actively and publicly support our honest effort to continue that same level of service to you, your friends and your neighbors.
This e-mail reflects my opinion alone and is provided as a constituent service. As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. If you are receiving duplicate e-mails or if you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please let me know and I will remove you from the distribution list. If you know of someone you would like to add to the list, please send along their e-mail address.
Thank you!
Ed Cafasso, Member
Franklin School Committee
edcafasso@comcast.net
Franklin, MA: School Committee - Agenda - 4/27/10
1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the April 13, 2010 School Committee Meeting.
Payment of Bills - Mr. Glynn
Payroll - Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence: none
2. Guests/Presentations
a. Latin Awards
1. HMMS – Outstanding Achievement
2. HMMS - Achievement
3. RMS – Outstanding Achievement
4. RMS – Achievement
5. ASMS – Outstanding Achievement
6. ASMS – Achievement
b. ASMS Comuniteen Fundraiser – Pennies for Patients – Raised $5,020.22 for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society:
1. Emily Bellavance, Cheyenne Esposito, Ashley Gatchell, Anya Sternadore and Celia Sternadore.
c. HMMS Math Team: Placed 1st in our Division
3. Discussion Only Items
Budget to Actual
School Committee proposed 2010-2011 Schedule
FY2011 Budget
4. Action Items
a. I recommend approval of the request of Nancy Schoen for a field trip for the Music Students to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH on Friday, June 11, 2010 as detailed.
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $125.00 from the JFK PCC for RN fees for a field trip.
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $218.75 from the JFK PCC for RN fees for two field trips.
d. I recommend acceptance of a check for $4,000.00 from the Jefferson PCC for two field trips.
e. I recommend acceptance of a check for $639.03 from Follett for Supplemental Curriculum Materials for Jefferson Elementary – check from surplus books.
f. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1969.60 from the Parmenter PCC for field trips.
g. I recommend acceptance of the donation of supplies from staples for the Solutions Program.
h. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1748.00 from the Keller PCC for two tables as detailed.
i. I recommend adoption of the proposed 2010-2011 Meeting Schedule for the Franklin School Committee.
j. I recommend declaring microfiche machines at the FHS surplus to be donated to the Franklin Historical Commission as detailed.
5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
a. FHS End of Year Activities
b. Principal’s Search Process – Sally Winslow
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
School Committee Liaison Reports
6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
7. Executive Session
Non-Union Salary Discussion
8. Adjourn
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the April 13, 2010 School Committee Meeting.
Payment of Bills - Mr. Glynn
Payroll - Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence: none
2. Guests/Presentations
a. Latin Awards
1. HMMS – Outstanding Achievement
1. Patrick Milne
2. Mark Mooney
3. Adam Lynch
4. Haven Butler
2. HMMS - Achievement
1. Nithya Sridhar
2. Lipee Vora
3. Kristen Brandenburg
4. Liam Devine
5. Ben Mednack
6. Justin Collins
7. Julia Birely
8. Katherine Donahue
9. Niharkia Singh
3. RMS – Outstanding Achievement
1. Chris Cannon
2. Collin Chen
3. Nicholas Chieng
4. James Lavoie
4. RMS – Achievement
1. Troy Donahue
2. Bridget Gallo
3. Dylan Martin
4. Andrew Petit
5. Carolyn Hoye
6. Allison Klowan
5. ASMS – Outstanding Achievement
1. Lauren Irvine
2. Aaron Kaplan
3. Michael Labine
4. Joshua Hall
5. Margaret Streeter
6. Lauren Altobelli
6. ASMS – Achievement
1. Kaitlin Dinmore
2. Emily Hood
3. Edward Sullivan
4. Joseph Tobin
5. Alexandra Wolfe
6. Vincent Nazaretian
7. Kelly Morgan
8. Alexandra Quinn
9. Rebecca Vickery
10. Benjamin Zogby
11. Christopher Hu
12. Danielle Dupont
13. Carly Burgess
b. ASMS Comuniteen Fundraiser – Pennies for Patients – Raised $5,020.22 for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society:
1. Emily Bellavance, Cheyenne Esposito, Ashley Gatchell, Anya Sternadore and Celia Sternadore.
c. HMMS Math Team: Placed 1st in our Division
1. Akshat Agrawal - Top Score in the 8th Grade in our division
2. Sanjay Batchu
3. Abhilasha Boruah
4. Chrisopher Danksewicz
5. Filip DaSilva
6. Alex Fischer
7. Brendan Lewis
8. Panat Gaurab
9. Ajey Panday – Top Score in the 7th Grade in our Division
10. Nikki Singh
11. Nithya Sridhar
12. Lipee Vorah
13. Emily Waite
3. Discussion Only Items
Budget to Actual
School Committee proposed 2010-2011 Schedule
FY2011 Budget
4. Action Items
a. I recommend approval of the request of Nancy Schoen for a field trip for the Music Students to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH on Friday, June 11, 2010 as detailed.
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $125.00 from the JFK PCC for RN fees for a field trip.
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $218.75 from the JFK PCC for RN fees for two field trips.
d. I recommend acceptance of a check for $4,000.00 from the Jefferson PCC for two field trips.
e. I recommend acceptance of a check for $639.03 from Follett for Supplemental Curriculum Materials for Jefferson Elementary – check from surplus books.
f. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1969.60 from the Parmenter PCC for field trips.
g. I recommend acceptance of the donation of supplies from staples for the Solutions Program.
h. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1748.00 from the Keller PCC for two tables as detailed.
i. I recommend adoption of the proposed 2010-2011 Meeting Schedule for the Franklin School Committee.
j. I recommend declaring microfiche machines at the FHS surplus to be donated to the Franklin Historical Commission as detailed.
5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
a. FHS End of Year Activities
b. Principal’s Search Process – Sally Winslow
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
School Committee Liaison Reports
6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
7. Executive Session
Non-Union Salary Discussion
8. Adjourn
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