This is the presentation document used during the School Committee meeting on 5/11/10.
The notes that accompany this presentation can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/live-reporting-dese-report.html
Franklin, MA
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the report.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Letter from Ed Cafasso
Hello everyone,
I hope you enjoyed the stunning weekend weather.
As you know, Franklin voters will be asked to go to the polls on Tuesday, June 8, to decide a proposed $3 million override of Proposition 2½. If approved, approximately $300,000 will be used to restore municipal services, $1.8 million will be used to restore educational services, and $900,000 will be used to maintain roads throughout the town.
We need this money to stop the continued erosion of school and municipal services our community and to maintain our property values and quality of life.
Override votes can be a polarizing, which is not surprising when people’s money is at stake. On a pre-tax basis, the proposed override will cost the average taxpayer $254 per year, about 70 cents per day, based on the average property assessment of $368,000 in Franklin. Passage of the ballot question would add 69 cents to the tax rate, or $.69 per $1,000 of the assessed value of your home. That’s the out-of-pocket cost, but please also keep in mind that your local property tax payments are deductible federally.
I am writing today to pass along the wealth of information available to you to explain the proposed override and what’s at stake with this vote – and to offer you the opportunity to become actively involved in the effort if you wish.
Here’s what’s available to you:
An excellent brochure has been developed that attempts to answer common questions and provides a chart of what services will be affected by the outcome of the override vote. You can view and download the brochure at: http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-brochure/
Up-to-date information and links on financial and academic issues, particularly from a school perspective, are available at: http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
Concerned citizens who support passage of the override have formed a group called “Invest in Franklin.” You can visit the Invest in Franklin web site for additional information at: http://investinfranklin.weebly.com.
You can visit and join the Invest in Franklin group page on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2265200218&ref=ts
A Facebook event page has been created as a reminder about the June 8 vote. You can view it here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=118040221563289
If you want to volunteer for the effort, please contact: Elise Nulton at lcnot@comcast.net or Deb Bartlett at bartlett.family@comcast.net. Both Elise and Deb are listed in the Franklin phone book; they would welcome your support.
Financial donations in any amount to defray the cost of the campaign are also welcome. Checks made out to “Invest in Franklin” can be mailed to the group’s treasurer, Deb Bartlett, 2 Eldon Drive, Franklin, MA, 02038.
There are a number of forums and meetings taking place throughout the community in the coming weeks to help our friends and neighbors learn more about why this vote is so important. On Monday, May 24, 2010, there will be a town-wide forum at the Mercer Auditorium at Horace Mann Middle School beginning at 7 p.m. Town officials will be on hand to present the facts and answer your questions. I plan to attend and hope to see you there.
The outcome of this override has implications for all the essential services on which you and your family rely in Franklin.
Your town and schools cannot continue to do more with less and still meet your expectations. From a public school perspective, Franklin now spends below the state average in every single category of measurement.
(See: http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/schfin/statistics/function09_sum.aspx?ID=101).
Yet our students – your children and grandchildren – enjoy one of highest performing school systems and rewarding academic experiences in Massachusetts. Every day, our schools work efficiently and well to earn your trust and support, as do our woefully under-funded police, fire and public works departments.
I hope the informational resources provided above give you an ample opportunity to learn more about the override, so you can cast an informed ballot on June 8. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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
I hope you enjoyed the stunning weekend weather.
As you know, Franklin voters will be asked to go to the polls on Tuesday, June 8, to decide a proposed $3 million override of Proposition 2½. If approved, approximately $300,000 will be used to restore municipal services, $1.8 million will be used to restore educational services, and $900,000 will be used to maintain roads throughout the town.
We need this money to stop the continued erosion of school and municipal services our community and to maintain our property values and quality of life.
Override votes can be a polarizing, which is not surprising when people’s money is at stake. On a pre-tax basis, the proposed override will cost the average taxpayer $254 per year, about 70 cents per day, based on the average property assessment of $368,000 in Franklin. Passage of the ballot question would add 69 cents to the tax rate, or $.69 per $1,000 of the assessed value of your home. That’s the out-of-pocket cost, but please also keep in mind that your local property tax payments are deductible federally.
I am writing today to pass along the wealth of information available to you to explain the proposed override and what’s at stake with this vote – and to offer you the opportunity to become actively involved in the effort if you wish.
Here’s what’s available to you:
An excellent brochure has been developed that attempts to answer common questions and provides a chart of what services will be affected by the outcome of the override vote. You can view and download the brochure at: http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-brochure/
Up-to-date information and links on financial and academic issues, particularly from a school perspective, are available at: http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
Concerned citizens who support passage of the override have formed a group called “Invest in Franklin.” You can visit the Invest in Franklin web site for additional information at: http://investinfranklin.weebly.com.
You can visit and join the Invest in Franklin group page on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2265200218&ref=ts
A Facebook event page has been created as a reminder about the June 8 vote. You can view it here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=118040221563289
If you want to volunteer for the effort, please contact: Elise Nulton at lcnot@comcast.net or Deb Bartlett at bartlett.family@comcast.net. Both Elise and Deb are listed in the Franklin phone book; they would welcome your support.
Financial donations in any amount to defray the cost of the campaign are also welcome. Checks made out to “Invest in Franklin” can be mailed to the group’s treasurer, Deb Bartlett, 2 Eldon Drive, Franklin, MA, 02038.
There are a number of forums and meetings taking place throughout the community in the coming weeks to help our friends and neighbors learn more about why this vote is so important. On Monday, May 24, 2010, there will be a town-wide forum at the Mercer Auditorium at Horace Mann Middle School beginning at 7 p.m. Town officials will be on hand to present the facts and answer your questions. I plan to attend and hope to see you there.
The outcome of this override has implications for all the essential services on which you and your family rely in Franklin.
Your town and schools cannot continue to do more with less and still meet your expectations. From a public school perspective, Franklin now spends below the state average in every single category of measurement.
(See: http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/schfin/statistics/function09_sum.aspx?ID=101).
Yet our students – your children and grandchildren – enjoy one of highest performing school systems and rewarding academic experiences in Massachusetts. Every day, our schools work efficiently and well to earn your trust and support, as do our woefully under-funded police, fire and public works departments.
I hope the informational resources provided above give you an ample opportunity to learn more about the override, so you can cast an informed ballot on June 8. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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
Franklin, MA: History on display
After some expense by the Town, much effort from volunteers and significant donations from the community, the Historical Museum is now open in downtown Franklin. The building was built in 1842 as the Town Hall, repaired and restored in 1916, and given new life in 2010. It also served time as the Senior center. Today, it is a building worthy of displaying the rich and varied history of Franklin.
As you come in the front entrance, art work on the floor comes close to replicating the Town Seal. Ben Franklin's phrase "Industry need not wish" is one I have written about before.
Along both sides of the main hall, wooden base units support the glass display cases. The wooden bases were all crafted by Tri-County Regional Vocation Technical High School students. Students also built the shelving in the "library room" of the museum (not pictured here). As part of the volunteer move from the Washington Street location to downtown, many were quite pleased how ell the tops and cases fit together. They were finely crafted. In this photo Ben looks over the display cases mentioned.
When the TJ Maxx store closed in Franklin, the museum gained with the donation of several jewelry display cases. These cases are quite good for the display of many of the historical artifacts. One set of four cases forms a nice center piece display upon which a bust of Ben watches over all.
The museum is scheduled to be open on
The museum is staffed by volunteers who are all interested in preserving and sharing the unique pieces of Franklin's history. The museum is also available for special functions. It can seat about 30-40. Inquiries should be made to the Historical Commission or to one of the volunteers during the time the museum is open.
Come on down to re-discover the history of Franklin!
My thanks to Del Arnold for confirming the background information provided here.
Franklin, MA
As you come in the front entrance, art work on the floor comes close to replicating the Town Seal. Ben Franklin's phrase "Industry need not wish" is one I have written about before.
Along both sides of the main hall, wooden base units support the glass display cases. The wooden bases were all crafted by Tri-County Regional Vocation Technical High School students. Students also built the shelving in the "library room" of the museum (not pictured here). As part of the volunteer move from the Washington Street location to downtown, many were quite pleased how ell the tops and cases fit together. They were finely crafted. In this photo Ben looks over the display cases mentioned.
When the TJ Maxx store closed in Franklin, the museum gained with the donation of several jewelry display cases. These cases are quite good for the display of many of the historical artifacts. One set of four cases forms a nice center piece display upon which a bust of Ben watches over all.
The museum is scheduled to be open on
- Saturday's from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
- Sundays' from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
- Thursday's from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
The museum is staffed by volunteers who are all interested in preserving and sharing the unique pieces of Franklin's history. The museum is also available for special functions. It can seat about 30-40. Inquiries should be made to the Historical Commission or to one of the volunteers during the time the museum is open.
Come on down to re-discover the history of Franklin!
My thanks to Del Arnold for confirming the background information provided here.
Franklin, MA
Tooting the horn for books, a family day in Franklin
The combination of the Library Book Sale and the DPW Open House drew quite a crowd on Saturday.
The Friends of the Library paid for the overtime of the DPW workers. The food and drink provided at the DPW Open House was donated by Weston & Sampson.
The bucket truck authorized for purchase as part of the capital plan in 2009 was on display looking brand new. It is over ten years old. The new look comes from the paint job that was part of the purchase price. DPW Director, Robert (Brutus) Cantoreggi is walking towards us in the photo.
The DPW garage had four mechanics. One just retired this year and due to the budget cuts, the position won't be filled leaving three mechanics to take care of more than 300 pieces of equipment. Which of these two units looks like it is three years old? and which looks like it is sixteen years old? (Answer at the end of this post.)
Most of the equipment that I saw on display had a sign telling the year and use for the unit. The purpose for some was easy to recognize, some were not. This batwing mower is over 10 years old and still doing duty cutting the grass on our athletic fields.
The weather cooperated for this nice family event. If your son or daughter was one of the horn tooters, they probably walked away with a smile. Your smile came from the fact that they at least stopped blowing the horn!
Iqbal Ismail is show below taking pictures of his daughter Zeba and son Faraz in the front seat of the truck.
Note: In answer to the question above: the unit on the left in the picture is 3 yrs old; the unit on the right is 16.
My thanks to Brutus Cantoreggi and Dave Allard for providing the information to share here.
Franklin, MA
The Friends of the Library paid for the overtime of the DPW workers. The food and drink provided at the DPW Open House was donated by Weston & Sampson.
The bucket truck authorized for purchase as part of the capital plan in 2009 was on display looking brand new. It is over ten years old. The new look comes from the paint job that was part of the purchase price. DPW Director, Robert (Brutus) Cantoreggi is walking towards us in the photo.
The DPW garage had four mechanics. One just retired this year and due to the budget cuts, the position won't be filled leaving three mechanics to take care of more than 300 pieces of equipment. Which of these two units looks like it is three years old? and which looks like it is sixteen years old? (Answer at the end of this post.)
Most of the equipment that I saw on display had a sign telling the year and use for the unit. The purpose for some was easy to recognize, some were not. This batwing mower is over 10 years old and still doing duty cutting the grass on our athletic fields.
The weather cooperated for this nice family event. If your son or daughter was one of the horn tooters, they probably walked away with a smile. Your smile came from the fact that they at least stopped blowing the horn!
Iqbal Ismail is show below taking pictures of his daughter Zeba and son Faraz in the front seat of the truck.
Note: In answer to the question above: the unit on the left in the picture is 3 yrs old; the unit on the right is 16.
My thanks to Brutus Cantoreggi and Dave Allard for providing the information to share here.
Franklin, MA
Summer programs - Art Institute
Registration is open for the Art Institute to be held at the high school July 19- 30.
Additional information about the summer programs can be found on the Lifelong Learning webpage:
http://cfweb.smartedu.net/lll/aboutus.cfm?category=1ABOUT5
Franklin, MA
Additional information about the summer programs can be found on the Lifelong Learning webpage:
http://cfweb.smartedu.net/lll/aboutus.cfm?category=1ABOUT5
Franklin, MA
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Franklin, MA: Plenty to do today
Museum opens from 10:00 to 1:00 PM today
Bottle/Can drive options
Library Book Sale 9:00 - 4:00 PM at DPW Yard off Hayward St
DPW Open House 10:00 - 1:00 PM
Bottle/Can drive options
- Franklin High School 9:00 - 2:00 PM at high school parking lot
- JF Kennedy School 9:00 - 12:00
Library Book Sale 9:00 - 4:00 PM at DPW Yard off Hayward St
DPW Open House 10:00 - 1:00 PM
Friday, May 14, 2010
Storm water mandates
Under the proposed mandate from the EPA, which would only apply to Milford, Franklin and Bellingham, properties with two acres or more will have to manage their stormwater runoff.
Wednesday night's public information session included a presentation from the EPA about the regulations as well as time for public comment.
Rick Kaplan, owner of Kaplan Commercial Properties, recently purchased the Bellingham Plaza on Rte. 126, which has 8 acres. Kaplan, who lives in Medway, is not only concerned with the price tag of the mandate, but the fact that the actual cost is still undecided.
"It's an unknown amount of money," Kaplan said. "It's scary to me. It's not fair."Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Stormwater mandate concerns businesses
This article helps to clarify one of the questions asked during Wednesday night's meeting on the Downtown Improvement Project. If the new mandates apply to properties in excess of 2 acres, there doesn't appear to be much of an impact for the downtown project.
If you missed the Downtown Project meeting Wednesday, you can view the video here
Downtown Improvement Project - live broadcast
The EPA meeting was also broadcast but the video has not yet been posted to the Franklin website. As soon as I see the link, I share it here.
Franklin, MA
HMEA 5K Race/Walk - May 23rd
The Horace Mann Education Associates - HMEA, Inc. is located here in Franklin, MA but their effective service delivery is to over 100 communities in MA.
The annual fund raiser for HMEA is the 5K Race/Walk and Family Fun Day scheduled for May 23, 2010.
In addition to working the road race registration table (and providing splits at the 2 mile mark), I have decided to help HMEA do some fund raising this year.
I love the quote from Horace Mann that they use on their History page:
You can help the HMEA make a difference with a donation. I have a widget in the center column of this and my other blogs, should you choose to donate an amount within your means.
I will appreciate it.
The HMEA clients you help will too!
-----
If you would like to register for the race you can do so here
http://www.hmea.org/events.html
If you'd like you can contribute in one of several options directly through the HMEA website here
http://www.hmea.org/donations.html
The annual fund raiser for HMEA is the 5K Race/Walk and Family Fun Day scheduled for May 23, 2010.
HMEA's 9th Annual Independence 5K Walk/Run in the Park - MARK YOUR CALENDARS and grab your sneakers to participate in this "Fun-filled Family Day fundraising event...
This event, which is hosted by our good friends at EMC2 Corporation in Franklin, MA gathers 2,000 or more people to help HMEA continue its mission to make a difference in people's lives. AND, all the money raised is returned to the many programs at HMEA, which supports 2,400 children and adults with intellectual challenges and developmental disabilities.
In addition to working the road race registration table (and providing splits at the 2 mile mark), I have decided to help HMEA do some fund raising this year.
I love the quote from Horace Mann that they use on their History page:
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity"
You can help the HMEA make a difference with a donation. I have a widget in the center column of this and my other blogs, should you choose to donate an amount within your means.
I will appreciate it.
The HMEA clients you help will too!
-----
If you would like to register for the race you can do so here
http://www.hmea.org/events.html
If you'd like you can contribute in one of several options directly through the HMEA website here
http://www.hmea.org/donations.html
Vallee holds office hours next week
Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:
via The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc. on 5/13/10
Rep. James Vallee, D-Franklin, invites residents of Franklin and Medway to meet with him or a member of his staff on Friday, May 21, for his monthly office hours.
The first session will be held at the Medway Town Administrator's office at 155 Village St. from 9-10 a.m.
Vallee or a staff member will be available at his Franklin office at 4 West St. from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Those unable to attend can call his State House office at 617-722-2600 to schedule an appointment.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to The Milford Daily News News RSS using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Special Override Election - June 8th - registration/voting details
ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT THE TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE.
LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE:
May 19, 2010 at 8:00pm at the
Town Clerk’s Office,
First Floor, 355 East Central Street,
Municipal Building.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS WILL BE AVAILABLE BEGINNING May 12, 2010
Absentee Ballot Information:
Absentee ballots are now available in the Town Clerk’s office. A registered voter who will be unable to vote at the polls on election day due to the following reasons may vote absentee up to 12:00 noon Monday, June 7th.
(1) absence from your city or town during normal polling hours; or
(2) physical disability preventing you from going to the polling place; or
(3) religious belief.
All absentee requests must be made in writing with an original signature (no faxes or e-mails are accepted). If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Deborah L. Pellegri, Town Clerk, at 508-520-4900.
Attest: Deborah L. Pellegri, CMC, Town Clerk/Election Administrator
This was originally posted to the Franklin, MA website here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_News/01579C3D-000F8513
TOWN OF FRANKLIN ELECTION NOTICE
SPECIAL OVERRIDE ELECTION
DATE: TUESDAY, June 8, 2010
TIME: 6:00a.m. – 8:00p.m.
PLACE: FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL FIELDHOUSE ON OAK STREET
ALL PRECINCTS
LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE:
May 19, 2010 at 8:00pm at the
Town Clerk’s Office,
First Floor, 355 East Central Street,
Municipal Building.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS WILL BE AVAILABLE BEGINNING May 12, 2010
Absentee Ballot Information:
Absentee ballots are now available in the Town Clerk’s office. A registered voter who will be unable to vote at the polls on election day due to the following reasons may vote absentee up to 12:00 noon Monday, June 7th.
(1) absence from your city or town during normal polling hours; or
(2) physical disability preventing you from going to the polling place; or
(3) religious belief.
All absentee requests must be made in writing with an original signature (no faxes or e-mails are accepted). If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Deborah L. Pellegri, Town Clerk, at 508-520-4900.
Attest: Deborah L. Pellegri, CMC, Town Clerk/Election Administrator
This was originally posted to the Franklin, MA website here:
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_News/01579C3D-000F8513
"It'll make the stretch more vibrant"
Concerned neighbors and business owners turned out for an informational session with engineering firm Weston & Sampson to talk about designs to improve downtown's appearance.
"Our goal is to restore (downtown) as the focal point for community life and create economic development," said Vice President Eugene Bolinger. "We'll upgrade the infrastructure within the public right of way, in an effort to (attract) private investment in that quarter."
Engineers walked attendees through the designs, which call for eliminating some one-way traffic, adding parking spots, raising certain crosswalks and widening sidewalks to meet standards for the disabled.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1773731500/Plans-for-downtown-Franklin-discussed
To view the video of the session you can click here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/downtown-improvement-project-live.html
Franklin, MA
"spotlight on the youth program"
The Panthers are underdogs no more; they are now the team to beat.
And this spring, with Franklin off to an 11-1 start, and unbeaten in the Hockomock League at 10-0, may be just the beginning. The town’s youth program, started in 2004, is still in its infancy, but is stocking both the girls’ and boys’ rosters at the high school. This season, the Franklin girls moved up to Division 1 from Division 2.
“I was in seventh grade when the youth program started,’’ said Franklin senior captain Gina Velluti, a defender. “Now they’re out there and they’re 8 years old. And it just is changing the game so much, it’s making us so much better. The incoming freshmen, they don’t even know how good they’re going to be."Read the full article in the Boston Globe West section here
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2010/05/13/franklin_youth_lacrosse_program_paying_dividends_for_varsity/
Franklin, MA
Mystery Dinner Show - May 22
Mystery Dinner Show
May 22nd 6:30pm
It will feature a theatrical troupe, "Whodunnit," straight from the Newport Dinner Train in
"Win or Die Trying."
Tickets are $30
Please call the church office to purchase.
Franklin, MA
May 22nd 6:30pm
It will feature a theatrical troupe, "Whodunnit," straight from the Newport Dinner Train in
"Win or Die Trying."
Tickets are $30
Please call the church office to purchase.
Franklin, MA
Parmenter 5K Race/Walk - Sunday May 16th
The Parmenter Elementary School will be the start and finish for their 2nd Annual 5K Race/Walk on Sunday, May 16th.
You can visit the event website for detailed information here
http://parmenter5k.weebly.com/index.html
You can also register at Active.com here
http://www.active.com/running/franklin-ma/2nd-annual-parmenter-5k-for-all-ages-2010
Franklin, MA
You can visit the event website for detailed information here
http://parmenter5k.weebly.com/index.html
You can also register at Active.com here
http://www.active.com/running/franklin-ma/2nd-annual-parmenter-5k-for-all-ages-2010
Franklin, MA
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Downtown Revitalization Project and EPA meetings being broadcast
With three choices tonight and new information, I will change my schedule. Talking with Chris and Bob at the Cable broadcast booth last night before the School Committee meeting, I found out that they will broadcast the EPA meeting from Tri-County and make it available on the Franklin website for on demand viewing like other town meetings.
I'll attend the Downtown Revitalization Project meeting and broadcast that one so it will also be available via video replay here on Franklin Matters.
So even with two of the three meetings being broadcast, please, get out to one of them in person. That will ensure that your voice will be heard!
To view the Downtown Revitalization Project meeting via the web, return here to Franklin Matters to find the Ustream video.
Franklin, MA
I'll attend the Downtown Revitalization Project meeting and broadcast that one so it will also be available via video replay here on Franklin Matters.
So even with two of the three meetings being broadcast, please, get out to one of them in person. That will ensure that your voice will be heard!
EPA - Public informational meeting on Charles River Storm Water Treatments
May 12, 2010 7:00 PM
Financial Planning Committee
May 12, 2010 7:00 PMMay 12, 2010 7:00 PM
To view the Downtown Revitalization Project meeting via the web, return here to Franklin Matters to find the Ustream video.
Franklin, MA
"If you do nothing else, come out and vote"
Fire Chief Gary McCarraher said his department will have to cut one firefighter-paramedic, reduce training, and reduce continuing education for staff and residents.
"We believe this year's budget reductions will have a negative impact," McCarraher said, noting it's important for neighbors to realize the decreased quality service is not the fault of employees.
He said without the tenth firefighter, he will not be able to sufficiently staff a second ambulance, and will have to rely on mutual aid for some emergency responses.
Though mutual aid response is of no charge to the town, whichever town responds and transports a person will collect the ambulance fee - which can result in $200,000 to $300,000 in revenue annually
Franklin finance officials back override
by
For the full reporting of the three Finance Committee budget hearings I attended in person:
May 4th http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/finance-committee-050410.html
May 6th http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/finance-committee-050610.html
May 10th http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/finance-committee-051010.html
The presentation used by the Fire Dept can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/franklin-ma-fire-dept-presentation.html
Franklin, MA
School Committee - 05/11/10
The collection of live reporting from the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 can be found here
Franklin, MA
Franklin, MA
Museum opens May 15th and 16th
The renovated museum opens on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and again on Sunday from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Franklin, MA
Franklin, MA
DPW Open House - May 15th
DPW Open House on Saturday, May 15th from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Franklin, MA
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io
Franklin, MA
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Live reporting - Closing items
5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
a. Enrollment Comparison for April 2009-2010
Superintendent’s Report
a. Enrollment Comparison for April 2009-2010
b. Bullying Law - law did pass, we want to approach this systemically, summer will be busy
c. School Choice
already covered above
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
space needs meet before this, looking at ways to develop a capacity plan for the schools
School Committee Liaison Reports
interested firms will be touring the building this month, the MSBA has a specific process with not a lot of discretion
need to designate three representatives for the design selection process
School Committee, Superintendent, Building Committee all get one choice each
By Feb/Mar 2011 we should have a good sense of options for the high school and a good sense of what it will cost.
Sometime Sep-Nov 2011 we should have a vote to fund the project, with a 40-60 percent reimbursement by the state
Tom Mercer will be here for the June 8th meeting
6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
foreign language course to be added to future agenda
7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations
no intention to return to open meeting
passed 7-0
Franklin, MA
c. School Choice
already covered above
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
space needs meet before this, looking at ways to develop a capacity plan for the schools
School Committee Liaison Reports
interested firms will be touring the building this month, the MSBA has a specific process with not a lot of discretion
need to designate three representatives for the design selection process
School Committee, Superintendent, Building Committee all get one choice each
By Feb/Mar 2011 we should have a good sense of options for the high school and a good sense of what it will cost.
Sometime Sep-Nov 2011 we should have a vote to fund the project, with a 40-60 percent reimbursement by the state
Tom Mercer will be here for the June 8th meeting
6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
foreign language course to be added to future agenda
7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations
no intention to return to open meeting
passed 7-0
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - Action items
4. Action Items
a. I recommend approval of the request of Anne Bergen for the field trip to Roger Williams Zoo on June 10, 2010 as detailed.
b. I recommend acceptance of the donation of $500.00 from the Keller PCC for field trips for Keller students. motion to approve, 7-0
c. I recommend not participating in the school choice program for the 2010-2011 school year. motion to approve, 7-0
d. recommend acceptance of the MSBA project enrollment report
Roy - a three page letter determining appropriate enrollment, State looking for commitment to a design limiting to 1650. Conflict with prior enrollment projections showing 1800.
Sabolinski - enrollment projection, architect hired, study designed and feasibility study can then proceed. The MSBA collects data from every district. First number from them was in the 1500's, Met with them to review the numbers, provided additional data for their evaluations, outstanding building permits, etc. this results in the increase to 1650. Any further hold up holds the whole schedule.
There might be an opportunity to get the number up as the project gets underway but that is not guaranteed. The data is updated annually.
Cafasso - the issue with MSBA is how much of a building they will create as that is where the cost is
motion to approve, 7-0
Franklin, MA
a. I recommend approval of the request of Anne Bergen for the field trip to Roger Williams Zoo on June 10, 2010 as detailed.
motion to approve, 7-0
b. I recommend acceptance of the donation of $500.00 from the Keller PCC for field trips for Keller students. motion to approve, 7-0
c. I recommend not participating in the school choice program for the 2010-2011 school year. motion to approve, 7-0
d. recommend acceptance of the MSBA project enrollment report
Roy - a three page letter determining appropriate enrollment, State looking for commitment to a design limiting to 1650. Conflict with prior enrollment projections showing 1800.
Sabolinski - enrollment projection, architect hired, study designed and feasibility study can then proceed. The MSBA collects data from every district. First number from them was in the 1500's, Met with them to review the numbers, provided additional data for their evaluations, outstanding building permits, etc. this results in the increase to 1650. Any further hold up holds the whole schedule.
There might be an opportunity to get the number up as the project gets underway but that is not guaranteed. The data is updated annually.
Cafasso - the issue with MSBA is how much of a building they will create as that is where the cost is
motion to approve, 7-0
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - Discussion only items
3. Discussion Only Items
School Choice
need to let DESE know if we will continue by June 1
we have 39 currently, the question is whether to open up additional seats available
Principals have recommended not to do so given the flexible budgetary arrangements
not a prudent choice to make at this time
In 2007, we had 76 students generating $5,000 per seat
in addition to loosing teachers, we are loosing revenue
56 for 2008, 2009, and currently 39
We haven't been able to allow staff to bring their children to the district
Is it fair to say, the only way to resume this program would be to increase teachers?
Yes, you need to look at the class size and down the road for the cohort factor
Principals conducted the survey to determine no space K-12
First Reading - Policy JJFG Disposition of Student Activity Accounthow to handle the money for each class, as the seniors graduate they are no longer part of the district
the funds would need to be kept in an account with a different tax ID than part of the Franklin Schools
motion to move to second reading, passed 7-0
Further FY11 Budget Discussion
Glynn
PCC meeting at Kennedy
shortened elementary day might be in the morning as a delayed start or early dismissal
Sabolinski - the principals actually came up with the alternatives, the morning actually works a little better
Glynn - what about parents going to work, how would they be covered
Sabolinski - we could use the Solutions program
Franklin, MA
the funds would need to be kept in an account with a different tax ID than part of the Franklin Schools
motion to move to second reading, passed 7-0
Further FY11 Budget Discussion
Glynn
PCC meeting at Kennedy
shortened elementary day might be in the morning as a delayed start or early dismissal
Sabolinski - the principals actually came up with the alternatives, the morning actually works a little better
Glynn - what about parents going to work, how would they be covered
Sabolinski - we could use the Solutions program
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - DESE report
2. Guests/Presentations
a. DESE Coordinated Program Review ReportSally Winslow and Michele Kingsland-Smith
review done every six years with a mid-cycle review every three years
The coordinated review covers three areas:
preliminary data submitted before an onsite visit which occurred during the week of 12/8/2009
exit interview upon leaving
draft corrective action plan (CAP) provided, being worked on now
Commendable 3
Implemented 55
Partially 1
Not Impl 0
9 out of 90 areas are partially implemented and are now areas of focus
Handbooks are not readily available in languages other than English
need translation in the five major languages for the Franklin district
ELE findings
spent time researching K12 curriculum, will be purchasing a copy this June
teacher from Seekonk coming into provide some experience teaching K through high school
478 teachers and administrators, 102 at this time have already received the training, 4 have received all levels of the training
Instructional Grouping
Students do not receive recommended number of hours of English Language Development (ELD) instruction to limitations of current delivery model
need to develop a system of oral and written translations, explored with other districts to see how they handle this
surprised by FHS students were not receiving credit for ELD instruction
Licensure requirements
District does not have a policy for determining the literacy and fluency of teachers
does not need to be a school committee policy but does need to be written, e.g. new hires would be part of an oral interview, as well as a written response (writing sample), incorporate the communications home and the annual reviews to include to cover this requirement
Professional Development Requirements
a multi-year plan is in place to meet the requirements
Program Evaluation
District has not conducted periodic evaluations of the effectiveness of its ELE program in developing students English language skills and meaningful participation in the education program
Records of LEP students
in the random sample taken, there were some records missing
Corrective Action Plan (CAP) due May 18th
have 1 calendar year to be 100% compliant
SE, CR, ELE supervisors are conferring to coordinate all the actions
The DESE recognizes that the 478 teachers/administrators will not be completely trained in the period, the plan needs to be in place and making progress
actually 416 teachers, 36 long term subs counted per DESE, 26 administrators
Cafasso
thanks for the effort and level of detail in this report
the only area where we have been lacking
Kingsland-Smith
we have 23 different languages in the district
The top 5 non-English languages: Spanish, Portugese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tuluga (an Indian dialect)
Rohrbach
we added the 1.5 positions, did DESE have any recommendation on staff?
Kingsland-Smith
no, the program is actually more important than the numbers of staff
the curriculum and environment (i.e. professional development)
Sabolinski
DESE did say we should add a minimum of 2, we couldn't do that
We did add .5 last December, we are adding the other 1.5 now, together these steps have shown DESE that we are heading in the right direction, otherwise we would have been less compliant than we are
Glynn
Can you tell me how a teacher can help a student access the curriculum
Kingsland-Smith
I can try, Category 1 - you need to try to help someone identify strategies to learn, Cagegory 2 - build vocabulary, Category 3 - how to assess students on their English proficiency, Category 4 a great deal of vocabulary development and visual cues to connect the language with what they already know
Glynn
How is this going to work with increases in class size?
Kingsland-Smith
Your concern is the driving force behind the DESE requiring all the teachers to be prepared for all four categories. These kids need to have equal access. This is going to be a challenge.
Category 1 is a two day training, Category 2 and 4 are four day classes with course credit
Glynn
do the guidelines still work for teacher student ratio under these new guidelines? Rhetorical question for now.
Roy
These are statutory requirements? Sound expensive, how much of this is reimbursed by the State and Federal government/
Kingsland-Smith
zero
Sabolinski
When I had asked Sally, Beth and Michelle to put this together, it was a real opportunity, they came together quickly and have done very well
Franklin, MA
a. DESE Coordinated Program Review ReportSally Winslow and Michele Kingsland-Smith
review done every six years with a mid-cycle review every three years
The coordinated review covers three areas:
- Civil Rights (CR)
- Special Education (SE)
- English Learner Education (ELE)
preliminary data submitted before an onsite visit which occurred during the week of 12/8/2009
exit interview upon leaving
draft corrective action plan (CAP) provided, being worked on now
Commendable 3
Implemented 55
Partially 1
Not Impl 0
9 out of 90 areas are partially implemented and are now areas of focus
Handbooks are not readily available in languages other than English
need translation in the five major languages for the Franklin district
ELE findings
- District does not have an ESL curriculum based upon MA English Language Proficiency Benchmarks and Outcomes (ELPBO)
- Amounts of ESL instruction far below ESE recommended hours
- LEP Students do not receive sheltered content instruction; all teachers of LEP students have not completed all levels of SEI professional development
spent time researching K12 curriculum, will be purchasing a copy this June
teacher from Seekonk coming into provide some experience teaching K through high school
478 teachers and administrators, 102 at this time have already received the training, 4 have received all levels of the training
Instructional Grouping
Students do not receive recommended number of hours of English Language Development (ELD) instruction to limitations of current delivery model
need to develop a system of oral and written translations, explored with other districts to see how they handle this
surprised by FHS students were not receiving credit for ELD instruction
Licensure requirements
District does not have a policy for determining the literacy and fluency of teachers
does not need to be a school committee policy but does need to be written, e.g. new hires would be part of an oral interview, as well as a written response (writing sample), incorporate the communications home and the annual reviews to include to cover this requirement
Professional Development Requirements
a multi-year plan is in place to meet the requirements
Program Evaluation
District has not conducted periodic evaluations of the effectiveness of its ELE program in developing students English language skills and meaningful participation in the education program
Records of LEP students
in the random sample taken, there were some records missing
Corrective Action Plan (CAP) due May 18th
have 1 calendar year to be 100% compliant
SE, CR, ELE supervisors are conferring to coordinate all the actions
The DESE recognizes that the 478 teachers/administrators will not be completely trained in the period, the plan needs to be in place and making progress
actually 416 teachers, 36 long term subs counted per DESE, 26 administrators
Cafasso
thanks for the effort and level of detail in this report
the only area where we have been lacking
Kingsland-Smith
we have 23 different languages in the district
The top 5 non-English languages: Spanish, Portugese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tuluga (an Indian dialect)
Rohrbach
we added the 1.5 positions, did DESE have any recommendation on staff?
Kingsland-Smith
no, the program is actually more important than the numbers of staff
the curriculum and environment (i.e. professional development)
Sabolinski
DESE did say we should add a minimum of 2, we couldn't do that
We did add .5 last December, we are adding the other 1.5 now, together these steps have shown DESE that we are heading in the right direction, otherwise we would have been less compliant than we are
Glynn
Can you tell me how a teacher can help a student access the curriculum
Kingsland-Smith
I can try, Category 1 - you need to try to help someone identify strategies to learn, Cagegory 2 - build vocabulary, Category 3 - how to assess students on their English proficiency, Category 4 a great deal of vocabulary development and visual cues to connect the language with what they already know
Glynn
How is this going to work with increases in class size?
Kingsland-Smith
Your concern is the driving force behind the DESE requiring all the teachers to be prepared for all four categories. These kids need to have equal access. This is going to be a challenge.
Category 1 is a two day training, Category 2 and 4 are four day classes with course credit
Glynn
do the guidelines still work for teacher student ratio under these new guidelines? Rhetorical question for now.
Roy
These are statutory requirements? Sound expensive, how much of this is reimbursed by the State and Federal government/
Kingsland-Smith
zero
Sabolinski
When I had asked Sally, Beth and Michelle to put this together, it was a real opportunity, they came together quickly and have done very well
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - School Committee
Present: Douglas, Cafasso, Rohrbach, Mullen, Roy, Trahan, Glynn
Absent: none
1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda - adding MSBA letter being added as an action item
Minutes: I recommend approval of the Open Session minutes from the April 27, 2010 School Committee Meeting. motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payment of Bills - Mr. Glynn motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payroll - Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
What does OSKEY stand for - "Our School Key"
Night of the Arts at the high school at 7:00 PM, art show in the hall, all the bands and chorus will perform as well
Pat Slight - went in early for cross country
was well prepared for school, tested out of some Math classes
He did watch some meetings, couldn't top Brittany's return to the School Committee meeting
He is now class president
Franklin, MA
Absent: none
1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda - adding MSBA letter being added as an action item
Minutes: I recommend approval of the Open Session minutes from the April 27, 2010 School Committee Meeting. motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payment of Bills - Mr. Glynn motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payroll - Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
What does OSKEY stand for - "Our School Key"
Night of the Arts at the high school at 7:00 PM, art show in the hall, all the bands and chorus will perform as well
Pat Slight - went in early for cross country
was well prepared for school, tested out of some Math classes
He did watch some meetings, couldn't top Brittany's return to the School Committee meeting
He is now class president
Franklin, MA
Override History updated
I met with Treasure/Collector Jim Dacey today to get into some of the stories around the overrides and debt exclusions. I ended up making an update to the spreadsheets to correct:
The history now shows only one override has passed of 6 put forward with the 7th override scheduled for June 8, 2010.
The updated spreadsheet can be found here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkwjbnXDBhczdDVWaFU0N2ZsTEE2TUVuWHk5NURvQWc&hl=en
Franklin, MA
- one typo (5/22/1998 should have been 5/2/1998)
- changed 6 election categories from "overrides" to "capital exclusions". All 6 occurred in 1991.
The history now shows only one override has passed of 6 put forward with the 7th override scheduled for June 8, 2010.
The updated spreadsheet can be found here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkwjbnXDBhczdDVWaFU0N2ZsTEE2TUVuWHk5NURvQWc&hl=en
Franklin, MA
Franklin, MA: Fire Dept presentation
This is the presentation document used by Chief Gary McCarraher and Paul Sharpe, Jr for the Budget Hearing at the Finance Committee meeting on May 10, 2010:
The discussion notes as captured live during the meeting can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/live-reporting-finance-committee_10.html
The discussion notes as captured live during the meeting can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/05/live-reporting-finance-committee_10.html
Reminder: Special Election - Precinct 2, 3, 4 only
SPECIAL STATE ELECTION
May 11th
Precincts 2-3-4 only
Franklin High School
6:00am – 8:00pm
If you have any questions please call
Deborah L. Pellegri, CMC
Town Clerk/Election Administrator 508-520-4900
Finance Committee 05/10/10
The collection of posts that were live reported from the Finance Committee meeting on Monday, May 10th can be found here:
Franklin, MA
Franklin, MA
Franklin Food Pantry - Stamp Out Hunger drive
About 40 volunteers got really organized to help the Franklin Food Pantry to process the receipts from the US Post Office letter carriers on Saturday, May 8th. As the letter carriers finished their routes, they drove by the Food Pantry to drop off the bags of food items they collected. Prompted by post cards and TV advertisements, as well as word of mouth, Franklin residents left out bags of non-perishable food to be donated.
With the new Food Pantry location in the middle of downtown, it was a convenient drive through operation. The trucks pulled up. A group took out all the bags of food stuffs.
Individual bags were put into letter boxes.
The bags and boxes were weighted.
The bags/boxes were opened and checked for "freshness dates". The good items were passed along to the sorters. The older items went into a waste box. Items that could not be determined by date when into a 'check later' box.
The sorters put like items together.
"flats" of similar items then stocked the shelves.
The shelves were completely empty early Saturday afternoon and filled up as the processing took place.
For those who did leave out a donation, the letter carriers left a thank you card:
Thanks to the many hands for helping to process over 5.000 pounds of food!
Strictly speaking, since the food was handled going in and then the spoils (waste) was handled again going out, we did go over 5,000. Which also excludes the multiple touches on a single item as it moved along the process.
Visit the Franklin Food Pantry online here: http://franklinfoodpantry.org/
With the new Food Pantry location in the middle of downtown, it was a convenient drive through operation. The trucks pulled up. A group took out all the bags of food stuffs.
Individual bags were put into letter boxes.
The bags and boxes were weighted.
The bags/boxes were opened and checked for "freshness dates". The good items were passed along to the sorters. The older items went into a waste box. Items that could not be determined by date when into a 'check later' box.
The sorters put like items together.
"flats" of similar items then stocked the shelves.
The shelves were completely empty early Saturday afternoon and filled up as the processing took place.
For those who did leave out a donation, the letter carriers left a thank you card:
Thanks to the many hands for helping to process over 5.000 pounds of food!
| Weight In | 4746.7 | ||
| Spoils | 877.2 | 18.48% | |
| Net | 3869.5 |
Strictly speaking, since the food was handled going in and then the spoils (waste) was handled again going out, we did go over 5,000. Which also excludes the multiple touches on a single item as it moved along the process.
Visit the Franklin Food Pantry online here: http://franklinfoodpantry.org/
Election costs reimbursed
Franklin will get about $12,000 back from the State for their costs in running the special election on Dec 8th and Jan 19th.
The full article can be found in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/newsnow/x1920415040/Local-towns-get-money-back-for-special-election
Franklin, MA
The full article can be found in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/newsnow/x1920415040/Local-towns-get-money-back-for-special-election
Franklin, MA
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