Fresh local produce!
Franklin, MA
Friday, June 11, 2010
Farmers Market - today - noon to 6:00 PM
The Farmers Market opens today from noon to 6:00 PM on the Town Common
Fresh local produce!
Franklin, MA
Fresh local produce!
Franklin, MA
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Live reporting - Town Council - FY 2011 Budget Hearing - Part 2
Present: Kelly, Jones, Vallee, Whalen, Mason, Pfeffer, Powderly
Absent: McGann, Zollo
Jeff Nutting, Susan Gagner, Jim Dacey
no questions or comments before going through the budget line items, items can be held for discussion
Hold on police expenses - Vallee
My priority is health, safety and education
We are down to 45 with a population of 33, 000
I don't feel comfortbale with that
Vallee - how many on a shift?
Williams - I try to run 6-8 on a shift
Sooner or later we are going to get caught, I don't want anyone pointing fingers
We do 42,000 incidents, almost 6,000 - 911 calls
When the economy turns down, the activities turn up
There are more stress levels in the home environment, it takes an officer longer to resolve the issues
Am I comfortable, no
Vallee - I think we should have cut other departments to maintain staff here
Williams - We are also loosing three dispatchers this year, I will only have two people during the peak times
there will be times when citizens will call and they will wait, can't be helped
Vallee - Hold on fire salaries
McCarragher - with 12 per shift, and one off, we could still staff two vehicles
with 11 on shift, and one off, we can only staff one vehicle
it is a very complex event, 50% of our calls are coming in back-to-back
we need to figure out how to staff and not tax our surrounding help, it won't help them and it won't help us
What's going to happen on July 1, I still don't know yet
Vallee - I am getting complaints about too many people showing up on an ambulance call
McCarragher - the most important service is responding to the next one, we are living within the means we are given, we are relying upon partners and we are trying to figure this out
Vallee - I am unhappy with the situation, it is getting worse every year
McCarragher - yes, I can agree with you on that point
Jones - Is there a standard
McCarragher - we are staffed for 2 minor emergencies to handle at once, or one major emergency
With the budget being voted on tonight, I have nine instead of ten
Kelly - Hold on OPEB
our responsibility is a whole lot more is this just a place holder?
Nutting - yes, this is a start, I will be coming back with a more complete analysis we can transfer other monies there and invest a little more aggressively
-----
Resolution on Elected Officials Salaries
Motion to approve, passed 7-0
MA general law have to be voted separately, they deferred their salaries last year and this get them whole this year like everyone else
(see document on link for full details of resolution)
Resolution on Town Budget for FY 2011
motion to approve, passed 7-0
Sewer rate increase likely next year
-----
Council Comments
Powderly - Bellingham police office struck on traffic duty
Fire statistics are showing a decline in response
Vallee - can we take some money from the Stabilization fund to provide more safety
Nutting - the Council can do that at any time with a two thirds vote, taking money for one time events will create further problems down the road
Whalen - with regards to the Police and Fire budget cuts they should not be a surprise to anyone
They were well notified during the recent discussions
Taking money from the stabilization fund, we should not take that for operational deficits
If we did so, as we eventually go for financing the high school renovations, that would on an out of pocket calculation about a $2 million increase that we can avoid.
Mason - I spoke to a gentleman today who thought the best idea was to reduce the overtime
when staff goes down the overtime goes up, coverage is still required
The Budget hearing document for Thursday can be found here (PDF)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2010tc/06102010budgethearing.pdf
Franklin, MA
Absent: McGann, Zollo
Jeff Nutting, Susan Gagner, Jim Dacey
no questions or comments before going through the budget line items, items can be held for discussion
Hold on police expenses - Vallee
My priority is health, safety and education
We are down to 45 with a population of 33, 000
I don't feel comfortbale with that
Vallee - how many on a shift?
Williams - I try to run 6-8 on a shift
Sooner or later we are going to get caught, I don't want anyone pointing fingers
We do 42,000 incidents, almost 6,000 - 911 calls
When the economy turns down, the activities turn up
There are more stress levels in the home environment, it takes an officer longer to resolve the issues
Am I comfortable, no
Vallee - I think we should have cut other departments to maintain staff here
Williams - We are also loosing three dispatchers this year, I will only have two people during the peak times
there will be times when citizens will call and they will wait, can't be helped
Vallee - Hold on fire salaries
McCarragher - with 12 per shift, and one off, we could still staff two vehicles
with 11 on shift, and one off, we can only staff one vehicle
it is a very complex event, 50% of our calls are coming in back-to-back
we need to figure out how to staff and not tax our surrounding help, it won't help them and it won't help us
What's going to happen on July 1, I still don't know yet
Vallee - I am getting complaints about too many people showing up on an ambulance call
McCarragher - the most important service is responding to the next one, we are living within the means we are given, we are relying upon partners and we are trying to figure this out
Vallee - I am unhappy with the situation, it is getting worse every year
McCarragher - yes, I can agree with you on that point
Jones - Is there a standard
McCarragher - we are staffed for 2 minor emergencies to handle at once, or one major emergency
With the budget being voted on tonight, I have nine instead of ten
Kelly - Hold on OPEB
our responsibility is a whole lot more is this just a place holder?
Nutting - yes, this is a start, I will be coming back with a more complete analysis we can transfer other monies there and invest a little more aggressively
-----
Resolution on Elected Officials Salaries
Motion to approve, passed 7-0
MA general law have to be voted separately, they deferred their salaries last year and this get them whole this year like everyone else
(see document on link for full details of resolution)
Resolution on Town Budget for FY 2011
motion to approve, passed 7-0
Sewer rate increase likely next year
-----
Council Comments
Powderly - Bellingham police office struck on traffic duty
Fire statistics are showing a decline in response
Vallee - can we take some money from the Stabilization fund to provide more safety
Nutting - the Council can do that at any time with a two thirds vote, taking money for one time events will create further problems down the road
Whalen - with regards to the Police and Fire budget cuts they should not be a surprise to anyone
They were well notified during the recent discussions
Taking money from the stabilization fund, we should not take that for operational deficits
If we did so, as we eventually go for financing the high school renovations, that would on an out of pocket calculation about a $2 million increase that we can avoid.
Mason - I spoke to a gentleman today who thought the best idea was to reduce the overtime
when staff goes down the overtime goes up, coverage is still required
The Budget hearing document for Thursday can be found here (PDF)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2010tc/06102010budgethearing.pdf
Franklin, MA
Franklin, MA: Town Council - Budget Hearing 6/10/10
The Town Council met on Wednesday and will meet again today (Thursday, 6/10/10) to finalize the budget for fiscal year 2011. The Finance Committee has already held their budget hearings to prepare for these meetings. The decision to hold an override vote to help balance the budget given the shortfall projected and real had been made. The vote was held on June 8th and there won't be additional tax revenue from the residents to work with for FY 2011.
The budget hearings will finalize the budget cutting personnel and services.
The Budget hearing document for Thursday can be found here (PDF)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2010tc/06102010budgethearing.pdf
My notes on the hearing Wednesday can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/live-reporting-town-council-fy-2011.html
For reference the Finance Committee budget hearings can be found here:
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 Budget Workshop held on January 25, 2010 can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/budget-workshop-collection-12510.html
Franklin, MA
The budget hearings will finalize the budget cutting personnel and services.
The Budget hearing document for Thursday can be found here (PDF)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_CouncilAgendas/2010tc/06102010budgethearing.pdf
My notes on the hearing Wednesday can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/live-reporting-town-council-fy-2011.html
For reference the Finance Committee budget hearings can be found here:
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 Budget Workshop held on January 25, 2010 can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/budget-workshop-collection-12510.html
Franklin, MA
"you need to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable"
In this 12 minute video clip, John Perry Barlow says:
the internet is enabling the possibility of collective human thought
it was going to be a difficult road
it was going to question every system of authority
political process, you need each other
you need to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable
all politics is local
it is possible to see the future where money didn't matter in an election
the internet has made it practically impossible to govern something like the nation
we have to use the same mechanism where we ran a campaign from the bottom to run the government from the bottom
A worthy lesson given the recent events around the override vote
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the video clip.
Franklin, MA
the internet is enabling the possibility of collective human thought
it was going to be a difficult road
it was going to question every system of authority
political process, you need each other
you need to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable
all politics is local
it is possible to see the future where money didn't matter in an election
the internet has made it practically impossible to govern something like the nation
we have to use the same mechanism where we ran a campaign from the bottom to run the government from the bottom
A worthy lesson given the recent events around the override vote
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the video clip.
Franklin, MA
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Live reporting - Town Council - FY 2011 Budget Hearing
Present: Kelly, Jones, Whalen, Mason, Pfeffer, McGann, Powderly, Zollo
Absent: Vallee
Jeff Nutting, Jim Dacey, Susan Gagner
Part one of two part budget hearing, Wednesday and Thursday
Thanks to Susan and Jim for their work on preparation, the FINCOM also reviewed this, thanks to them for their help
Revenue side
The budget starts in the Fall and as we go through the year
We are always looking ahead to see what we are facing.
As bad as this is, we will be wishing next year that this year is back.
We are already thinking about that.
Revenue up a couple million, allowed to increase up to 2.5 percent - $1.8 million
Interest income, excise taxes, state aid loss again this year (lost in excess of $3 M in last three years)
May have to ask for the Council to change the budget procedurally in July
We are using the House budget, the Senate budget is different
We won't know exactly until the State makes their decision final.
We did take advantage of the meals tax, we have $300,000 from that which helps this year
We will start a $1.2 Million in the hole next year due to one time stimulus funds this year not available next year.
Expense side
All budgets reflect a deferment of the wages from last year's budget
They are in effect this year
The health care changes the employees agreed to and that has saved jobs
Overall the budgets are supressed
The Town loses nine positions, the Schools lose 15 and other changes that they'll will elaborate on as this goes
The DPW loses three people, there will be delays in lawn cutting, etc.
The Police are losing three dispatchers so that will delay some calls, hopefully not 911 calls
Q - Pfeffer
What are the increases reflected in this budget?
A - Nutting
There is no fiscal 2011 increase in this budget
Most of the contracts remain to be negotiated
Q - Pfeffer
I just hope whoever is going into negotiation knows that there is 0%
A - Nutting
Yes
Hold on Police Salaries - Whalen
Hold on unemployment compensation - Nutting
Hold on OPEB - Nutting
1 - Hold on Police Salaries - Whalen
The vast majority is the three dispatchers
Pfeffer
the Fire station, needs to be taken care of, why can't the fireman take care of it
The trees need to be taken care of, they are living trees
Jones
Thanks to all of those who came out to vote
We are going to make some cuts that will hurt
Mason
Overrides tend to bring out the worst in people
I wrote a letter that is posted on Franklin Matters, I am a better writer than speaker, so I urge you to go read the letter
Motion to adjourn, passed 8-0
Franklin, MA
Absent: Vallee
Jeff Nutting, Jim Dacey, Susan Gagner
Part one of two part budget hearing, Wednesday and Thursday
Thanks to Susan and Jim for their work on preparation, the FINCOM also reviewed this, thanks to them for their help
Revenue side
The budget starts in the Fall and as we go through the year
We are always looking ahead to see what we are facing.
As bad as this is, we will be wishing next year that this year is back.
We are already thinking about that.
Revenue up a couple million, allowed to increase up to 2.5 percent - $1.8 million
Interest income, excise taxes, state aid loss again this year (lost in excess of $3 M in last three years)
May have to ask for the Council to change the budget procedurally in July
We are using the House budget, the Senate budget is different
We won't know exactly until the State makes their decision final.
We did take advantage of the meals tax, we have $300,000 from that which helps this year
We will start a $1.2 Million in the hole next year due to one time stimulus funds this year not available next year.
Expense side
All budgets reflect a deferment of the wages from last year's budget
They are in effect this year
The health care changes the employees agreed to and that has saved jobs
Overall the budgets are supressed
The Town loses nine positions, the Schools lose 15 and other changes that they'll will elaborate on as this goes
The DPW loses three people, there will be delays in lawn cutting, etc.
The Police are losing three dispatchers so that will delay some calls, hopefully not 911 calls
Q - Pfeffer
What are the increases reflected in this budget?
A - Nutting
There is no fiscal 2011 increase in this budget
Most of the contracts remain to be negotiated
Q - Pfeffer
I just hope whoever is going into negotiation knows that there is 0%
A - Nutting
Yes
Hold on Police Salaries - Whalen
Hold on unemployment compensation - Nutting
Hold on OPEB - Nutting
1 - Hold on Police Salaries - Whalen
The vast majority is the three dispatchers
2 - Hold on unemployment compensation - Nutting
Putting the Council on notice to add money to this account, with more layoffs coming, we will need more in this account, add $100,000 from free cash
3 - Hold on OPEB - Nutting
If money is put into this account, we can invest it more aggressively
We need to look at this to meet our unfunded liability
Motion to close hearing, approved 8-0
Council comments
Powderly - thanks for all the activities, those who voted and those who did not vote also counted
The issues are not going to change next year
Zollo - thanks for all the effort
we will respect the will of the voters
As the overrides continue to come, as they will, I hope the increase
Pfeffer
the Fire station, needs to be taken care of, why can't the fireman take care of it
The trees need to be taken care of, they are living trees
Jones
Thanks to all of those who came out to vote
We are going to make some cuts that will hurt
Mason
Overrides tend to bring out the worst in people
I wrote a letter that is posted on Franklin Matters, I am a better writer than speaker, so I urge you to go read the letter
Motion to adjourn, passed 8-0
Franklin, MA
Letter from Scott Mason
Dear Franklin Citizens,
As I write this, I am trying to clear my head after a very long day at the polls yesterday.
Nearly 40-percent of our registered voters exercised their constitutional right to vote in a special election that asked voters to approve a $3 million tax override. The question failed.
Several members of the Town Council, School Committee, Finance Committee, as well as many private citizens, worked very hard over the past month in an attempt to present the facts behind the need for this extra money. We held a public forum, spoke to PCC’s and met with folks in their homes. Many of us used vacation time from work, sacrificed time with families, and postponed personal plans to provide this service. We did this willingly and with enthusiasm for a cause we truly believe in – the Town of Franklin.
Along the way, we met people who welcomed us into their homes, invited their friends to hear us, and were genuinely concerned with the troubles our community faces.
We also met and heard from citizens who don’t believe in what we are doing. We were told that Franklin overspends, that Franklin must live within it’s means; that because private businesses are not providing raises to it’s workers, Franklin too, must continue to cut personnel and services. In some cases, we as the town government were blamed for problems at the state and federal level. Some of these citizens engaged us in polite, civil conversation, and some, unfortunately, made their feelings known in less mature ways.
Franklin has always benefited from a below-average tax rate and above-average services. Our employees work very hard with very limited resources. It is my deepest hope that despite these next round of cuts, they can somehow continue to do so. We enjoy great “bang for the buck” in this town. Unfortunately, seeing the cuts that have been made over the years, the effects on our schools and municipal infrastructure, I know that we are in for a very rocky road.
I want to thank the folks that gave so much of their time to fight for this cause, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote, either for or against the override. Let’s never forget the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedom. Democracy works.
Perhaps the best aspect of Proposition 2 1/2, is that it gives citizens the opportunity to determine the destiny of their community. This was played out in Franklin yesterday, and was and will be played out in many cities and towns in Massachusetts this spring. We as a Town Council will work with what we have as we have always done, and I as the Council Chairman will continue to do my best to represent the best interests of all our citizens.
Sincerely,
Scott Mason
Town Council Chairman
Franklin, MA
As I write this, I am trying to clear my head after a very long day at the polls yesterday.
Nearly 40-percent of our registered voters exercised their constitutional right to vote in a special election that asked voters to approve a $3 million tax override. The question failed.
Several members of the Town Council, School Committee, Finance Committee, as well as many private citizens, worked very hard over the past month in an attempt to present the facts behind the need for this extra money. We held a public forum, spoke to PCC’s and met with folks in their homes. Many of us used vacation time from work, sacrificed time with families, and postponed personal plans to provide this service. We did this willingly and with enthusiasm for a cause we truly believe in – the Town of Franklin.
Along the way, we met people who welcomed us into their homes, invited their friends to hear us, and were genuinely concerned with the troubles our community faces.
We also met and heard from citizens who don’t believe in what we are doing. We were told that Franklin overspends, that Franklin must live within it’s means; that because private businesses are not providing raises to it’s workers, Franklin too, must continue to cut personnel and services. In some cases, we as the town government were blamed for problems at the state and federal level. Some of these citizens engaged us in polite, civil conversation, and some, unfortunately, made their feelings known in less mature ways.
Franklin has always benefited from a below-average tax rate and above-average services. Our employees work very hard with very limited resources. It is my deepest hope that despite these next round of cuts, they can somehow continue to do so. We enjoy great “bang for the buck” in this town. Unfortunately, seeing the cuts that have been made over the years, the effects on our schools and municipal infrastructure, I know that we are in for a very rocky road.
I want to thank the folks that gave so much of their time to fight for this cause, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote, either for or against the override. Let’s never forget the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedom. Democracy works.
Perhaps the best aspect of Proposition 2 1/2, is that it gives citizens the opportunity to determine the destiny of their community. This was played out in Franklin yesterday, and was and will be played out in many cities and towns in Massachusetts this spring. We as a Town Council will work with what we have as we have always done, and I as the Council Chairman will continue to do my best to represent the best interests of all our citizens.
Sincerely,
Scott Mason
Town Council Chairman
Franklin, MA
School Committee - 06/08/10
Notes from the School Committee meeting conducted on June 8th can be found here:
These notes were reported on from the video archive as I was at the high school for the election results.
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?indexPointSKU=CMrOAys1pDEl0YEVhOcHuA%3d%3d
Franklin, MA
- School Committee - closing items
- School Committee - discussion only items (part 2)
- School Committee - discussion only items (part 1)
- School Committee - building committee update
- School Committee - Maggie Streeter
- School Committee - community service
- School Committee - Retirees
- School Committee - routine business
http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?indexPointSKU=CMrOAys1pDEl0YEVhOcHuA%3d%3d
Franklin, MA
School Committee - closing items
4. Action Items
a. I recommend adoption of the Facilities MOU as detailed.
Motion to approve, passed 6-0
5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
a. Foreign Language
b. Enrollment Comparison
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
Cafasso - advertising moving to the field, local businesses are expressing interest
School Committee Liaison Reports - none
6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
thanks to the community for another successful All night party
thanks to the DPW custodial staff for a wonderful job preparing the buildings for the graduation, the all night party, etc.
7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations
motion to enter Executive session, no intention to return to open meeting
approved, 6-0 via roll call
Franklin, MA
a. I recommend adoption of the Facilities MOU as detailed.
Motion to approve, passed 6-0
5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
a. Foreign Language
b. Enrollment Comparison
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
Cafasso - advertising moving to the field, local businesses are expressing interest
School Committee Liaison Reports - none
6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
thanks to the community for another successful All night party
thanks to the DPW custodial staff for a wonderful job preparing the buildings for the graduation, the all night party, etc.
7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations
motion to enter Executive session, no intention to return to open meeting
approved, 6-0 via roll call
Franklin, MA
School Committee - discussion only items - part 2
- Data Assessment & Resource Tool (DART)
- MSBA Architect Selection Representative (already covered)
viewable from the DESE website
select the district
DESE selects 10 comparable districts automatically (exactly how they did so, is not yet defined)
scroll down, to chose other districts
schools working with the new data to determine the updates to their strategic planning process
data and fields still in process of updating
changes almost daily, if you download, check back for updates
Franklin, MA
School Committee - discussion only items - part 1
3. Discussion Only Items
covers the agreement for the Town providing the maintenance of the school buildings and grounds
only significant change is term of agreement, proposing to go out five years
still maintains a yearly review with an option for either side to come back and re-do the agreement
Foreign Language
exploring changes to the program
Elementary (K-5) has been cut each year since 2005
eliminate K-5 Spanish and replace with additional programs on health/wellness
students would have PE/Health twice a week
pilot programs with YMCA on food and nutritional items
i.e. addressing the bullying and increase the physical activities
data from MetroWest Foundation reports show need for more foundational work in this area
The "Let's Be Honest" programs held this year were well received
teaching kids about good decision making
start small and gradually develop a full K-5 program
Open Circle would still continue, it is a reactive program, a problem resolution system
we would be adding an instructional piece to enhance that
Yes, we are loosing something. What we are putting back is not what we had sometime ago
It saddens us to make these choices
The Kennedy students who came earlier and showed what they were doing with food, that is a result from the grant work with the Y
We used to say "we are really proud of the Spanish program", now it is all gone
I didn't feel it was responsible for us to take data without providing some guidance to the students on the choices they can make
Middle School foreign language
proposing to eliminate Latin as a foreign language
we have struggled to find certified and qualified teachers in this area
we have had 8 teachers in 4 years, we have looked at different areas to bring the best qualified teachers
maybe this is the time to focus on the high school Latin program and just have Spanish at the middle schools
we tried to work it with one Latin teacher across the Middle schools and the schedule just doesn't work
of the nine applications we found, only three we would bring in for interviews
elementary Spanish teachers would transfer into other positions in the elementary schools
This is a slippery slope that we have been going down with the foreign language programs
The top 10 percent of students were the ones qualifying for the Level 2
It was not a great situation for anyone involved
Maybe an after school or summer school but trying to do it piecemeal wouldn't get real gains from it
I think we need a meeting on the foreign language program as there are pieces flying away
Maybe the meeting wouldn't help us, it is a big change and deserves more attention
We had dropped French to put Latin because it helped in other areas
There is difficulty in finding qualified and certified Latin teachers especially in the middle school area
We would still prefer to have Latin but we can find the right folks to provide the service
230 Latin students in 6th and 7th grade would go into next year as a first year in Spanish?
How to handle them remains to be detailed.
Franklin, MA
- Facilities MOU
- Foreign Language
covers the agreement for the Town providing the maintenance of the school buildings and grounds
only significant change is term of agreement, proposing to go out five years
still maintains a yearly review with an option for either side to come back and re-do the agreement
Foreign Language
exploring changes to the program
Elementary (K-5) has been cut each year since 2005
eliminate K-5 Spanish and replace with additional programs on health/wellness
students would have PE/Health twice a week
pilot programs with YMCA on food and nutritional items
i.e. addressing the bullying and increase the physical activities
data from MetroWest Foundation reports show need for more foundational work in this area
The "Let's Be Honest" programs held this year were well received
teaching kids about good decision making
start small and gradually develop a full K-5 program
Open Circle would still continue, it is a reactive program, a problem resolution system
we would be adding an instructional piece to enhance that
Yes, we are loosing something. What we are putting back is not what we had sometime ago
It saddens us to make these choices
The Kennedy students who came earlier and showed what they were doing with food, that is a result from the grant work with the Y
We used to say "we are really proud of the Spanish program", now it is all gone
I didn't feel it was responsible for us to take data without providing some guidance to the students on the choices they can make
Middle School foreign language
proposing to eliminate Latin as a foreign language
we have struggled to find certified and qualified teachers in this area
we have had 8 teachers in 4 years, we have looked at different areas to bring the best qualified teachers
maybe this is the time to focus on the high school Latin program and just have Spanish at the middle schools
we tried to work it with one Latin teacher across the Middle schools and the schedule just doesn't work
of the nine applications we found, only three we would bring in for interviews
elementary Spanish teachers would transfer into other positions in the elementary schools
This is a slippery slope that we have been going down with the foreign language programs
The top 10 percent of students were the ones qualifying for the Level 2
It was not a great situation for anyone involved
Maybe an after school or summer school but trying to do it piecemeal wouldn't get real gains from it
I think we need a meeting on the foreign language program as there are pieces flying away
Maybe the meeting wouldn't help us, it is a big change and deserves more attention
We had dropped French to put Latin because it helped in other areas
There is difficulty in finding qualified and certified Latin teachers especially in the middle school area
We would still prefer to have Latin but we can find the right folks to provide the service
230 Latin students in 6th and 7th grade would go into next year as a first year in Spanish?
How to handle them remains to be detailed.
Franklin, MA
School Committee - building committee update
d. FHS Building Update
Tom Mercer, Sean Fennel
Daedelus worked on the Annie Sullivan School, Fire Station, Senior Center and Horace Mann projects. Have now been selected to work on the FHS renovation project.
22 firms showed up for a walk through of the high school
9 submitted proposals for the first phase of the project
Projected timeline, best guess at this point
midway through architect selection
July 13th going before the MSBA board (target date)
Town will have option to interview firms at that meeting, interviews would be scheduled later
Coming out of the interviews would be a leading firm and contract negotiations by mid-August
MSBA Board needs to vote on the feasibility study, which is targeted for March 2011
Schematic design approval is required and targeted in Sept/Oct 2011
Then within 120 days of the MSBA approval, the Franklin voters need to approve their portion (i.e. Nov 2011 vote for the debt exclusion as mentioned earlier)
MSBA Board and three designated representatives to chose the architect
One each from the School Dept, Town, and School Committee
This group would be the ones to conduct the interviews and make the final decision on the architect
Q - when and where would the interviews be?
Interviews would be held two weeks later (after the July 13th meeting), in Boston, in the same room
All meetings are public
Q - are you reviewing the proposals now?
Yes, they are being reviewed. The Board is responsible for the decision on the proposals. The MSBA Board has 12 members plus the 3 designated reps as outlined above.
Q - when would be the debt exclusion?
According to the timeline, likely Nov 2011
Q - when would the construction be completed?
Too early to tell, we don't know what the work will be at this point
Franklin, MA
Tom Mercer, Sean Fennel
Daedelus worked on the Annie Sullivan School, Fire Station, Senior Center and Horace Mann projects. Have now been selected to work on the FHS renovation project.
22 firms showed up for a walk through of the high school
9 submitted proposals for the first phase of the project
Projected timeline, best guess at this point
midway through architect selection
July 13th going before the MSBA board (target date)
Town will have option to interview firms at that meeting, interviews would be scheduled later
Coming out of the interviews would be a leading firm and contract negotiations by mid-August
MSBA Board needs to vote on the feasibility study, which is targeted for March 2011
Schematic design approval is required and targeted in Sept/Oct 2011
Then within 120 days of the MSBA approval, the Franklin voters need to approve their portion (i.e. Nov 2011 vote for the debt exclusion as mentioned earlier)
MSBA Board and three designated representatives to chose the architect
One each from the School Dept, Town, and School Committee
This group would be the ones to conduct the interviews and make the final decision on the architect
Q - when and where would the interviews be?
Interviews would be held two weeks later (after the July 13th meeting), in Boston, in the same room
All meetings are public
Q - are you reviewing the proposals now?
Yes, they are being reviewed. The Board is responsible for the decision on the proposals. The MSBA Board has 12 members plus the 3 designated reps as outlined above.
Q - when would be the debt exclusion?
According to the timeline, likely Nov 2011
Q - when would the construction be completed?
Too early to tell, we don't know what the work will be at this point
Franklin, MA
School Committee - Maggie Streeter
c. Maggie Streeter (Annie Sullivan Middle School) John F. Kennedy Make A Difference Award
recognized for work on the Best Buddies program
Franklin, MA
recognized for work on the Best Buddies program
Franklin, MA
School Committee - community service
b. Annie Sullivan Middle School (ASMS) Communiteen Club
Pennies for Patients
Raised over $5,000 for Leukemia Research among other projects.
Franklin, MA
Pennies for Patients
Raised over $5,000 for Leukemia Research among other projects.
Franklin, MA
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