Franklin Matters

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Green with a little green!

Susan sent me an email with the text and picture attached. Comments don't allow pictures so I am posting this separately:

Buzz has planted what he calls his "two dollar garden" - left over lattice strips and seedlings that were on sale a couple of weeks ago - all less than $2.

See, something green can be accomplished with just a little green!

Franklin, MA

"a NO vote is being penny-wise but pound-foolish"

How about this from the Boston Globe:

'If we had data on all 351 Massachusetts municipalities, the exact impact of the simulated override might vary, but the overall results would be similar. By not passing the override, homeowners in Hull would save on their property taxes over the next five years. But for every tax dollar they save, Hull homeowners would likely forfeit close to four dollars in home value when they sell their homes.

Before pulling the lever in the voting booth, residents across Massachusetts considering a Prop 2 override to help fund local schools might be wise to consider whether a no vote is being penny-wise but pound-foolish.'

Read the full article here
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/06/24/do_the_math_on_overrides/

And the School Committee blog post (which pointed me to this) here
http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/do-the-math-on-overrides/

Franklin, MA

Green front porch

The Franklin Food Pantry has taken the food revolution to their front porch. The greenery growing in the pots are flowers and edible plants (i.e. vegetables).

Do you have space for a planter to grow something for your table?

Franklin, MA

Reminder: The question is open until midnight on June 25th

Based upon the discussion around the article in the Milford Daily News on Tuesday 6/15/10, a new poll question has been added to the center column of Franklin Matters.

The question asks if the override question had been phrased differently would the results have been different. In particular the question is:

If the override was split into 2 separate questions, would you have approved the school override? Q1 - $2.1 million for schools Q2 - $900K for roads/the town

Yes

No

The article and full comment stream can be found here:http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x1602636112/Franklin-proceeds-with-layoffs

Franklin, MA

"Morris stood out from the crowd"

By Ashley Studley, Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

Posted Jun 24, 2010 @ 01:22 AM

FRANKLIN —

The School Committee Tuesday welcomed a new addition to the district's administration team, incoming Parmenter Elementary School Principal Tom Morris.

On July 1, Morris will replace Judi Bassignani, who is retiring.

A music teacher for Newton public schools, Morris is looking forward to his new position.

"I'm thrilled to be coming to the Franklin public school district," he said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x2071994758/Franklin-welcomes-new-Parmenter-principal

This was reported in real-time from the School Committee meeting on Tuesday evening here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/live-reporting-tom-morris-parmenter.html

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Live reporting - Financial Planning Committee

Present: Hardesty, Roche, Cameron, Bartlett, Whalen, Rohrbach, Zollo
Absent: Morrison, Trahan, Mason, Nutting, Sabolinski

What is the next thing we can do to have an incremental effect?

Update forecast, provide an estimate on next years shortage
How do we control costs going forward, esp with 80% of our costs in employee compensation

How many towns have passed overrides around us?

need to re-do the report to make it more easily understandable, i.e. what impact does it have on me!

(Roche left)

Town of Wakefield Chap 70 inequity example
http://www.wakefield.ma.us/Public_Documents/WakefieldMA_EmerNews/02A596B0-000F8513

Norfolk, MA failed their override 6/22/10
The override did not pass. 1,806 votes, which is 29% of registered voters. Yes 571, No 1,235
http://www.norfolknet.com/norfolk/

what are the spending priorities over the next several years?
solicit input on the level of services and what services should be kept
what is the spending priority list?

Franklin, MA

Brainstorming Rules

Rules for brainstorming? Are you sure?
Yes, most definitely. Every game has rules even if they are made up along the way.

Is brainstorming a game?
If we treat it as such, with rules, then the best ideas will win. Note: the ideas win! Not the people who play, the ideas!

The Rules

Generate as Many Ideas as Possible
Encourage Wild and Exaggerated Ideas, No Matter How Crazy, Ridiculous, or Farfetched the Idea Might Be
There will be No Detailed Discussions about an Idea, Except to Provide Clarification
Assign Someone as the Scribe. The Scribe Should Write Down Every Idea – No Screening
Keep a Copy of the Rules in Plain View (That's called transparency!)
The Brainstorming List Must Be Visible to Everyone (also transparency!)
Snowballing on Other Ideas is Encouraged
Postpone and Withhold Judgment of Any Idea (Yes, this will be a tough one)
Leave Your Titles at the Door (and likely the hardest!)
The Optimum Number of People is Between 8 And 12, with One-Third of the Group Being Outsiders