MassBudget: Early Education & Care in Massachusetts

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. Early Education & Care in Massachusetts When MassBudget first unveiled our Children's Budget two weeks ago, we described the many opportunities it provides to see what we do through our state government to help children thrive. That includes descriptions and funding information for over 150 different programs across the state budget. Our new brief, "Nurturing Kids, Supporting Families: Early Education & Care in the Massachusetts State Budget," builds on the resources in the Children's Budget to assess one key facet of our effort to support kids: Early Education & Care. Decades of research have shown that quality Early Education & Care can help prepare children for success in school and in life--while also giving parents the flexibility they need to find and keep jobs. "Nurturing Kids, Supporting Families" analyzes the investments Massachusetts is making in that area, including child care for low-income families and vulnerable children, efforts to improve the quality of child care and pre-school programs, and the infrastructure necessary to make these possible. "Nurturing Kids, Supporting Families" is the latest in a series of MassBudget reports on Early Education & Care in Massachusetts, including: Declines in Spending on Early Education & Care in Massachusetts Early Education & Care in the Governor's FY 2014 Budget Economic Gains from Early Education & Care Read NURTURING KIDS, SUPPORTING FAMILIES: EARLY EDUCATION & CARE IN THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE BUDGET Visit the EARLY EDUCATION & CARE SECTION OF THE CHILDREN'S BUDGET See ALL OF OUR RECENT WORK ON EARLY EDUCATION & CARE The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

Friends of the SNETT Trail Summit - Cancelled for Friday March 8, 2013

Hi everyone,

Due to the weather(…again), we are canceling the Friends of the SNETT Trail Summit (…again).  We've seen conflicting weather reports and decided it was best for everyone to not have to travel should the worst of the predictions come true.
 
Even though the third time is a charm, as the saying goes, we decided not to reschedule a third Trail Summit.  Instead, we are going to post a  "Virtual Trail Summit 3.0"  on our Friends of the SNETT (www.SNETT.org) website.  The same information in an easy-to-read online format, but without the snow.  We are hoping to have Trail Summit 3.0 available by the end of next week and will keep you posted.   While we are disappointed that we will not be meeting with our legislators and DCR to talk about the SNETT,  we look forward to gathering with them at other Friends of the SNETT events.  We have several exciting activities planned for National Trails Day on June 1, 2013 that will show our communities' commitment the SNETT.      We would like to thank the Town of Blackstone for offering the use of their Town Hall for the Summit and to everyone that was going to donate food, drinks, and paper goods.  Thanks to the Town of Franklin for giving us the name tags, folders and labels.  We appreciate the efforts of the video crew, who put together a visual tour of the SNETT (which will be available on the website).  And, thank you to our speakers—Senator Moore and Representative Roy, Becky Kalagher (BSTRA) and Conrad Crawford—for being willing to speak twice about the trail.    Finally, we would like end with the beautiful cake that Kathy Wicks had made for the February Summit and then, with foresight, decided not to order again for the March Summit.  I hear it tasted as good as it looked!

SNETT Cake

Have a good weekend and get outside on the SNETT—it's great for snowshoeing!

Stacey, Jean and Charlie

Franklin Public Schools: Afternoon/Evening Activities

A message from FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Hello Please be advised all school buildings will close at 4:00 this afternoon. All afterschool and evening activities are canceled. All athletic programs and tournament games are canceled. This includes all special events, private music lessons and rehearsals. Due to the logistical challenge of parents/guardians who may commute long distances to work and for those who may not have childcare  arranged, we are not planning to have a shortened school day. Dismissal will be at the regular time. The Solutions program will remain open until 6:00 p.m. This e-mail has been sent to you by FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message. If you wish to discontinue this service, please inform FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT IN PERSON, by US MAIL, or by TELEPHONE at (508) 613-1777.

Town Council Meeting - 03/06/13

The collection of posts by agenda section for the Town Council meeting Wednesday evening, March 6, 2013 can be found below.

Police Chief Stephan Semerjian presented an overview of the Police Dept spiced with some historical photos. He committed to sending the presentation copy to me so I can share it here.

The refinancing costs for the high school building project can be reduced by over $1,000 per homeowner. There are two years early in the life of the bond where the cost for the year is higher than initially projected but then the remaining years are all lower. This is with a project rate of 3.65% and the bonds may actually be able to be financed for less than that resulting in a further reduction overall. The Town Council was in consensus on this non-voting item. We'll get an update later this year as the bond deal is finalized.

The solid waste (trash and recycling rate) will increase from $204 to $212 for the next fiscal year (beginning in July). While this is an increase, the overall cost is still lower (with the increase) than with the previous system. The totters are paid off, the system is working well, trash collection is down and recycling is up.

The Town Council approved the second power purchase agreement for the solar energy 'farm' being put up on the Mount St Mary's property this year. This is the second of the two agreements signed. The combined worth of the two agreements is $6M over twenty years. This amount comes from the cost savings for the electricity purchased as well as the increased property taxes being collected.

The Public Library has a Facebook Page and a Twitter account! Yes, the Town is continuing to explore the use of these social media tools to help share information with Franklin residents.

You can find the Library on Facebook here http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPublicLibrary

and on Twitter here  https://twitter.com/FrkPublicLib

• Live reporting - closing
• Live reporting - action items
• Live reporting - High School Building costs
• Live reporting - Police Presentation
• Live reporting - Town Council - Mar 6

The agenda and documentation as published by Franklin can be found here

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/franklin-ma-town-council-agenda-mar-6.html

Spring Garden Celebration!

  

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Spring Garden Celebration!

via Growing In Franklin by Franklin Community Gardens on 3/6/13

Spring is just around the corner, and as Saint Patrick's Day approaches, so too does our first major garden event of the year.

Spring Garden Celebration 2013

@ King Street Memorial Community Garden

On Sunday March 17th, from 9am until Noon we'll be in the garden hosting some special events to kick off the growing season!

- Raised Bed Construction Demonstration - We'll be building four new raised beds in the garden.  Come along to lend a hand and learn what you need to build one of your own for home.

- Seed Exchange - Bring your excess seeds and exchange them with other gardeners for those you need.

- Winter Sowing - Learn how to create your own mini-greenhouse out of a milk jug to give your seeds a head start on the season.

- Pea Planting - We'll be running a pea planting demonstration in the Food Pantry bed. Yes, you can plant seeds in March!

The Franklin Community Garden Committee has been hard at work preparing for the garden's third season as we work to add new beds, and bring in new members from the wait list.  We're looking for some new committee members to help us to continue this great community project. 

our page:

http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_BComm/garden

If you are interested in becoming a committee member please contact us via the gardenmail link on the sidebar for additional information.

See You At The Garden!

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Growing In Franklin using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

"Anytime we can save the taxpayers money, I would be in favor of it"

In the Milford Daily News recap of the Town Council meeting on Wednesday, they report on only one agenda item, the proposed refinancing of the high school building project.

Homeowners residing in a property assessed at $353,000 will see a $71 increase on their tax bills in fiscal year 2014 — up from $45 in the prior plan — and a $212 increase in fiscal 2015, up from $85. They will pay $212 again in fiscal 2016, down from $216, and the same amount every year after that until the town covers its debt. 

The preliminary payment method had residents paying an additional $260 in 2017. 

With the plan Nutting presented on Wednesday, taxpayers would over the life of the project pay a total of $5,440, rather than $6,612. 

"I’m very comfortable from where we’re sitting right now," said School Building Committee Chairman Tom Mercer, speaking remotely from China. "Although we have that ... spike, this is really a no brainer; it just saves everybody money."

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1433792874/Franklin-adopts-new-payment-plan-for-new-high-school#ixzz2MqewGDq7

For the full report on the entire agenda of the Town Council meeting, you can visit this link
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/town-council-meeting-030613.html

Poetry Goes to Hollywood

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Poems in Movies   If you didn't get enough poetry from this year's Oscar winning films, take a look at this partial list we've compiled of poems in cinema, including:    Alone by Maya Angelou    from Poetic Justice As I Walked out One Evening  by W. H. Auden    from Before Sunrise One Art by Elizabeth Bishop    from In Her Shoes The Tyger by William Blake    from Blade Runner Kubla Khan  by Samuel Taylor Coleridge    from Citizen Kane Nothing Gold Can Stay  by Robert Frost    from The Outsiders To an Athlete, Dying Young by A. E. Housman    from Out of Africa Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas    from Dangerous Minds O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman    from Dead Poets Society Poem as Screenplay: Six Video Collaborations Poets have long been interested in the cinematic. Here are six video adaptations by filmmakers inspired by poems and the poets who wrote them, including Rita Dove, Allen Ginsberg, Academy Chancellor Anne Waldman, and others. New Lesson Plan: And the winner is... What is the relationship between verse and the moving image? In this new lesson plan students focus on how poetry and film connect, and create their own screenplay in which poetry plays the leading role. The lesson includes poems by Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Bishop, Walt Whitman, and others.       Tell a Friend: Forward this email to a teacher now!  Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter  Join us on Tumblr Featured Poetry Gift:  From our Sponsors:    Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org. Claudia Rankine photo © John Lucas. Video stills taken from Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and Allen Ginsberg's "The Ballad of the Skeletons."

Forward this email Academy of American Poets | 75 Maiden Lane | Suite 901 | New York | NY | 10038