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Compiled at the request of Town Council, the 14-page report looks forward five years, offering terse recommendations on what should be done with, or to, each facility. It also lists several pages of recent work orders, all of which were for minor repairs.
America’s first lending library may require more than $2 million in upgrades, including a new HVAC system. Currently, engineers are updating a 2007 study, which looked at balancing structural repairs with the building’s many historic attributes. The Facilities Department will use the results of the study to plan construction.
Much like the library, the David Thayer Elementary School has outdated infrastructure. The Facilities Department has known this for some time, but other matters, such as the new Franklin High project, took precedence.
Organizers readily acknowledge that nothing can replace fireworks on July 4th, but they say they have at least found a creative alternative: a laser light show, set to music, beginning at 10 p.m. on July 3 on the common.
"It’s something that people haven’t seen in the town before," said Warren Revell, co-chairman of the Franklin July 4th Coalition. "Hopefully it draws a crowd to the common. The night of the fireworks has always been a big night, but from what I understand, (the light show) is quite a thing."
During a show expected to last about half an hour, lights will be projected onto a 40-foot screen. People are encouraged to bring blankets, though coolers are prohibited.
The light show is just the beginning of five days worth of events, including the annual parade starting at 2 p.m. on July 7. Vietnam War veteran Robert Gardner, recipient of the Bronze Star medal, has been selected as the 2013 grand marshal.
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One of the top drivers of special education funding is out-of-district tuition – tuition costs associated with students that need to be sent to other private or public specialty programs to meet their needs.
Administrators say costs for day programs can cost as much as $100,000 per student annually, while a residential placement can cost as much as $350,000 annually. Since districts by law are required to educate special education students until they either graduate or turn 22, one or two extremely high-need children can add a strain on a budget for years, while planning is difficult because a new high-need child can move into a district at any time.
State funding "does bring funds back to the district, but not commensurate with the increase of private, collaborative, and public tuition and transportation costs," Milford Superintendent Robert Tremblay wrote in an email.This is also a significant factor for the Franklin school budget and has been for many years. Franklin has taken steps to increase their capability to provide special education services to as many of their students within the district as possible.
Franklin Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski said special education costs in Franklin actually declined by $200,000 this year.
"The strength of our in-district programs and our commitment to co-teaching has enabled our educators to be successful in meeting the needs of students," she wrote in an email.
The Franklin July 4 Coalition Parade Committee has named Vietnam veteran Robert Gardner as this year's grand marshall of the annual Independence Day parade. The parade is set for July 7, 2-3:30 p.m
Fourth of July fireworks displays are an American tradition. Here's a list of local celebrations.
A local education collaborative aims to be among the first in Massachusetts to start a virtual school, when the state begins accepting proposals later this year.
"We need relief," said Framingham School Committee Chairwoman Beverly Hugo, who wrote the original draft and testified at Thursday's public hearing. "Some of these (mandates) are redundant or duplicative."
While some of the requirements - which in recent years have been introduced to address bullying, teacher evaluations, and school nutrition, among other issues - may be necessary to some degree, she added, "there's no analysis that shows whether these reports (submitted by schools) improve student achievement or services to children in the classroom."
What is known, Hugo said, is the cost to districts to fill out thousands of pages of paperwork that are required by the mandates. Framingham, for instance, had to hire several vice principals in recent years to keep up with the greater workloads created by the state's new teacher evaluation system.
In Massachusetts, the law states that children 16 or under have to wear a helmet when riding anything with wheels, according to Manocchio.
The department recently teamed up with Rick’s, 28 West Central St., to promote bike safety through offering a sweet incentive.
Rick Moore, who has owned the downtown restaurant since 2006, said he too often sees kids riding or skating without helmets.
"As a matter of fact," he said, "for every kid with a helmet, I think I see three without helmets."
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| Rick's in Franklin, MA |
For some time, we’ve received complaints that the anonymous commenting system we’ve hosted on our online stories does little to enhance the conversation within our community. The criticism has been that some of the comments are hateful and sometimes, downright objectionable. We heard you and we agree.
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| Milford Daily News comment screen shot 6/29/13 7:20 AM |
A cross-country relay intended to raise money for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings will cross through Mendon and Upton this Sunday.
Franklin High senior Kristi Kirshe has been selected as the inaugural Miss Hockomock, an award given to the top student-athlete of the school year as chosen by the staff of HockomockSports.com. Kirshe captained the soccer, basketball, and girls’ lacrosse teams this past year and will be attending Williams College in the fall of 2013.
This past fall, Kirshe led Franklin to its first-ever Division 1 girls’ soccer state championship and a near perfect record of 22-0-1. During the winter season, Kirshe was the starting point guard on the Kelley-Rex division co-champions and helped lead the Panthers to their second consecutive South sectional final. This spring, she was a starting defender for Franklin, which completed a perfect 11-0 league schedule and advanced to the sectional semifinal.Read the full article on HockomockSports.com
A strong minimum wage helps ensure that Massachusetts workers earn enough to support their families, and it can also help our economy by increasing the amount of money workers have to spend at local businesses. Our new FAQ answers a range of questions about the current minimum wage and includes some of the main findings from our recent minimum wage reports, including:
In addition, we have updated several of our minimum wage tools and factsheets, and made all of our relevant work available through our minimum wage resource page. This includes:
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