Sunday, October 20, 2013

Franklin, MA: School Committee - Agenda - Oct 22, 2013

Vision Statement

The Franklin Public Schools will foster within its students the knowledge and skills to find and achieve satisfaction in life as productive global citizens.

AGENDA

"The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law."

1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the October 8, 2013 School Committee Meeting.
Payment of Bills Mrs. McIntyre
Payroll Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence:

2. Guests/Presentations
a. Presentation of Plaques
b. FEF Presentation and Awards Ceremony – Kit Brady
c. New FHS Technology – Tim Rapoza, Peter Light

3. Discussion Only Items
Dugouts for softball fields at Remington/Jefferson

4. Action Items
a. I recommend approval of the Budget Transfers as detailed.
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $240.00 from the Parmenter PCC for in-house enrichment as detailed.
c. I recommend acceptance of the donation of an iPad for Jefferson Elementary School as detailed.
d. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1125.00 from the Kennedy PCC for field trips.
e. I recommend acceptance of a check for $875.00 from the Kennedy PCC for field trips.
f. I recommend acceptance of a check for $4500.00 from the Jefferson PCC for field trips.
g. I recommend approval for construction of dugouts at the Remington/Jefferson complex as discussed.
h. I recommend approval of the request of Mary MacMurray to take Kennedy 3rd graders to the Veteran’s Auditorium in Providence, RI on April 10, 2014 for a concert as detailed.
i. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1139.37 from the ECDC PCC for in-house enrichment.
j. I recommend acceptance of a check for $703.50 from the Parmenter PCC for a grade 3 field trip.

5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
School Committee Liaison Reports

6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.

7. Adjourn

FEF - Presentation Documents - for the School Committee meeting Oct 22, 2013

As announced recently, the Franklin Education Foundation (FEF) has awarded its latest grants to teachers in the Franklin schools. These awards will be handed out at the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, Oct 22, 2013.

The presentation that outlines the grant process and tells how the functions is as follows:

Sample grants from 1998-2013

The grants for this current 2013-14 school year

The full School Committee agenda can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-oct_20.html

Proposal for dugouts for the softball fields at Remington-Jefferson

On the agenda for the School Committee meeting this Tuesday is a proposal for the installation of dugouts for the softball fields at the Remington-Jefferson school complex.

This document outlines the proposal and includes photo samples of dugouts on other softball fields in Franklin

The full School Committee agenda can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-oct_20.html

Local educators create own economic stimulus

The Tri-County Teachers Association knows it receives a lot of support from parents, students, and others in the community and has found a way to say, “Thanks.”

At 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21, members of the association are banding together to form a “cash mob” and unleashing an economic wallop at Terrazza, 210 Franklin Village Drive, in Franklin.

Terrazza

Cash mobs have become popular vehicles for supporting locally owned businesses. The “mob” selects a shop or business and then arrives en masse with each member committed to spending at least a minimum amount of money agreed upon by the group.

“Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School teachers know that the families in the communities we serve appreciate the work we do with their children. That support is vital in our ability to develop the best programs possible for our students” said Tri-County Teachers Association President Mary Taintor. “We as an association wanted to show our support for the communities that use our school. We know it’s been tough out there for local businesses, so we chose one for our ‘cash mob’ to visit. A lot of teachers like Terrazza, so that became an obvious choice for us.”

More about Terrazza can be found on their webpage http://www.terrazzahg.com/

Franklin Library: Bring Your Own Pumpkin

Monday's craft at the library will be pumpkin decorating. The library will provide the decorations, you bring your own pumpkin!

Bring your own pumpkin

This was re-posted from the Franklin Library
http://franklinpl.blogspot.com/2013/10/krafty-monday-byop.html

Saturday, October 19, 2013

FEF Grants for 2013-2014 School Year Announced

The Franklin Education Foundation (FEF) has awarded 13 grants totaling $24,874 for the 2013-2014 school year to teachers who represent all educational levels in the Franklin public school system. These teachers will be recognized on October 22, 2013 during the Franklin School Committee meeting held at 7:00 p.m. at the Franklin Town Hall.

Since its inception in 1997, the FEF has awarded approximately $300,000 in grants. A committee composed of FEF representatives and teachers read all proposals through a blind review process and selected the recipients. “Consideration was given to need, innovation, impact, and integration with other school programs” stated Kit Brady, President of the Franklin Education Foundation and Chair of the Grant Review Committee.

This year’s recipients are: Franklin High School – Ann Butler, FHS Science Café; Jane Hogan and Brenna Johnson, Artistic cultural installation in the new FHS; John Leighton and Mark Brady (Horace Mann Middle School), USB turntables for conversion of historic records; and Maria Weber, Binoculars for home-based astronomy.

franklined.org/

At the middle school level, recipients are: Horace Mann Middle School – Mark Brady, Rocketry club and educational program; Mark Brady, Rob Vacca, and Trishia Metrick, Settlers of Catan - Middle School History; Erin O'Leary, School-based audio book library; Nicole Wright and Nancy Schoen, Composition commission for middle school combined symphonic band; Shawn Fortin, Expansion of middle school “virtual” online courses; Remington Middle School – Janet Chitty, Nonfiction reading library for English language arts, social studies, and science.

At the elementary school level, FEF awards went to Jefferson School – Kris Carter, Enhancing the Grade K-5 Health Curriculum with Interactive Activities; and Parmenter School – Jean Wolf, K-5 Exemplar Texts; Tricia Capaldi, Educational Materials for Before/After School Academic Support Clubs.

Two yearly events, Casino Night and a Trivia bee, as well as an annual fund campaign, provide much appreciated support from businesses, families and organizations for the FEF grants. To see a list of programs the FEF has funded over the years, visit www.franklined.org. The Franklin Education Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization. All gifts are fully tax deductible.

Dean College: Halloween Happenings for Children

Franklin, MA -- The Dean College Office of Residence Life, Residence Hall Association and Dean Community Outreach will sponsor their third free annual Halloween Happenings event for local community children aged 2-7 years and their families on Sunday, October 27, 2013 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Woodward Hall, 94 Main Street in Franklin.

dean.edu

Children need not wear costumes but are welcome to show them off if they choose. Activities for children will include coloring, games, face painting, snack, movie and Trick-or-Treating. Every child will leave with a bag of goodies. Trick or Treat times are 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Families are welcome to stop by for 15 minutes or an hour. Children need not wear costumes but are welcome to show them off if they choose!

Parking for the building is located in the Dean College Chapman House parking lot on Rt 140/West Central Street. For GPS use 89 West Central Street for location. For more information contact Shannon Overcash Valverde, Director of Residence Life, at 508-541-1838.

In the News: Emily Wood, math meet, plea for leniency

Franklin native to appear on ‘Jeopardy!’

Answer: This local woman will appear on “Jeopardy!” on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Question: Who is Waltham’s Emily Wood?

Local students to compete in math meet

Hundreds of high school students will gather at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for a competition Tuesday, but they won’t kick balls or swing bats.

Lawyer for disgraced chemist in drug lab scandal pleads for leniency

Prosecutors urged a judge Friday to sentence a Massachusetts chemist to up to seven years in prison if she pleads guilty in a drug-testing lab scandal that jeopardized thousands of criminal convictions and cost the state millions. Annie Dookhan, 35, of Franklin, faces a long list of criminal charges, including tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice and perjury for alleging faking test results at a now-closed state lab.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Les Miserables October 18, 19 and 20

For additional information on time and tickets, you can visit their webpage

FPAC - Les Miseables

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/les-miserables-oct-18-19-and-20.html

Candy alternatives for Halloween

We have shared recipes and other good postings from Lisa Leake who writes at the 100 Days of Real Food. Here she spends about 5 minutes with a bit on her local TV morning show talking about how to avoid giving out candy for Halloween.

For more from Lisa visit and subscribe to 100 Days of Real Food http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

Powderly, Dellorco, Roy recognized

Wednesday night was the last Town Council meeting for Tina Powderly, Robert Dellorco and Jeffrey Roy. As State Representative, Jeff had the House prepare proclamations to recognize the work of Tina and Robert and presented these at the Council meeting.

Tina Powderly, Robert Dellorco and Rep Jeffrey Roy

The three individuals also received one of the large displays used to depict the different views of the new high school building.

Thanks to all three for their time and effort volunteering for Franklin!

If you missed what too place during the full meeting Wednesday, you can catch the summary and details here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/ichigo-ichie-cooks-farm-and-bunch-of.html

In the News: Ladybug 5K, drug lab case, vehicle break-ins

Ladybug 5K, kids' fun run this weekend in Franklin

The third annual Ladybug 5K Run/Walk will be held Saturday at Franklin's Kennedy Elementary School.

Plea to be discussed Friday in Dookhan drug lab case

Prosecutors and a lawyer for chemist Annie Dookhan of Franklin, charged in a far-reaching scandal at a state drug-testing lab, plan to meet with a judge Friday to discuss a possible guilty plea.

Franklin police report increase in vehicle break-ins

The police say there has been a recent increase in thefts from motor vehicles and are admonishing residents to lock up.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Ichigo Ichie, Cook's Farm and a bunch of budget adjustments

Ichigo Ichie

The Town Council took up the Ichigo Ichie license suspension in a public hearing on Wednesday night's meeting. You may recall that the initial hearing on Sep 11th lead to a suspension of their license for 5 days. They appealed to the Alcohol Beverage Commission (ABC) and re-opened discussions with Franklin. According to the presentation by Franklin Attorney Mark Cerel, the town usually has an agreement with the party before the hearing. Due to some miss-communications around the consecutive days to be served (actual days in a row, not consecutive Fridays), the prior hearing had been entered into without an agreement. The miss-communication issues were resolved, an agreement was reached, and the appeal will be recinded to close the matter.

What had been a 5 days suspension with 3 days held in abeyance will now be a 4 day suspension with 4 days held in abeyance. The suspension of their liquor license will begin this Friday evening (Oct 18) and run through Monday (Oct 21).

Related posts

August notification of pending hearing
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/08/poor-handling.html

September hearing result
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/09/liquor-license-suspensions-to-be-served.html

Cook's Farm

What had been one of the most contentious discussions of this Town Council ultimately ended with the passage of a set of zoning bylaw amendments each by a 6-1 vote. With two councilors recusing themselves due to relations with the Cook family, and the requirement to obtain a 2/3 majority vote, the 6 votes was the minimum required for passage. The measures had been moved to the second reading by a 5-2 vote putting the measures in jeopardy.

What changed? One can observe that Councilor Roy's defense of the measure as meeting many of the goals and objectives of the recently approved "Master Plan" to be the turning point. There is still no consensus on this time as the Planning Board voted against approving the measures and the lone Council "no" vote had previously declared the same objections. On this day, enough votes were gathered and assuming the remaining steps in the process for approvals both by the town and the backers of the development make progress, then there will be a 35 unit housing development on the property.

Budget adjustments, funding approvals

With the bond sale to fund the new high school completed, the funds received were more than forecast so there were some technical adjustments to the FY 2014 budget which will result in a saving to the Franklin taxpayer. The tax bill increase for the new high school will be approx $35 less than forecasted.

With the Finance Committee endorsements, the Town Council also voted to fund the Senior Center stabilization account, the operational stabilization account, approve funds for paying the ambulance bills, and to hire a technician for the new high school.

This continues the fiscally prudent steps of putting some money aside now to be available later. The second floor of the Senior Center needs to be built out and these funds are accumulating to be able to do so in about 2016. The small house on Beaver St recently purchased by Franklin will be demolished to allow an expansion of the parking lot. This work will begin sooner as it will be required before the second floor is completed and brings additional folks to the Center.

House to be demolished

The full set of notes from my live reporting at the Town Council meeting can be found here

Powderly, Dellorco recognized
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/powderly-dellorco-roy-recognized.html

New sidewalk coming for Panther Way

One of the measures passed at Wednesday night's Town Council meeting was the acceptance of an easement to allow Franklin to install a sidewalk along the Vendetti property on Panther Way.

The sidewalk will improve the safety of walkers along that stretch of the road. Primary use would be for the new high school but the new Sculpture Park will also be a beneficiary.

Looking towards RT 140

Looking towards the Police Station

In the News: Cook's Farm, Ichigo Ichie

The Milford Daily News reports on the Cook's Farm zoning bylaws that passed by a 6-1 vote on Wednesday. Two councilors recused themselves from the topic (Bissanti and Mercer). The 'no' vote remained with Councilor Powderly. The one changed vote from the prior meeting was Councilor Jones.

Opponents of the project had said they believe it runs contrary to the development goals laid out in the updated master plan. However, Master Plan Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy said that the project actually promotes many of the plan’s aims.

"(The project) indeed falls neatly under what we laid out for the town of Franklin," Roy said. "This will provide a very wonderful economic development opportunity."

In the public hearing before the Cook's Farm vote, the Town Council heard a new proposal for the liquor violation at Ichigo Ichie and the back story on how miss-communication had contributed to the issue.

Cerel suggested a four-day suspension with four days put aside for two years unless another offense should occur. If given the lighter sentence, Brazilian said that the restaurant would withdraw its appeal.

The council accepted the new suspension, ruling that the restaurant will not be able to serve alcohol from Friday to Monday.

Franklin Matters