MassBudget: A preview of the Fiscal Year 2018 budget challenges

Two transparency reforms would improve the process

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. A Preview of the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Challenges  Our state budget is how our Commonwealth funds the things we do together to strengthen our communities, make life better for our people, and build a vibrant economy. The budget process works best when the choices are clear to everyone and made in as deliberate of a manner as possible, considering long-term issues as well as immediate challenges. As budget writers prepare for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, it appears that the Commonwealth again faces a significant gap between ongoing revenue sources and the cost of maintaining current services. This has been the case for many years in Massachusetts, with a series of budgets balanced using temporary revenue sources and savings initiatives that may prove to be temporary in nature (such as early retirement strategies that can lose their fiscal effectiveness if it turns out that the people who retired need to be replaced). Because the Commonwealth has been using temporary revenue to balance the budget during this period of economic expansion, we have not been able to build up the level of reserves to be prepared for the next recession. We have also seen a pattern of instability, with mid-year budget cuts and, this year, major changes to the budget very late in the budget process. This pattern is caused partly by a lack of adequate transparency in the budget process. Two steps by state government would allow for a significantly more transparent process and, likely, fewer unwanted budget surprises in the future. Continue reading the entire Budget Preview here... 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

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A Preview of the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Challenges - Table 1

Live reporting: Action items through to closing

4. Action Items
a. I recommend acceptance of the ACCEPT Annual Report for 2015-16.
motion to accept, seconded, passed 7-0

b. I recommend acceptance of the BICO Annual Report for 2015-16.
motion to accept, seconded, passed 7-0

c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $5,100.00 from Franklin Music Parents for in-house enrichment for the district.
motion to accept, seconded, passed 7-0

d. I recommend acceptance of the following checks totaling $8,470.90 for FHS as follows:

1. $1,800.00 Music Boosters for in-house enrichment
2. $789.90 All American Publishing for in-house enrichment
3. $50.00 Jesse Southwick for Mr. Kitanosono scholarship
4. $50.00 Lueders Environmental Inc. for Mr. Kitanosono scholarship
5. $330.00 Franklin Music Parents for in-house enrichment
6. $250.00 from various donors for the J Schaeffer Scholarship
7. $1,500.00 from Walmart for in-house enrichment.
8. $3,701.00 from Vicario Studios for in-house enrichment

motion to accept, seconded, passed 7-0


5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
really great news, FHS was cited for the AP honor roll
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/01/franklin-high-school-placed-on-college.html
2 AP classes added this year

2nd Annual Leaping Into Kindergarten Feb 28th

CASEL seminar coming Jan 17

Parmenter principal site visits scheduled for Weds

facilities did some light fixtures at Davis Thayer and elsewhere

Poetry Outloud 7:35 Am at FHS in the morning

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports

• Budget Sub Committee – Dr. O’Malley
• in the budget season, capital requests reviewed
• Jan 31 budget meeting (new meeting) to review budget prioritization and planning in 3rd Fl Training Room

Superintendent Search - 4 candidates to be interviewed Jan 19th 9:30 AM

School Committee Liaison Reports
Community Relations meeting Jan 12 at 7
Newsletter coming after the long weekend


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

7. Motion to Adjourn 
– Dr. O’Malley

motion to adjourn, seconded, passed 7-0

Live Reporting: District and School Improvement Plans

c. DIP/SIP Program Reports – Joyce Edwards

DIP = District Improvement Plan
SIP = School Improvement Plans

Update on DIP and SIP at the School Committee meeting tonight #schcom0110 pic.twitter.com/x6LMtDcj2R

— Steve Sherlock (@FranklinMatters) January 11, 2017

social emotional learning one of four objectives
Peter LIght presenting
working towards a 3X a month lesson on zones of regulation at elementary level
working on a documentary type video to share onw hat is being done in the Social Emotional Learning arena

Bilello - this format is very useful, easy to understand, consistency of the program is a challenge for a district this size; this is a good structure

Joyce Edwards picks up with this section
curriculum is the second objective
all schools working on science

FHS preparing for the NEASC visit on certification in March
K12 curriculum review on physical and health education
state guidelines date back to the 1990's so our work is more advanced than is required

homework policy under review with school committee policy subcommittee

FEA has some interest to work with the District on

climate and culture is the 3rd objective
update provided by Maureen
looking to enhance the feedback so it doesn't come from the principal to the teacher but would mostly come from peer to peer
interest based bargaining underway with the teachers union (FEA)

4th objective is around engagement with the community
Oak St is an example, parents did not understand the programs
the School Council planned for parent workshops to take place before the open house
very active Twitter accounts
can still grow the communication, teachers can be overwhelmed with the introduction of the various tools that are available; looking to go to an all Google platform which also includes a parent portal

Peter Light - I have never meet a harder working staff than what we have here in Franklin. There is a saturation point. we are looking to streamline the platform abudance by getting to Google

Bilello - another budget item where we don't have a full time technology leader or integration specialist to help us navigate through this

Live reporting: Foreign Language Overview

b. Foreign Language Overview – Laura Evans



creating "can do" statements for curriculum
focus on proficiency skills and will be built on from year to year

Shannon Martin - French Teacher

proficiency, and working vertically to achieve this
diverse resources used
one to one device at the high school, esp for technical tools

voice recorders, students record their voice, can review and play back to practice, or also submit to teacher for review

interactive games esp online are good for confirming learning as well as practice

enrichment via Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube used to hep continue learning outside of the classroom

use of authentic materials (rather than the text book)

more students are electing to continue beyond the college requirement

Stephanie Ahern, Emily Day
middle school Spanish Club

Pulsera project sold over 450 bracelets to raise over 2400 for artists in Nicaragua

Loreen and Briana - students at FHS
academic honor society

raised money with recycling bottles and cans, over $1000 raised
planning a Fiesta Friday for the whole school
Spanish themed food and events

Latin National Honor Society
while they don't speak in Latin at the meeting, there are cultural discussions and presentations, sharing interests
a new club (last year)
Saturnalia party held recently
tutoring project
working on a Heifer Project 

national convention held in Boston
whole department was enabled to go

Twitter chats around specific topics help to keep current

would love to see languages start as early as kindergarten
would love to see languages expand beyond Spanish French and Latin

Bilello - something I had not known much about but know that I have a child in the program, there is so much going on. How does starting earlier impact proficiency scores?

Bergen - we did have this program and it was lost over the years. To add more languages, it would require budget money

Jewell - is there any chance where we can have kids go oversees where kids can get immersed in the language?

World Challenge - previously held in the high school self funded by the students (not parents), organized and planned by students, some went to Ecuador, was a life changing experience for those who did it per Peter Light

O'Malley - it is most impressive to me that we don't just teach them and wait for them to come back again. The extension program is wonderfully interactive

Live Reporting: School Committee - Jan 10, 2017

Present: Bilello, Scofield, Douglas, Bergen, O'Malley, Schultz, Jewell
Absent: none


1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments - none
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the December 13, 2016 School Committee Meeting. 
recommend approval, seconded, passed 7-0

Payment of Bills Dr. O’Malley
Payroll Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives

Nicolas Gnaman
a lot going on during the break
basketball event, Coaches vs. Cancer - raised $$$
wrestling, girls swim 4-0
girls track beat Mansfield
Frosh-Soph meeting on Sunday
academic team and mock trial scrimmaging to prepare
OSKEY coming up, planning underway (mid-Mayish)
Central Districts festival this weekend

Alexander Chitarra (absent - sports commitments)

Correspondence: Budget to Actual – Miriam Goodman

2. Guests/Presentations
a. Representative Jeffrey Roy
thank you for the opportunity to be here
sworn in as State Representative for 3rd term

congratulations to Maureen on your wind up
in my ten years on the committee, I'd worked with 4 superintendents
and you were good to work with

bills and priorities as topics for next session
Jan 20 filling deadline for this term

teen sexting bill stall in Ways and Means committee, looking to refile
addressing the situation as a request from the police to provide some options on what charges would be/could be filed against the teen offenders

student data privacy bill being crafted to meet needs of parents and students
don't want to turn schools into marketplaces 

annual physicals include evidence of screening by personal physicians rather than have the schools

looking for a driving course with actual practice sessions rather than just classroom instructions

curriculum frameworks for genocide, civics, and 

conference in Dec, walked away with info on IEP and individualized instruction
to bring it to ILP for all students currently voluntary for school districts

working with the manufacturing caucus
renaissance of manufacturing within MA is alive and well
want to close to universities where innovators are
need 100,000 highly skilled folks but don't have the people ready and qualified for these positions
Tegra Medical is one local Franklin manufacturer that is looking
announcement coming in Feb of program to help with this need

SAFE Coalition working to address opioid crisis

What is happening with the foundation budget?
that requires funding, money is in short supply?
but folks are talking about it

May 7 - Horace Mann statue scheduled for dedication, 2:00 PM

Bilello - thank you for all the work that you do for us and Medway especially with funding for education
technology costs money and it costs to keep it updated

Roy - as part of the student data privacy bill it did contain a provision for a specialist at the school district and it was removed, it is not the best way to spend the local district money

Bergen - thanks for the emphasis on the civics and genicide
bigger mental health issue, counselors 

Roy - human services funding some assistance on student loan repayment

Schultz - what can we do as a SchCom to help the foundation budget discussion?

Roy - keeping an open mind is probably one key, in a discussion on the individualized instruction, how important is class size in that discussion? That is a discussion that needs to take place, consider that. I am not an expert in the science of class size. It is one way to save money

O'Malley - I was here when the foundation budget started in 93 and it was talked of getting fixed in 94, it has been around a long time but hasn't been done? Why? Everything is changing and not to the inexpensive side of things. How can we get the urgency of our voice to the state house

Roy - I assure you that the urgency has been heard, at the same time that this was introduced a series of tax cuts were introduced to remove $3B in tax revenues, there is not any appetite in increasing taxes. Some folks have a glamorous view of what we are getting and we are paying for it. I worked on the road bill, it went to the voters and the $10B bill was turned down. So we now need to fund the roads from the same fund as education. If you are not prepared to pay for these things, you can't come to the Legislature and say what are you doing

O'Malley - the victims of all of this is our children

Franklin High School Placed on the College Board's 7th Annual AP® District Honor Roll for Significant Gains in Student Access and Success

Franklin High School is one of 433 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 7th Annual AP® District Honor Roll. To be included on the 7th Annual Honor Roll, Franklin High School increased the number of students participating in AP courses while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. Reaching these goals shows that this district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP.

"This recognition is evidence of the collective effort our PreK-12 administration and teachers to establish high academic expectations for all students. This is not only a HS honor but it recognizes the efforts of all PreK-12 educators and their commitment to expanding options and opportunities for all students. This distinction reaffirms our core values that a rigorous yet inclusive educational program raises achievement for all students", noted Dr. Sabolinski, Superintendent of Schools.

National data from 2016 show that among black/African American, Hispanic, and Native American students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half are participating. The first step to getting more of these students to participate is to give them access. Courses must be made available, gatekeeping must stop, and doors must be equitably opened. Franklin Public Schools is committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.

"Congratulations to all the teachers and administrators in this district who have worked so tirelessly to both expand access to AP and also to help students succeed on the AP Exams," said Trevor Packer, the College Board's head of AP and Instruction. "These teachers and administrators are delivering real opportunity in their schools and classrooms, and students are rising to the challenge." 

Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors. Many districts are experimenting with initiatives and strategies to see how they can expand access and improve student performance at the same time.

In 2016, more than 4,000 colleges and universities around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement, or both, and/or consideration in the admission process.

Inclusion on the 7th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on a review of three years of AP data, from 2014 to 2016, looking across 37 AP Exams, including world language and culture. The following criteria were used.

Districts must:

• Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4% in large districts, at least 6 % in medium districts, and at least 11% in small districts;
• Increase or maintain the percentage of exams taken by black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native students; and
• Improve or maintain performance levels when comparing the 2016 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2014 percentage, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70% of its AP students earn a 3 or higher.

When these outcomes have been achieved among an AP student population in which 30% or more are underrepresented minority students (black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native) and/or 30% or more are low-income students (students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch), a symbol has been affixed to the district name to highlight this work.

Franklin High School

More information about FHS can be found on their webpage
http://franklinhigh.vt-s.net/Pages/index

More information about Franklin, MA Schools can be found on their webpage
http://franklindistrict.vt-s.net/Pages/index

Franklin, MA: School Committee - Agenda - Jan 10, 2017

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."

Call to order Dr. O’Malley
Pledge of Allegiance
Moment of Silence

the key to learning

1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the December 13, 2016 School Committee Meeting.
Payment of Bills Dr. O’Malley
Payroll Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives

1. Nicolas Gnaman
2. Alexander Chitarra

Correspondence: Budget to Actual – Miriam Goodman

2. Guests/Presentations
a. Representative Jeffrey Roy
b. Foreign Language Overview – Laura Evans
c. DIP/SIP Program Reports – Joyce Edwards

3. Discussion Only Items
none

4. Action Items
a. I recommend acceptance of the ACCEPT Annual Report for 2015-16.
b. I recommend acceptance of the BICO Annual Report for 2015-16.
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $5,100.00 from Franklin Music Parents for in-house enrichment for the district.
d. I recommend acceptance of the following checks totaling $8,470.90 for FHS as follows:

1. $1,800.00 Music Boosters for in-house enrichment
2. $789.90 All American Publishing for in-house enrichment
3. $50.00 Jesse Southwick for Mr. Kitanosono scholarship
4. $50.00 Lueders Environmental Inc. for Mr. Kitanosono scholarship
5. $330.00 Franklin Music Parents for in-house enrichment
6. $250.00 from various donors for the J Schaeffer Scholarship
7. $1,500.00 from Walmart for in-house enrichment.
8. $3,701.00 from Vicario Studios for in-house enrichment

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

• Budget Sub Committee – Dr. O’Malley

School Committee Liaison Reports

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

7. Motion to Adjourn 
– Dr. O’Malley