“It’s very frustrating and there’s not a lot we can do”

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The track at the high school has yet to be completed nearly two weeks after the contractor’s deadline, making the completed turf field unusable to the football team. 

The replacement project began in late June and was scheduled for completion by Aug. 15. Until the track is completed, the contractors will not allow the use of the field by the football team since it will violate and void the company warranty. 

The reason for the delay is unclear. Representatives from the contractor, Sprinturf, were unable to be contacted. 

Town Administrator Jefferey Nutting said that the contractor must pay a $1,000 penalty for each day past the contracted deadline they fail to complete the job. He also mentioned it takes two weeks to complete the track. This could result in at least a $20,000 discount to the $1.6 million job."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170828/franklin-turf-field-remains-incomplete

the field is empty on Beaver St, the materials are not yet
delivered and ready for installation as of Tuesday evening

a sidewalk has been added for the length of the Beaver St field

11th Annual 9/11 Tribute Dinner

All present and past military service members and families are invited to a special tribute dinner to honor the heroes and victims of 9/11/01. This non-political free dinner is our gift to you.

When: Monday, September 11, 2017
Time: 6:00pm to 8:15pm
Where: DoubleTree by Hilton 11 Beaver Street Milford, MA
Reservations Required by August 31, 2017 at www.thankstoyanks.org

11th Annual 9/11 Tribute Dinner

Election Prep: What does the School Committee do?

While the Town Council approves the overall Franklin budget including the school district, the oversight of the school district is the sole responsibility of the School Committee. They hire the Superintendent, who in turn is ultimately responsible (1) for the hiring of all the other school personnel and (2) the day-to-day management of the district..

Under MA law, the school principals are granted responsibility for all that happens in their building.

All seven positions of the school committee are up for election on November 7, 2017. As of the last notification from the Franklin Town Clerk, there are not yet seven candidates for these positions.


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Note: there was a request to remove this. It is factual and a historical record from August of 2016. 


From the Franklin Annual Report as published last year:

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.

Mission Statement

The Franklin Public Schools, in collaboration with the community, will cultivate each student's intellectual, social, emotional and physical potential through rigorous academic inquiry and informed problem solving skills within a safe, nurturing and respectful environment.

August 2016

Dear Members of the Franklin Community:

On behalf of the students, parents, faculty and community we are pleased to submit this report about the activities and accomplishments of the Franklin Public Schools for the 2015-2016 school year.

Our school infrastructure while aging remains solid. As out buildings age, however, issues continue to arise. Maintaining the school system at the level that our students deserve is a costly full time proposition. We are grateful to the many people who do this essential service for us. The technological structures in our schools are strong and have allowed us to maintain an enviable technological position in our classrooms and administration practices. Our new high school remains a place of pride for our entire community. School age population in our state has declined somewhat this year and this is the case with Franklin yet the population in the high school has increased again this year.

An issue of concern that cannot be ignored is the status of our operating budget. After completing a difficult fiscal year with a budget that was 18 percent below the state average our budget for the upcoming year is a full 20 per cent below the state budget. In the community that produced the great educator and Father of Public Education, Horace Mann the fundamental idea that all children are entitled to a free public education is an essential core value for the community. However, the continued decline in funding will impact the quality of the educational program over time. We need to engage this community at every level in the upcoming months to seek to seek a path forward in this area.

On a more positive note, we had a successful year academically. Our high school was rated a level one school, the highest rating the state awards. Our standardized testing was successful again this year. We implemented the PARCC assessments and will be working on transitioning to MCAS 2.0. Our college bound students were successful in fulfilling their aspirations attaining admittance to competitive schools such as Princeton, MIT, Brown and Cornell.

Athletically our teams performed well in all the sports. Our hockey team, in particular, won the state championship which was a remarkable achievement. Thanks to the help of parents and teachers, our students in all schools received the benefit of some wonderful school clubs and extracurricular activities.

This year we were able to successfully negotiate five employee contracts which will help us smoothly go forward into the future. We are blessed with a dedicated professional staff and a wonderful group of parents and students. We are a good school system on the path to being a great school system. With the support of this community we will get there which is a fitting destination for the community that gave America Horace Mann.

We must close on sad note. Dr. Maureen Sabolinski, our excellent school superintendent has announced her retirement at the end of this school year. In her 8 years as superintendent and over 30 years as an educator in our schools, Maureen has been the epitome of excellence as an educational professional. She leaves behind an outstanding record of accomplishments.

We are unanimous in our praise of this wonderful educator and all she has done for our children and we wish her the very best in her retirement.

As advocates for public education in our town, we extend our sincere appreciation to the parents, the employees and the residents of Franklin for providing support for the Franklin Public schools.

Respectfully Submitted,

Dr. Kevin O’Malley
Chair, Franklin School Committee

Parmenter school sign with the opening week schedule

Download and read the full Annual Report for the Town of Franklin FY 2016
http://franklinma.gov/administrator/files/franklin-2016-town-report

Prior year annual reports can be found 
http://www.franklinma.gov/administrator/pages/annual-reports

FHS Girls Cross Country: "Franklin (has) a trio of top runners in the league"

From Hockomock Sports.com we share

"One annual sign that the new school year is upon us is the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association releasing its preseason poll for the upcoming cross country season. 

This year, three Hockomock teams are ranked. Both the Franklin and Sharon girls squad are inside the top 20 in the Girls Large School Poll while the Mansfield boys team placed inside the top 10 in the Boys Large School rankings. 

...

On the girls side, Franklin comes in at 14th while Sharon is ranked 19th. The Panthers won back-to-back division titles in 2015 and 2016, and with defending Hockomock League MVP Nicole Clermont and classmate Katherine Hartnett (first and second respectively at Hock championships) back for their senior seasons, Franklin is in a good position to go for the three-peat. Ella Gutkowski also finished in the top 20, giving Franklin a trio of top runners in the league."

Read the full article online here:
https://hockomocksports.com/trio-of-hockomock-cross-country-teams-make-mstca-xc-poll/

now a senior at FHS, Nicole Clermont was named "Player of the Week" in October 2016

Franklin Federated Church: Rally Day - Sept. 10

Franklin Federated Church will kick off the program year with Rally Day on Sunday, Sept. 10 featuring a blessing of the backpacks during worship followed by a a catered barbecue cookout.

The day's activities begin at 8:45 AM with Adult Discovery Group, a Bible exploration. Sunday School registration for children preschool - grade 8 begins at 9:30 AM in the church parlor, just inside the front entrance.

Worship is at 10:00 AM. Children and adults are invited to bring backpacks and work bags to be blessed. The catered barbecue lunch will be held immediately after worship.

The day will wrap up with a Family Game Night at the church at 7:00 PM - kids and adults invited to join in the fun.

Franklin Federated Church is a Welcoming and Affirming Church affiliated with the United Church of Christ and American Baptist Churches, USA. ALL are welcome. Learn more at: franklinfederated.org or facebook.com/franklinfederated.

Franklin Federated Church

Election Prep: What does the Town Council do?

The key statement from Town Council Chair Matt Kelly is 

"The Town Council is the holder of all general, corporate, legislative, and appropriations powers of the Town of Franklin."

The Town Council approves the budget and authorizes all spending. One exception is that the School Committee is responsible for managing the school budget after the Town Council approves the amount as part of the overall Town budget. Hence, you'll often hear of the town side and the school side as the two groups provide separate oversight for their area.

The Town Council hires and reviews the Town Administrator. The Town Administrator (Jeff Nutting) is responsible for the daily operations of the Town departments (except as noted for the schools).

The Town Council is the legislative body to approve changes to the bylaws. Usually there is some controversy when the Town Council 'forgets' their legislative role and attempts to intervene in the day to day operations.

There are nine members of the Town Council all elected 'at large' (they represent all the voters of Franklin as opposed to the individual precincts). The Council chooses their Chair, Vice Chair and Clerk in the first session after each election.

All nine positions are up for election on November 7, 2017. Each position has a two year term.

Additional information on the Council, their process and procedures, fiscal policies, meeting agendas, minutes and a host of other information can be found on the Town of Franklin webpage  http://www.franklinma.gov/town-council

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From the Annual Report - 2016

"The Town Council is the holder of all general, corporate, legislative, and appropriations powers of the Town of Franklin. In that capacity, I present a summary of our annual accomplishments.  

Votes in FY 16 include: 

• Approving the FY 16 Capital Plan. The Capital plan appropriated $1,938,607.09 to fund the Capital requests of the Departments of the Town. Requests included Fire Department equipment and a new ambulance, Police department requests for 4 cruisers and body armor. DPW requests including 4 vehicles totaling $272,000, Town and School facilities improvements totaling $240,000 for the schools and $423,000 for the Town, mainly Police Dept. improvements and a Fire Dept. roof upgrade. 

• The Council voted to appropriate $1.8 million dollars for sidewalks on Pleasant and Chestnut Streets. 

• Voted to rezone a portion of West Central Street from Residential 4 to Residential 5.  

• Voted to accept a parcel of land off Prospect Street. 

• Voted to turn over 17 acres of land to the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust for senior housing. 

• Sold town-owned land on Pond Street near Rt. 495 for $1,560,000 for condos. 

• Voted to increase the Senior Citizen Tax Work-off abatement Program from $750 to $1,000 and increased the per hour credit for the Senior Work-off Program from $9.00 to $10.00 per hour. 

• Adopted a tax work off program for Veterans. 

• Voted to refund old bonds, saving $730,000 based on information and guidance from Treasurer Collector, Jim Dacey. 

• The Council created a bylaw to prohibit parking on public property during winter storms to help with snow plowing efforts. 

• Created a bylaw to impose a $25.00 penalty, after a 21 day notice, to anyone who does not allow their old water meter to be replaced with a new and current model. 

• Amended the current alcohol regulations to require all employees of an establishment serving alcohol to have “TIPS” certified training. 

It is my pleasure to serve my fellow citizens and to submit this annual report on behalf of the Franklin Town Council for your review. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Matthew T. Kelly, 

Chairman, 

Franklin Town Council"

Published here at the end of 2016
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/12/annual-report-2016-town-council.html



Download and read the full Annual Report for the Town of Franklin FY 2016
http://franklinma.gov/administrator/files/franklin-2016-town-report

Prior year annual reports can be found 
http://www.franklinma.gov/administrator/pages/annual-reports

the sidewalks along Pleasant St and Chestnut St are complete. Most of Pleasant
was done last year and Chestnut St was completed this summer.

Schools may be ready but Beaver St turf field and high school track not complete

While the schools are ready to open, two key fields are not yet ready.

"Getting ready to kick off the 2017-2018 school year!! Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Ice Cream Social (9/8) and Curriculum Night (9/12)!"

Facebook image from Davis Thayer PCC

The new turf has been laid down at the high school field but the track is not yet complete so access is restricted until it is completed. When remains TBD?

sign clearly forbidding access until the work is complete

turf field in but track not yet laid out

The turf field at Beaver St is also not ready. A retention wall and drainage was still be worked when I was by a week or so ago.

retaining wall being added along the Beaver St side of the field

no new turf yet