MA Senate Passes Fiscal Year 2019 Closeout Supplemental Budget of $779.8 Million

Senate Passes Fiscal Year 2019 Closeout Supplemental Budget of $779.8 Million

The Senate proposal boosts Rainy Day Fund by $356M

The Massachusetts State Senate passed a $779.8 million closeout supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2019 today, after adding $8.9 million during floor debate. It also includes a transfer of $356 million to the state's stabilization fund, thereby continuing to build the Commonwealth's Rainy Day Fund and placing the state on firmer financial footing.  At approximately $3.2 billion, the fund would reach its highest level to date. 

"I'd like to thank the Senate Chair of Ways and Means, Senator Rodrigues, for his leadership throughout the 2019 fiscal year budget process, and thank all of the Senate members for their thoughtful contributions to this final closeout supplemental budget," stated Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). "I am proud of the commitment to education funding, early voting, transportation improvements, community-based Family Resource Centers, workforce development and public health that this supplemental budget represents."

"With today's passage of this supplemental budget, the Senate is responsibly closing the books on Fiscal Year 2019," said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.  "While bolstering our Rainy Day Fund, we make a number of meaningful investments to increase educational opportunity, improve our state's aging infrastructure, confront worsening congestion, reduce our carbon footprint, and address public health issues relative to Eastern equine encephalitis and toxic PFAS chemical contamination."

The Senate's supplemental budget furthers the chamber's commitment to ensuring all children have access to greater educational opportunities. Consistent with the Senate's long-standing support of increased investments in education, the supplemental budget dedicates $50M to fund educational programming costs associated with the Student Opportunity Act. In addition to increasing educational opportunities, the Senate's budget ensures student safety and mental well-being through separate $10M investments in both school behavioral health services and enhanced public school safety and security measures, respectively. Additional education investments include:

·         $30M for targeted assistance for school improvement

·         $20M for the Endowment Incentives Program for public higher education institutions to provide an incentive for campuses to leverage private contributions

·         $10M for campus safety and security infrastructure grants to institutions of higher education

·         $5.1M to assist school districts with regional school transportation costs

·         $2M for special education circuit breaker reimbursements

·         $1M in rural school aid

The Senate's closeout budget makes a number of targeted investments to help communities update aging transportation and water infrastructure, and improve public health.  The supplemental budget invests $60M in Chapter 90 funding to support improvements of local roads and bridges. It also provides $5M for a new pilot program to tackle increased traffic congestion, which is currently threatening quality of life and access to jobs. Additional investments to support our communities include:

·         $50M for the MBTA capital acceleration program

·         $35M for the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust to help finance improvements to local water systems

·         $28.4M for targeted per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination remediation of public water supplies and ongoing monitoring

·         $5M for culvert and dam repairs

·         $5M for costs associated with mosquito spraying to reduce the risk of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE)

·         Authorizes $5M in grants for de-leading projects at early education facilities, childcare centers and elementary schools

The Senate's budget addresses the pressing issue of climate change by investing $5M for a program to provide consumer rebates and other economic incentives to reduce carbon emissions. In addition, the proposal dedicates the use of $32M in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) funds per fiscal year to promote the purchase and lease of electric vehicles, and to support the Green Communities program through December 31, 2021.

Finally, the supplemental budget reinforces the Senate's belief that voting is key to a healthy democracy by authorizing an early voting period for the 2020 presidential primary, to begin on Monday, February 24, 2020 and end on Friday, February 28, 2020. It also funds $1.25M for early voting implementation.

Other Notable Spending Items

The supplemental budget passed by the Senate today commits $3M to bolster a network of community-based Family Resource Centers that offer a wide range of family, child, and community based services. It also provides an additional $3M for grants to support the agriculture, commercial fishing and cranberry growing industries, vital components of the Commonwealth's economic fabric.

Finally, recognizing the need to prioritize public safety and raise awareness about incidences of hate, the Senate's closeout budget provides $1M for a statewide grant program to secure non-profit institutions at risk of terrorist attacks, and $400,000 for a new statewide grant program focused on the prevention of hate crimes in public schools.

The closeout supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2019 passed by the Senate also includes:

·         $20.5M for the Chapter 257 rate reserve to support workforce development in the human services sector

·         $16.4M for program and facility improvements related to section 35 of chapter 123 civil commitments

·         $16.3M for the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund

·         $10.1M for homemaker and home health aide rate add-ons

·         $10M for the creation of extremely low-income housing units through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund

·         $9.9M for nursing home facility rates

·         $8.7M for National Guard tuition and fee waivers

·         $5.7M for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), including $3.8M to provide representation in underserved parts of the Commonwealth

·         $5M for gun violence prevention grants

·         $4M for Regionalization Incentive Grants

·         $3.4M for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund

·         $1.25M for Early Voting

·         $630K for Mass Rehabilitation Commission assistive technology

·         $195K for shark tagging and monitoring in the Cape Cod region

In addition, the supplemental budget authorizes the growing of hemp on Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) land. 

The Senate's Fiscal Year 2019 closeout supplemental budget will now be reconciled with the House's version, which was passed last week.

Upcoming Events in Franklin, MA: FRI - Oct 25 to THU - Oct 31

Fri Oct 25, 2019

10am	Franklin Art Association’s Showcase
10am	Knitting Group
10:30am	Happy Feet
12pm	Farmers Market
7:30pm	FPAC presents "Matilda the Musical"

Sat Oct 26, 2019

9:30am	Franklin Police Assoc: 5K Foot Pursuit
10am	Franklin Historical Museum (Always free)
1pm	Girls Who Code
2pm	FPAC presents "Matilda the Musical"
7:30pm	FPAC presents "Matilda the Musical"

Sun Oct 27, 2019

1pm	Franklin Historical Museum (always free)
2pm	FPAC presents "Matilda the Musical"

Mon Oct 28, 2019

10am	Franklin Art Association’s Showcase
10:30am	Move Along
3:30pm	D&D for Kids
7pm	Library Board Meeting

Tue Oct 29, 2019

9:30am	Cool Cruisers
10am	Franklin Art Association’s Showcase
10:30am	Get Ready for Kindergarten
7pm	School Committee meeting

Wed Oct 30, 2019

10am	Franklin Art Association’s Showcase
10:30am	Terrific Toddlers
6:30pm	Luigi Galleani: Wrentham's Firebrand Revolutionary

Thu Oct 31, 2019

	Halloween
9:30am	Baby Tummy Time
10am	Franklin Art Association’s Showcase
10:30am	Story Xplorers
4pm	Bookworm Bounce Storytime!
5pm	Franklin Historical Museum (always free)
6pm	Teen Murder Mystery Party (Community Room)

For the interactive version, please visit

https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

For the Town of Franklin Public Meeting Calendar

https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar

Submit an event for the Community Calendar, please use this link

https://www.franklinculture.org/things-do/links/submit-event

Upcoming Events in Franklin, MA: FRI - Oct 25 to THU - Oct 31

FM #179 - Franklin Candidate Interview - Robert Dellorco

FM #179

This internet radio show or podcast is number 179 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This recording shares the candidate interview with current Town Councilor Robert Dellorco. Conducted in the studios of Franklin TV and Radio, this is a product of the collaboration with the local cable and radio operations.

We reviewed the following questions, some of them were ‘crowd sourced.’ Some of you may remember the call for input solicited in August 2019 for this election. Thank you for your contributions. Hopefully, the information provided here, and in the other interviews, will enable a good choice among the candidates for each position.

• There are and have been many opportunities to volunteer with community groups in Franklin. Have you taken advantage of any of these? Which ones, and why did you choose that/those?
• Where do you get your news about Franklin?
• For all those running for Town Council: We are in a constant water shortage. We are adding to our population and increasing out need for water. Given that all those who live in Franklin draw their water from the same aquifer, do you support a ban on using water for what I will call cosmetic use (lawn watering) during water shortages, even for those with a private well? If not, why not, considering that those with private wells are still dangerously affecting our water level for uses other than vanity? Or put simply: Do you support the private use of wells for lawn irrigation at times when the town's aquifer is dangerously low for use by the community for essential use in homes and fire prevention?
• What degree of development do you feel is appropriate for Franklin, and how would you balance the need for affordable housing, with the need to avoid congestion?
• The Town Administrator has suggested that Franklin needs to pass an override measure. What actions will you take to support the passage of this measure?
• Why should I vote for you?

Let’s listen in to the conversation on these questions with Robert. The interview itself runs approx 18 minutes.  https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HXbQxyzX



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This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but I can't do it alone. I can always use your help.

How can you help?

Overall:

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors.
• If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.
Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

FM #179 - Franklin Candidate Interview - Robert Dellorco

Both FHS girls and boys soccer teams top Oliver Ames by 2-0

Via HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the FHS fall sports action on Thursday, Oct 24, 2019

** Boys Soccer = Franklin, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 0 – Final
– Franklin scored once in each half, including a late insurance goal, to pick up an impressive win on the road at Oliver Ames. “It was a very good game for us, we finally played for the full 80 minutes,” said Franklin head coach Fran Bositis. Sophomore Terry O’Neill finished off a free kick from Sam Stowell to put the visitors up in the 11th minute. Ben Moccia sealed the win with a goal in the 74th minute, assisted by Donny Tappin.

** Girls Soccer = Oliver Ames, 0 @ Franklin, 2 – Final
– Sydney St. Marie broke a scoreless deadlock seven minutes into the second half and the goal held up as the game-winner for the Panthers. Carly Alston assisted on the opening goal and then sealed the game with a goal of her own 10 minutes later, assisted by Chloe Barca. Breanna Atwood made seven saves to earn the clean sheet, while OA goalie Emma O’Donnell made eight saves in the loss. Leah Johnson and Emma Pereira and Olivia Carroll had strong games for OA.

For other results around the Hockomock League
https://hockomocksports.com/thursdays-schedule-scoreboard-10-24-19/

Both FHS girls and boys soccer teams top Oliver Ames by 2-0

Franklin Candidate Interview: Andrew Bissanti

I sat with Andrew Bissanti recently to discuss the following questions regarding his candidacy for the Franklin Town Council.

Some of you will recognize the questions as these were collected from the survey we shared in August. While many submitted questions were similar, I tried to select 6 for each Town Council and School Committee candidate that would help to present them to you all, my fellow voters.

As I have shared in prior years, the candidates do get to review the output before it is published but I retain final editing rights. Interviews with candidates are not an exercise I take lightly; it matters greatly to our community to get accurate information from our candidates to enable voters to make an informed decision to run our government.

For the following FM presents the question. AB represents Andrew's response.

FM = There are and have been many opportunities to volunteer with community groups in Franklin. Have you taken advantage of any of these? Which ones, and why did you choose that/those?

AB = I've been involved with the Franklin Downtown Partnership. I enjoy Fishing and Working our Monthly Pancake Breakfasts you see on Facebook at the Franklin Rod and Gun Club and I am a member of the Franklin Elks. My two grandchildren live with me now, and their activities have kept me busy too, it's like Yogi Berra said; "it's déjà vu all over again.”

FM = Where do you get your news about Franklin?

AB = This is my first year back on Facebook, I do jump in on All About Franklin. I read
about six newspapers online Daily. I get some news info via word of mouth and friends
on the local boards and departments. I'm very involved in the town. I have a network of
friends we basically share a lot of what we know and hear. Communication is important.

FM = For all those running for Town Council: We are in a constant water shortage. We are adding to our population and increasing out need for water. Given that all those who live in Franklin draw their water from the same aquifer, do you support a ban on using water for what I will call cosmetic use (lawn watering) during water shortages, even for those with a private well? If not, why not, considering that those with private wells are still dangerously affecting our water level for uses other than vanity? Or put simply: Do you support the private use of wells for lawn irrigation at times when the town's aquifer is dangerously low for use by the community for essential use in homes and fire prevention?

AB = During the Harvest Festival, I was approached by a few residents. A lot of people
doing their homework on this, and they know that it's not a supply problem, they address it as a distribution problem. When I was on the council, I actually called in a hydrologists. I also called in a consultant that the town had actually worked with at one time. He explained the problem. We discussed his calculations, Brutus Cantoreggi and his staff met with us. He explained the problem is like a straw in a full glass. If you only have one straw in the glass only one person will get a drink of water. And that's basically the problem. Laurie (Ruszala) came to the meeting and she had suggested that the private wells should also adhere to the water ban. That was discussed at a public meeting. Although it was not well received initially, it probably could be further discussed until we get repairs further under way on our well heads. 

Candidly, although I have an irrigation system in my yard, off a private well, I don't use it. The system needs tremendous water pressure for all those heads to pop out. Sprinkling can be spotty, and my lawn stays green most of the season without it. I would have no problem for extending the water ban to the private wells.  However, I get that owners with private wells and expensive irrigation systems may want to water their lawns by right. I think, if I got back on the council, first thing I'd want to do is sit down with the DPW and just get the whole big picture story. You know what I mean? Because I'm just seeing bits and pieces. I just read the other day on Facebook; this lady was saying; "my water is red." What's going on?

FM = What degree of development do you feel is appropriate for Franklin, and how would you balance the need for affordable housing, with the need to avoid congestion?

AB = I hate to sound like a broken record, but my views on development changed
dramatically. And it's not a matter of a pro-growth or no growth. But balance, overall, I just think that we cannot sustain the typical one acre, three or four thousand square foot, four bedroom house in Franklin. The million dollar home does not sustain our tax rates. Fourteen dollars and sixty cent tax rate. So do the math. That's like fifteen thousand dollars in tax revenue. Guess what? That doesn't even put one child through school. Not to mention the other three bedrooms. Where are those kids going to go? I mean, we have to think about smart growth, smaller homes, less bedrooms, private roads, inclusionary affordability, and inclusionary open space.

This kind of building and zoning creates balance, if you want to build in Franklin, you've got to give back. Give us some open space, and give us some affordable housing. I'm not saying give away the funds, but make three or four of those houses affordable. So that our kids and my kids can move to Franklin. Give us some open space. Because guess what? You don't have to use every inch of that land. You're still going to make money. It's being done in other parts of the country. So inclusionary open space, inclusionary affordability. It's not the end of the world.

Can we talk about water, sewer moratoriums? I've talked to this with other councils. I think the last time we did try something like that, the town got sued. We may have to talk with the town attorney and see what we can do. Balance is the answer. Through good zoning. We are safely way over our 10% limit for 40Bs we are at like 12% so no worries there. We won't be seeing anymore forced on the town for some time.

FM = The Town Administrator has suggested that Franklin needs to pass an override measure. What actions will you take to support the passage of this measure?

AB = I think ultimately what's going to happen is the council is going to push the override to a ballot and let the people decide. That seems to be rhetoric from the existing council right now. I think it's only fair that way. I want to make a rational decision. How it's going to affect dollars, and the people of Franklin. Whatever the greater good is for Franklin. I don't want to see services to the town and infrastructure suffer .Careful study and examination and reporting will and is being conducted and we will have more facts soon.

FM = What do you say to the voter who asks: Why should I vote for you?

AB = Well, I spent six years on the Town Council. I bring experience. I possess a skill set and knowledge of zoning and development which is needed on any council. We all had a certain synergy on the council. The council would often turn to me on zoning questions. We would also work together on numerous other. We had a great synergy working together on various issues.

I liked my rapport with the Fire Department, and the DPW. The nature of my job is out there in the streets. I'm always talking to people. I have good communication skills with people. I try to get along with everybody. I had a good rapport with the administration. I would always be upstairs finding out what's going on. I do bring that line of communication to the council. I would also talk to my Council brothers and sisters all the time. We always enjoyed a good relationship with the School Committee. I look forward to working together with the dynamics we enjoyed. I headed up the Land Use Committee for the Master Plan.

I have many new visions for a new council going forward, including addressing open space, the water ban and continued vigilance of the opioid crisis. As a father and a grandfather, raising two grandchildren, I have a continued interest in our schools and their issues. I’d appreciate your vote on November 5.

Franklin Candidate Interview: Andrew Bissanti

Find the election and candidate information gathered in one place on the Election Collection
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2019/07/franklin-election-collection-2019.html 
 

Franklin Residents: Beaver St. Detour October 25 - 27

"Beaver Street will be closed to through traffic at the railroad tracks from Friday evening 10/25 through Sunday afternoon 10/27.

Motorists attempting to access the Beaver Pond athletic fields and the Town of Franklin Transfer station will need to access Beaver Street via Grove Street."

Franklin Residents: Beaver St. Detour October 25 - 27 - alternate route

Franklin Residents: Beaver St. Detour October 25 - 27

This was shared from the Town of Franklin page
https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/beaver-st-detour-october-25-27

Subscribe for your own alerts/notifications via email
https://www.franklinma.gov/subscribe

LiveARTS String Quartet in Concert on Nov 3

Presents The LiveARTS String Quartet in its 10th Anniversary Concert Katherine Winterstein, violin Gregory Vitale, violin Donald Krishnaswami, viola Jan Müller-Szeraws, cello Performing music by Beethoven, Bartok, and Borodin THREE GREAT STRING QUARTETS! Sunday, November 3 3:00 PM Join us for a pre-concert talk at 2:30 PM by Dr. Ann Sears, Chair of the Music Department, Wheaton College LiveARTS concerts are held at The First Universalist Society in Franklin 262 Chestnut Street Franklin, Massachusetts Tickets $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, students by donation Tickets available at the door or on our website – liveartsma.org The building is completely accessible. Doors open at 2:20 p.m. Parking is free. For more information about LiveARTS, please call 774-571-7920 or visit our website. Copyright © 2019 LiveARTS, Franklin, Massachusetts, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: LiveARTS P.O. Box 678 Franklin, MA 02038

Franklin Candidate Interview: Elise Stokes

I sat with Elise Stokes recently to discuss the following questions regarding her candidacy for the Franklin School Committee.

Some of you will recognize the questions as these were collected from the survey we shared in August. While many submitted questions were similar, I tried to select 6 for each Town Council and School Committee candidate that would help to present them to you all, my fellow voters.

As I have shared in prior years, the candidates do get to review the output before it is published but I retain final editing rights. Interviews with candidates are not an exercise I take lightly; it matters greatly to our community to get accurate information from our candidates to enable voters to make an informed decision to run our government.

For the following FM presents the question. ES represents Elise's response.

FM = There are and have been many opportunities to volunteer with community groups in Franklin. Have you taken advantage of any of these? Which ones, and why did you choose that/those?

ES = Franklin has so many wonderful community groups! As a working parent, I balance my time commitments to ensure I’m able to give enough attention and energy to the things that matter most to me at this point in my life. For me right now, that’s education. My kids went to Franklin Children's School for pre-school, so I volunteered on the Board of Directors there for 3 years. I liked getting involved that way, getting to know the school and the families; we still keep in touch with many staff and families from their preschool days!

For the last two years, I have volunteered for the Davis Thayer School Council and that experience has been helpful in understanding the school improvement plan and how it's being implemented. We also worked together on the homework policy, family engagement, and “Portrait of a Graduate”. I was able to share a parent voice in our discussions. I also volunteer with the PCC; helping out at Field Day, at the dances, etc. Some other volunteer activities that I enjoy are reading books in the classroom, shelving library books, making copies.

Really all my volunteer work in Franklin has been school-based. I appreciate the schools and I choose to spend my (limited) free time helping out however I can. If elected to school committee, I’ll look forward to shifting my volunteer efforts to collaborate with fellow school committee members to support the district’s work of educating the next generation.

FM = Where do you get your news about Franklin?

ES = Obviously, Franklin Matters is a main source of Franklin news. I flagged it to be the first thing in my newsfeed on Facebook which is really helpful. Also, I feel fortunate to have a lot of highly educated and informed folks who can help me get the pulse on things that are happening. Then I can dive deeper to get more information later. I also go to the School Committee web page, and that has all the news related to school committee.

FM = The possibility of a change in school start times was a recent controversial topic taken up by the School Committee. Where do you stand on the issue of school start times in Franklin and what actions do you plan to take around this issue during the next term of the School Committee?

ES = I give credit to everybody who was on the school start times committee, they did so much work and spent so much time (all volunteer hours) and that dedication is so important. However, there were so many things that made the school start times issue really polarizing within the community. The way the proposal was written, I wouldn't have supported it if I was on the School Committee at the time. If implemented as designed, there would have been negative effects on the elementary school students, childcare after school, middle school clubs, high school after school jobs and sports, availability of rink time or gymnastic time, and other factors.

I understand the research on sleep. I know how important it is for a variety of reasons, for everybody in general. I do a lot with sleep hygiene with my own kids, with myself, and with kids that I work with in schools. Bedtime routines are so important. Not just Monday through Thursday but every night, and every morning. It can be an uphill battle but there are a lot of strategies that can help. It would be beneficial to educate the parents and guardians about sleep hygiene, and educate the teens and kids themselves at all levels, to give them an understanding of the importance and strategies that help. I think this is an opportunity for family education outside of school: How can we make that work with help from community resources? I think there could be a lot of creative problem solving around involving different agencies, not just the school having to bear the brunt.

I'm a curious and thorough person and I use data to help guide decisions. I would like to be part of the start time conversations. It takes time to do research and reach out to the community, it takes a lot of time! I would like to help ensure that's happening in an efficient way for everybody.

FM = While the current School Committee has attempted to reach the community through various forms of communication including coffee chats, email newsletters, attending events such as the farmers market, etc., they have been generally unsuccessful at increasing the engagement with important issues related to the schools. What actions will you take to increase citizen engagement with the School Committee?

ES = The school start time issue in a way was a real blessing because it made people pay attention. Because it was so polarizing and it gave people a sense of urgency like: “Oh no! if I don't get involved, this could happen and really affect my finances, my kids, my job,” etc. That's sort of scary. You do need a sense of urgency; you have to have something that's going to drive motivation to change and become more involved.

I've done work with school districts that have high poverty rates and families dealing with trauma. I know this is not Franklin’s majority, but all families should be considered when we talk about engagement. A helpful incentive to engage families is to offer childcare and food. The schools that get higher parent engagement at meetings and events offer childcare and food. It meets the basic needs of families. They're offering childcare at some town meetings in Medfield now. I want to find out details; how is Medfield doing it? Can we not reinvent the wheel; can we have childcare, and food, and get more people to meetings? Franklin High School students need community service hours, could that be an option?

Also, in general, how do we make people feel like that they are welcomed and are not intimidated to speak? How do we make people feel like they're a part of this community? That they have an important voice? We can try different things; look at other towns and see what they're doing. We can learn from other situations and replicate successful components. I'm open to ideas. I like creative problem solving.

FM = The Town Administrator has suggested that the School Committee investigate the possibility of closing Davis Thayer Elementary as a possible cost-saving mechanism for the town in these tight economic times. Where do you stand on this issue and what actions will you take to support your stance?

ES = Both my kids go to Davis Thayer; I love Davis Thayer. I have friends and neighbors that work and volunteer there. I volunteer there. I think one of the things that strikes me the most is the positive school climate at Davis Thayer. For work, I go into districts in MetroWest and across the state, so I have a wide perspective to compare. When entering a school building, you can feel the school climate. Whether it's a really positive, nurturing, welcoming school climate or whether it's rigid, or whether the kids and teachers don't care. You can feel it. When you go into Davis Thayer you feel the school, it’s really powerful, warm, and nurturing. They really know those kids, love those kids, and do a great job teaching those kids. The recent MCAS shout-out was really important and validating to all of the Davis Thayer staff.

Personally, I would love to keep Davis Thayer open. But the decision is not up to me. It takes time, lots of voices, and lots of data, to get all the information for a big decision like that and I think it's worth taking the time to do it right. I don't have a personal agenda coming into the School Committee. Even if I got elected, I'd be one of seven. I’d work together with the other members to share perspectives and data and come to consensus.

There have been whisperings for decades about closing Davis Thayer, and there are lots of emotions surrounding that issue. It comes down to the numbers: budget, enrollment, population projections of who's moving into all the new construction being built everywhere in town. I think it's important to hire an outside consultant that specializes in this and really looks at these numbers. Then of course looking at the actual building structure and how much it would cost to bring it up to code. It's not ADA compliant and the safety features need to be updated. Can we make it work without just putting a Band-aid on it? It's a beautiful building, it has so much history and it has such a culture. It’s important to this district. It would be hard to close. But we have to look at the data.

I want to be part of that data process. I want to make sure that the question is clear, the measures are sensitive, the data collection is valid. I want to be sure everything is really tight. Once we go through that process, the resulting data will tell the story. We want to make sure the community is involved the whole time, that our methods are transparent and communicated to the stakeholders. People don't like change and people certainly don't like surprises. This is an emotional issue that will hopefully motivate people to engage in the process.

Elise’s Closing Statement

“I grew up on the Southcoast of Massachusetts. When I became a mom, I decided to move my family to Franklin because I know the value of a strong school district. I chose to buy a small home here, instead of a bigger house in another town, because education is my priority. My kids are now in 1st and 4th grades in the Franklin schools. We love this community and can’t imagine being anywhere else!

I’ve worked in the field of education for 20+ years. At the start of my career, I was an inclusion classroom teacher at the early childhood level. I’m also a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, a trainer for The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) Leading Educational Access Project, and I completed the DESE Special Education Administration Licensure. Before I had kids, I worked extra hours at UMASS Medical School, designing and implementing grant-funded parent education courses in Autism education and healthy habits for teens with Down Syndrome. At the graduate level, I taught courses in special education and ABA as an Adjunct Professor at Endicott College, and I was a fieldwork supervisor for BCBA candidates at Simmons College.

My current work as a consultant to school districts is built around collaborating with district administrators to assess and customize support to meet their needs (including consultation, coaching, program evaluation, professional development). I’m grateful to work with districts in MetroWest and beyond. My work emphasizes Social Emotional Learning and prioritizes authentic connections between staff and students: because without connection, no real learning can occur. Through my work, I’ve developed a keen understanding of how school districts operate. From the inside, I’ve seen how other districts manage educational issues and trends, and that perspective is invaluable to me as a parent, professional, and school committee candidate. That background knowledge, paired with the strong connections I’ve made with Franklin families, school staff, and community members, would certainly be an asset to the Franklin School Committee.

I have grown a wide social network here in Franklin, and I’m a good listener. I’m looking forward to working closely with community members and collaborating with the other members of the School Committee to help support the district to achieve its Mission to educate our next generation.

I’m STOKED to run for School Committee!”

* Note: for those counting, yes there are only 5 questions for Elise. The 6th, which I forgot to include in the conversation, is actually covered with her closing statement so we got to the same end.

Franklin Candidate Interview: Elise Stokes