Franklin, MA: Board of Health - Agenda - Aug 5

AGENDA

1) Reading and Acceptance of March 4, 2020, March 17, 2020 and July 1, 2020 meeting minutes

3) OLD BUSINESS

• Chairman opens the floor for any other old business

3) NEW BUSINESS

• Health and Safety School Task Force
• EDS Drive Through Task Force
• Arbovirus Report
• Viewpoint Update

4) HEALTH DIRECTOR’S REPORT

• Chairman opens the floor for any other new business

Google meet connection info contained in PDF of agenda
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d7DQ_ppVX5t-EU25VkqvmYBG6TB4xOW9/view?usp=sharing

Franklin, MA: Board of Health - Agenda - Aug 5

Franklin●TV and Franklin Public Radio - Annual Meeting - Aug 3

Note that we at Franklin TV are holding our own Zoom remote open annual meeting on August 3rd at 7 PM. 

All are welcome to participate and learn about Franklin●TV and Franklin Public Radio, wfpr●fm. 

Our Zoom access code: 823 3600 6836

Franklin●TV and Franklin Public Radio - Annual Meeting - Aug 3

Tracy Novick explains MA school funding for Worcester

Tracy Novick works as a field director for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), and as a parent and resident of Worcester, MA, she was recently re-elected to the Worcester School Committee. She tries to explain the MA school funding formula/process in less than 10 minutes and comes close.

As you listen to this, substitute "Franklin" for "Worcester". We have one charter school, they have several. We have some Title 1 students, they have far more than we do. 

I'd share the school budget numbers to plug in to replace the Worcester numbers but those are influx this year given the circumstances of the pandemic.  You can find the 'current' and prior school budget info on the School Committee page: https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-district-budget

Video link = https://youtu.be/Vf_47iWxUZM

Tracy writes about the Worcester schools http://who-cester.blogspot.com/
For more about MASC  visit https://www.masc.org/

Zooming into the Future, Part 4

A small step forward – toward our new normal 

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 08/02/2020

On Wednesday evening the Town Council conducted its first meeting in Chambers since- uhh- (??) Yes, it was that long ago. We’re on Covid time, and the days, weeks, months are a bit fuzzier without the cadence of the Mon-Fri work week. Working from home is absent the normal familiar boundaries of time and space, doing what we must when we must. However, I am deliberately grateful. I can work. Those who can’t work from home are exposed to the viral threat. Those who have no work are exposed to financial hardship and ruin. I’m exposed to longer hours. I’ll take it. Gratitude is a rare moment in these times. We all owe it to ourselves to seek it.

I found it in abundance among our Town Council members on Wednesday evening. They were grateful to experience some sense of normalcy. They were grateful just to be back doing the work of the Council – in Chambers. They were grateful simply to be socially distanced yet socially together, while also being socially connected to others via Zoom. What is also notable is that they work as volunteers, stepping up and giving of their time in gratitude.

Those of us who can master the art of grace and gratitude for the small things – the things we took for granted – will fare better in our new normal.

And – as always –
Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm. And, thank you for watching.

Find the full program guide for this week  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf
or this copy of the PDF
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yljeA0mlTFbVBI-FRdtRwc-7EzqJvIJi/view?usp=sharing

Zooming into the Future, Part 4

Let’s Laugh Today Laughter Club is Free EVERY Wednesday at 7:30 PM on ZOOM!

Let's Laugh Today Laughter Club is Free EVERY Wednesday at 7:30pm on ZOOM! 

As seen on WCVB Boston CHRONICLE, Let's Laugh Today Laughter Club is on ZOOM! In these challenging times, there is nothing like a good belly laugh to help release stress and anxiety. These laughter exercises and deep breathing help to bring more fresh oxygen into the body and brain helping you feel more energetic and healthy. It's a great way to connect with other people through eye contact while remaining socially distant and it is thoroughly up-lifting and immunity-boosting! 

See www.letslaughtoday.com for link to the free ZOOM Meeting EVERY Wednesday at 7:30pm. All ages are welcome. You will laugh, clap, and breathe! You can sit or stand the entire time. It's a good time to try something new! Led by Certified Laughter Yoga Master Trainers, Bill and Linda Hamaker.

Here is the BOSTON CHRONICLE TV clip in case you missed it. It is three minutes long. https://www.wcvb.com/article/laughter-yoga-is-an-emotional-boost/32972798

Let’s Laugh Today Laughter Club is Free EVERY Wednesday at 7:30 PM on ZOOM!

Veteran Employment And Housing Virtual Walk-In Clinic

Resources Available

• Employment Assistance
• Education & Training Resources
• Housing Programs
• Support Services

*** Visit from any Device***
Join Meeting   https://zoom.us/j/97525135152?pwd=VnpGRGE0Wmd6dmFEUDAxSnkwSWJyQT09

Meeting ID: 975 2513 5152
Password: 819142
Or Call: (929) 205 - 6099

Join Weekly:  Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 1 PM – 2 PM

Hosted by Volunteers of America

Download a copy of the flyer:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yTojlNlDrwHRgg34HhtzbpwwvpTXVCnd/view?usp=sharing

Veteran Employment And Housing  Virtual Walk-In Clinic

In the News: Police chiefs want seat at table; teachers union expresses concerns

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

"Local police say their departments already have access to an accreditation system. Police chiefs have kept the formerly state-run Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission operating since 2004, when the Legislature cut its funding just eight years after its creation. 

Natick Police Chief James Hicks wishes more people understood that television police procedural dramas don’t accurately reflect his profession. 

″‘Chicago PD,’ you see police officers who are skirting the rules, and it’s OK because at the end of the day, they look like heroes, and they save the day,” he said. ”(Actual officers) have to have the highest of integrity ... and they have to understand they’re totally under the microscope, as we should be.” 

Moved by state and nationwide demands for reform following the deaths of people of color at the hands of police, Massachusetts lawmakers have proposed new legislation in recent weeks. Key to state reform is the idea of accreditation – creating a set of standards all police departments will have to follow."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200801/police-chiefs-reform-needed-but-we-should-be-included?rssfeed=true

"Saying school districts had expected state education aid could be cut by 10%, the Massachusetts Teachers Association late Friday called a new local aid level funding agreement a “major victory” and urged districts to recall about 2,000 educators and staff who had received layoff notices. 

“The first thing districts must do is recall teachers and other staff who were pink-slipped due to budget fears,” Mass. Teachers Association President Merrie Najimy said in a statement. “To operate schools under any model will require more staff members, not fewer.” 

The teachers union also expressed concerns about public higher education layoffs and revenue shortfalls and what it called a “hold” on the phase-in of an education funding law passed a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic struck and upended the state’s finances. 

“Although the schools’ budgets weren’t cut, they also did not receive the increases they would have received under the Student Opportunity Act,” MTA Vice President Max Page said. “That act addressed very real gaps in funding for low-income students and communities of color - gaps that are worse due to the pandemic.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200801/state-aid-accord-leaves-teachers-with-victory-but-also-concerns?rssfeed=true