Franklin School Committee News
Edited by Denise Schultz, Vice-Chair
Message from the Chair - Dr. Anne Bergen
“What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy.” - John Dewey
When people begin to believe the myth that public schools are failing in America today, faith and belief in its precious mission is eroded. We can’t let that happen. All of society benefits when the public schools are strong. Within the walls of our public schools are those who will serve on our juries, police our streets, teach our students, create our laws, defend our freedoms, find cures for diseases…..What happens if we decide to no longer support our schools, if we no longer invest in them, participate in them, commit to them? Finland has one of the highest rated educational systems in the world, but here’s an interesting fact: THERE ARE NO PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN FINLAND. The passion, resources and support of its citizens go toward the common good!
The foundation of democracy is our public schools. Thank you so much for your commitment and support.
Public Schools Advocacy (PSA) and Budget Update - Denise Schultz, Chair of PSA
The Franklin School Committee, in partnership with our Superintendent, Dr. Sara Ahern and central office staff worked very hard to steer an open and transparent budget process for FY19. Please visit our "budget" portion of the school committee website for further information here.
Throughout these months of negotiations and discussion on the school budget and the town budget, one item is abundantly clear - tough budget times lie ahead. While FY19 looks to be a level funded budget we have little visibility into FY20 but all the signs point to trying budget cycles. The town has also created an inclusive and thorough budget page which can be found here.
As the Public Schools Advocacy subcommittee, we will be hosting several events in the coming months to discuss our FY19 budget and the budget cycles ahead - ways for you to get involved as a citizen and what to be on the lookout for as we move forward in budget discussions.
The first of these events will be Friday, June 22 at the Franklin Farmer's Market. Dr. Ahern will be joining the Public Schools Advocacy subcommittee from 12 pm - 2 pm to discuss the school budget in Fy19 and beyond. We hope to see you there!
Policy Update from Mary Jane Scofield, Chair, Policy Subcommittee
The Policy Subcommittee (Mary Jane Scofield, Denise Schultz, Monica Linden) has been meeting on a regular basis in an effort to review and update the Policy Manual of the District. The Wellness Policy was revised. A Social Media Policy for staff members is being developed. The proposed policy was reviewed by administrators, and will be reviewed by interested teachers before being sent to the full School Committee for a first reading. Any comments or suggestions will be considered prior to sending the final version of the policy to full School Committee for second reading, and adoption.
Peter Light has been the administrative representative to the Policy Subcommittee since July 2016, and has been instrumental in moving reviews forward. MASC policies, as well as policies from other Districts are reviewed in the development process. Sara Ahern joined our group after becoming the Superintendent in July 2017. The Policy Subcommittee is fortunate to be working with them, as well as Miriam Goodman and Joyce Edwards when appropriate.
The Policy Subcommittee set an ambitious series of meetings to close out the school year, since Peter will be leaving Franklin at the end of June. Best of luck to Peter in his role of Superintendent in Acton-Boxboro! Thank you for your work with the Policy Subcommittee!!
School Start Times Advisory Committee - update from Dr. Monica Linden
Community Relations Coffees!- Update from Gigi Zub, Chair
Carrying on a popular tradition from the previous school committee, our community coffees continue, hosted by Gigi Zub, Chair of the Community Relations subcommittee. There is a year long calendar and planned theme for each coffee, which can be found here.
Our next coffee is Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Franklin Public Library, in the Community Room, 118 Main Street, Franklin.
Hope to see you there!
Monthly Business Meeting Dates - 7 pm, Franklin Town Hall
June 12, 2018
June 26, 2018
July 24, 2018
August 14, 2018
August 28, 2018
Input welcome! To contact us...
Denise Schultz: schultzd@franklinps.net
Full school committee can be reached here: School-Committee@franklinps.net
Email: schultzd@franklinps.net
Website: http://franklinschool.vt-s.net/Pages/index
Phone: 508-612-5950