FM #1605 - Franklin (MA) School Cmte Mtg - 12/09/25

This session shares the Franklin (MA) School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. All 7 members of the committee were present. Quick recap:FHS Volleyball team recognized for D1 State Championship for first timeStudent Services presentationLink to slides included belowCapital budget presentationLink to slides included belowFranklin (MA) School enrollmentYes, total of Franklin MA and shown where they end up FPS, or elsewhereNumbers mentioned during recent Town Council meeting shown to be in error with these statisticsLink to the 2 page document included belowCitizen CommentsSteve Sherlock stepped up to talk about“Hold harmless” is akin to OPEB, Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) was for years an unfunded mandate that drove every budget discussion until the Town realized that the funding requirement for the Norfolk County Retirement would be fulfilled shortly (now slipped to approx 2035) but then once complete, those funds could be shifted to pay down the OPEB liability. The Town has a plan to fund OPEB. The School can not come up with a plan to fund hold harmless without Town help. There needs to be a plan as part of whatever financial plan the Town puts together.While the Town (and correctly so) touts clean audits, that wasn’t always the case. The current revolving funds policy to maintain a year's worth arose as a result of an audit issue revealed during 2007. Part of the resolution was (1) the hiring of Miriam Goodman in March 2008 and (2) the intro of the policy to keep one year's worth of funds in the revolving accountsAudio of student services available https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/12/insights-into-student-services-how-in.html Community calendar reminder, this week only Weds doesn't have a booster club, youth sports or otherwise a fundraising effort by eating at one of Franklin’s restaurants. Let me know of your fundraising efforts and they can get published on the Community Calendar  Action: To submit a community or cultural event, please use this form:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar entered into Executive Session not to return to open meetingThe recording runs about 3 hours and 45 minutes--------------Additional links to key documents for this sessionhttps://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/12/school-committee-recognizes.html -------------We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.How can you help?If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighborsIf you don't like something here, please let me knowAnd if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we doThrough this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/  or www.franklin.news If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot comThe 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!------------------You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"