Financial planning committee issues report in Newton

As we await the report from Franklin’s financial planning committee, one interesting read is today’s Boston Globe story on the presentation delivered by a similar group in Newton. For decades, Newton has enjoyed an enviable reputation for good schools, leafy parks, and close proximity to Boston. But the financial committee told residents that their city is not as great as it used to be. To see the full report in the Boston Globe, click here.

From the perspective of the schools, the committee noted that students in Newton are facing the prospect of underfunded technology, higher fees, and larger class sizes. Like Franklin, Newton’s school system is facing a growing financial gap. To maintain services, the district needs to increase revenue by 5.9 percent a year. The city’s revenue has been growing at about 3.9 percent over the last five years. In its revenue report released in November, the group said Newton’s choices are “more profound than simply increasing revenues or reducing costs. Rather we must consider reductions in the historic scope and scale of municipal and educational services.”

The budget issues facing Franklin and many of the communities throughout Massachusetts bear many similarities. And this story from Newton and the report from its financial planning committee is further evidence that we are not alone. In that respect, we anxiously await the report to the citizens of Franklin.

You can get background information, including the mission and charge surrounding the Newton group, by clicking here.  You can read the complete set of City of Newton reports by clicking here.

Full-day kindergarten facing budget axe in Mass

With the economy in decline, the Boston Globe is reporting that several school districts across Massachusetts are rethinking their plans for full-day kindergarten because of the high fees involved, threatening the state’s recent inroads in making a full day of school available to all 5-year-olds.

Franklin has offered a successful full-day kindergarten program for many years, but with the prospect of $3.5 million in budget cuts for FY10, our community will no doubt also be forced to reconsider the financial viability of the program. For the past several years, the School Committee has been forced to look at all options to reduce its budget. In the last few budget cycles, we have trimmed around the edges. But with no edges left, we must look to the core programs.

According to the Globe report, three-fourths of the state’s public kindergarten students are in full-day classes, compared to roughly a fourth a decade ago. The state has been pushing for more full-day kindergarten classes since it established a grant program for full-day kindergarten in 2000.

Cuts to spending on full-day kindergarten run counter to a growing national view among educators and lawmakers that children need more time in kindergarten to be successful in subsequent years. There is no question that this would be a giant step backwards, but the realities of school financing leave us with few other options.

Over the next several weeks, the School Committee will be discussing all budget cutting efforts and we urge you to stay tuned and participate in the discussions. To read the full Globe report on what is happening outside of Franklin, click here.