Greetings to Franklin, Needham and Union townships,
Have you heard the news? On Tuesday, you will have a chance to vote on a referendum ballot question that seeks to invest in the future of our students. How does voting help to invest in our students and community?
•Franklin Schools must be able to attract and retain the very best teachers. Currently, starting teacher salary lags significantly behind almost all neighboring schools districts including Whiteland, Center Grove and Plainfield.
•Franklin Community Schools strives to maintain small class sizes. Without the referendum, class sizes could increase.
•Referendum funding will also be used to improve school safety and expand mental health support
Over the past 10 years, the teachers, support staff and administrators at FCS have worked hard to provide a rich learning environment for all Franklin students. This environment is anchored to our five guiding principles: communication, collaboration, systemic continuous improvement, trust and individual student growth.
During this time, using Six Sigma strategies, we eliminated more than $4 million from the budget while seeing student achievement soar. We won state championships, obtained 19 “A” letter grades for our schools, graduation rates increased 17 percent and had national merit scholars. In the coming years, I am concerned that we will not be able to maintain this strong educational walk moving forward. Today’s learning environment needs great teachers, support staff members, and academic supports to create the best learning environment. This is why we have asked for the community to come along side us. The successes of our students will not happen without strong teacher leaders and support staff directing their journey.
The decision to move for a referendum was clear and necessary, taking into strong consideration each of our Guiding Principles and our district’s mission. As superintendent, I am extremely honored to work alongside some of the very best educators and support staff members in the state. However, the past 10 years have seen significant factors impact our school system: the property tax caps, changes to school funding, small increments of student enrollment growth and separation of salaries for educators. Unfortunately, our school district has been negatively impacted by each of these factors.
As a community, please know we have pushed this referendum question as far down the road as possible. The fiscal stewardship and systemic thinking approach have allowed us to flip every educational stone and rock before asking the community to raise their taxes. Jeff Mercer, CFO, Franklin Classroom Teachers Association, the school board and I have monitored, reviewed and vetted all possible options in order to provide the best learning environment for our students.
Unfortunately, we are in an era where students are struggling with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. One outcome of the referendum will be to utilize mental health professionals to work one-on-one with these students to enrich their educational experience. Now is the time we need to further lean into our guiding principle of collaboration and trust in order to ensure a future learning environment that is rich.
One feature for trust that I would like to share is how we are going to report the success of this opportunity. In order to ensure we are using the dollars as prescribed in the referendum question, and to be completely transparent, FCS will be adding a section to the website to track the referendum expenditures. Additionally, an annual report of the referendum dollars will be presented to our school board and community.
In every community, a synergistic approach to home, school, work and play create a place where communities thrive. Franklin has been this community. What is its future? On Tuesday, every vote will help decide the future. Please mark your calendars and plan to come out and vote“yes” for Franklin’s future.
