Franklin Today

Q&A with creator of petition to address FPS staff concerns

Over the past few days I was encouraged to learn more about the residents supporting an online petition that seeks to preserve certain staff positions within Franklin Public Schools. These staff cuts were being proposed in the 2010-2011 budget as a partial response to address a shortfall in FPS of $1.6 million.

I contacted Wendy Higgins, who is leading the efforts both online and in person to save these staff positions, and asked her some real basic questions. There are times where the simplest of questions turn out to be the most useful in terms of knowledge and information. After the jump will be the Q&A.

Jump Zone slated to open April 30th

On its Facebook page, Jump Zone posted the following:

We are so excited to announce our GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION. Festivities will be Friday April 30th 5-8pm & Saturday May 1st 1-4pm. Admission will be only $5 & the first 100 paid admissions will receive a FREE JZ T-shirt. We are now taking online party reservations. Parties booked before May 16th will be 10% OFF.

Welcome to Franklin, and hopefully the business will be a huge success!

A Loomis & Rawson update

I recently noticed that the "For Sale" sign on lands currently being filled in with dirt near the Rawson Ave. bridge on Loomis was taken down. Because of this new development, I decided to check up on the property's website, which real estate broker CBRE is marketing. Lo and behold, a surprise awaited me! You'll see what I mean after the jump.

Spring political campaigns are on their final push

With April 6th only 11 days away, expect candidates to be out and about this weekend, when the weather is nice and especially when next weekend is Easter Weekend and the kickoff of Spring Break for many families.

FranklinNOW has provided all their election coverage on their website. You can access it directly by clicking this link. This year, three residents wrote letters to the editor in support of candidates. Personally, I was expecting a little more!

If your family is scheduled to be out of town on April 6th, remember that you can always vote absentee! Just stop in Franklin City Hall anytime during normal business hours and ask for a ballot. It's very convenient and allows you to still have a voice in the elections.

Petition launched to curb staff cuts in FPS

To address a $1.6 million budget shortfall, Franklin Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Steve Patz has made several significant cuts in the district, including cuts in staff. With this in mind, one concerned citizen isn't going to accept these cuts without a fight. This citizen, Wendy Higgins, has launched her own online petition that takes her pleas to the taxpayers of Franklin in an effort to convince FPS to avoid taking drastic cuts.

The petition currently has 60 signatures, and it is unknown at this time if Wendy is collecting signatures directly from residents. An issue I see as a huge hurdle for her to overcome is the fact that taxpayers are (and have the right to be) choosy over what departments and budgetary items should be preserved and maintained and which ones can afford to be cutback for the time being. For example, when residents have approached me to discuss school district-related items it mostly focuses on when an auditorium will be built at the high school. I haven't heard parents express concern or frustration over staff cuts in areas such as guidance other than what has been shown in Wendy's petition.

Bottom line to this is rather simple - if Wendy succeeds in preserving staff slated to be cut this upcoming budget, where will the money be coming from to support it? Will there be a different area or department in the school district that would need to be cut in order to have the current staff complement?

While I support the concept of having guidance counselors in our schools to help our children, I don't feel confident that the 2010-11 school district budget will be modified to be a little more kind to this particular section.

Residents turn out for aldermanic debate

Last night, the Wisconsin Grandsons of Liberty hosted an aldermanic debate at Root River Lanes. Thanks to flyers that were in paper boxes in the 1st and 5th districts over the weekend promoting the event, the room used for the debate was pretty full. Attending the debate other than all the candidates for alderman were:

• Mayor Tom Taylor
• CCP Steve Taylor and Aldermen Ken Skowronski & Kristen Wilhelm
• School Board Member Janet Evans
• School Board candidates Hugo Nguyen and Paul Rotzenberg

I also saw plenty of familiar faces in the crowd; concerned residents who want to be part of making the community a better place.

A huge thanks to Wisconsin Grandsons of Liberty for providing the opportunity for residents to hear the views of the aldermanic candidates, and for making the debate a fair and balanced event.

Congratulations to FHS Principal Cady

Franklin High School Principal Mike Cady has been named the Wisconsin Principal of the Year by the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators. Congrats, Mike!

Courtesy of WISN 12:

Leaders contact legislators in Madison

Today several Franklin leaders and officials were present to comment on Assembly Bill 759, which is being covered along with Senate Bill 548 on Franklin Today by clicking this link. Those in attendance in Madison as well as an e-mail by CCP Steve Taylor after the jump.

Will the forum serve breakfast?

As an update to my posting about the Superintendent's upcoming forum on March 17th, it looks like there was a change to the forum's wording. The time, 7:30 to 9am, and place, the Education & Community Center, are still the same. However, one word has been added: "breakfast". Does this mean breakfast, I'd assume complimentary, will be available for concerned residents upon arriving to ask questions about the budget?

If there is no breakfast at the forum, then I suppose I'd be slightly disappointed. According to some friends of mine, breakfast is my favorite meal!

An update on Logan Neitman

I received an e-mail from Logan's mother, Melissa, this afternoon. She wanted to provide all of you with an update on his condition, as well as another big thank you to the community for the support the Neitman family has received.