To: Franklin School Committee
From: Lucas Giguere, Superintendent
Date: June 28, 2024
RE: Revised FY25 Budget Update
On June 26, 2024, the Franklin Town Council approved an increase of $1,145,000 from the municipal budget for the FY25 FPS budget. This is in addition to the previous increase of $3,335,399 approved on May 22nd, totaling $4,480,399 of operational funding. The revised FY25 total budget appropriation is $76,469,829 which represents less than level service by $2,806,814. We appreciate the additional funds approved by the Town Council allocated to our FY25 annual budget. In addition, there is a commitment to allocate $1,000,000 as a one-time fund for the 2024-25 school year.
Our strategy is to utilize operational funds to partially restore programming and staffing at each level and in various content areas. This was done in response to our students’ needs and with consideration of the input received by students, staff, and the community. Unfortunately, with a less-than-level service budget, our programs will not be fully restored and may not offer the same experience for students. We have prioritized bringing back staffing and programs before the start of the fiscal year, as recommended below.
Elementary ($520,000)
● Restore elementary school educator positions in the following areas ($340,000)
○ Kindergarten teachers (2.0 FTE) – larger-than-optimal class size
○ Grade 5 (1.0 FTE) – larger-than-optimal class size
○ Strive Teacher (1.0 FTE) – larger-than-optimal class size
● Partially restore elementary instructional intervention supports in the following areas: ($180,000)
○ Specialists (2.0 FTE) – support tier 2 intervention for students, curriculum and assessment
implementation, new report card implementation
Middle Level ($190,000)
● Restore middle school educator position in the following area: ($190,000)
○ Music (1.0 FTE)- reinstate the chorus program
○ Reading Specialist (1.0 FTE) – reinstate tier 2 support for students
High School ($340,000)
● Restore FHS educator positions in the following areas: ($340,000)
○ Business (1.0 FTE) – increased student demand and the requirement for Financial Literacy and
business classes
○ Math (1.0 FTE) – restore AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, and
Introduction to Computer Science courses.
○ PE/Wellness (1.0 FTE) – increase sections of required PE/Wellness classes for all students○ Librarian (1.0 FTE) – NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) accreditation evaluates schools based on various standards. Standard 4.4 in Student Learning Support requires a qualified librarian to support curriculum delivery, student research, and information literacy.
District ($85,000)
● Partially restore educator positions in the following areas:
○ Digital Learning Integrationist educator (1.0 FTE) – Supporting student data privacy, FHS technology touchview installations, upgrades and training, and elementary and middle school curriculum implementation, development, and master planning support.
Total ($1,145,000)
In addition to the FY25 budget appropriation, the town is anticipated to vote on a transfer of $1,000,000 in one-time funding from the budget stabilization account in July 2024. One-time funds will not be applied toward educator positions as this would negatively impact our sustainability for the future. As a result, this funding will be applied to non-salaried positions and programming, non-recurring costs, and partial restoration of materials and supplies as detailed for the 2024-25 school year only..
The following items will be funded using one-time funds for the 2024-25 school year only. To continue, they would need to be included in the FY26 budget.
Elementary ($209,000)
● Partially restore elementary school materials and supply budgets by reducing 10% instead of the previously reduced 25%. ($85,000)
● Replace outdated curriculum materials and textbooks, following a curriculum replacement cycle for elementary school courses. To finalize, further review is needed. ($40,000)
● Partially restore Instructional Interventionists across five elementary schools ($30,000)
● Partially restore elementary activity monitors across five elementary schools ($30,000)
● Fund K-2 and 3-5 school-based committee stipends for school reorganization and master planning during the 2024-25 school year. ($24,000)
Middle School ($142,000)
● Partially restore selected middle school educator instructional and non-instructional stipends.
○ After-school clubs and activities and student support ($30,000)
■ Best Buddies, Peer Leaders, Unified Basketball, Behavioral Support and Accountability, etc. If available, we will utilize the remaining funds to restore other club offerings.
Further review is needed to finalize.
○ Creation of after-school programs ($35,000)
■ After-school Middle School Orchestra and Middle School Theater (Footlighters) programs. Further development is needed to finalize.
● Partially restore middle school materials and supply budgets by reducing 10% instead of the previously reduced 25%. ($25,000)
● Replace outdated curriculum materials and textbooks, following a curriculum replacement cycle for middle school courses. To finalize, further review is needed. ($40,000)● Fund 6-8 school-based committee stipends for school reorganization and master planning during the 2024-25 school year. ($12,000)
High School ($220,000)
● Partially restore selected high school educators’ non-instructional stipends for activities.
○ After-school clubs and activities ($40,000)
■ Best Buddies, DECA, Empty Bowls, FHS National Honor Society, Science, Math,
Business National Honor Society, Mock Trial, and Academic Decathlon. If available, we will utilize the remaining funds to restore other club offerings. To finalize, further review is needed.
○ Creation of after-school programs ($35,000)
■ Robotics and FHS Theater Company. Further development is needed to finalize.
● Fund the Franklin High School Guidance Department summer hours ($35,000)
○ This includes building a new master schedule and contacting students to finalize individual
2024-25 school year schedules. During July and August, our primary focus will be hiring new staff and creating new master schedules at all levels. It is estimated that the high school will take six full weeks to meet with students and build a new schedule.
● Continue a cohort of YOG 2025 and 2026 FAA students into classes providing the opportunity to complete the FAA program with English and History courses.
● Fund FHS 9-12 school-based committee stipends for academic program planning during the 2024-25 school year. ($12,000)
● Partially restore high school materials and supply budgets by reducing 10% instead of the previously reduced 25%. ($38,000)
● Replace outdated curriculum materials and textbooks, following a curriculum replacement cycle for individual high school courses. To finalize, further review is needed. ($60,000)
District ($144,000)
● Fund District committee stipends for school reorganization and master planning during the 2024-25 school year. ($14,000)
● Partially restore District materials, supplies, and contract services budgets by reducing 10% instead of the previously reduced 25%. ($90,000)
● Support for the Human Resources Department to assist in hiring and onboarding vacant positions and operations during the 2024-25 school year. ($40,000)
Partial Fees Assistance ($285,000)
● Partially offset athletic fees for the 2024-25 school year. ($245,000)
○ Distributed among sports to defray costs in coordination with the Athletic Department for the 2024-25 school year. Further analysis is needed to finalize.
○ Creation of a financial assistance process for families based on their income eligibility aligned with the Free and Reduced Lunch criteria. Further analysis and development are needed to finalize.
● Partial offset ECDC PreK tuition ($40,000)
○ A 10% increase to PreK Tuition (instead of the previously increased 20%) for the 2024-25 school year. Further analysis is needed to finalize.Our goal is to provide as much detail and transparency as possible in a short time frame. As noted, further review, analysis, and development are needed to finalize specific items and adjustments could be made to the application of these one-time funds.
Total ($1,000,000)
In the FY25 6/18/24 FY25 Budget Update, it was mentioned that receiving an approved budget just before the start of the fiscal year in July would have a significant impact. This situation presents various challenges for our operations. Our main focus will be on completing important tasks such as revising our budget, rebuilding master schedules, creating student schedules, ordering supplies, hiring necessary staff, and retaining high-quality educators. In May and June, we received nineteen resignations, with twelve in June.
Some cited the desire for more budget stability and less volatility as their reasons for leaving the Franklin Public Schools. All of this must be done while allocating time to close out the previous fiscal year and plan for the upcoming school year.
We are committed to providing the best education possible for our students with the available resources.
Please allow my leadership team the time, space, and bandwidth this summer to complete these priorities while handling the work customarily completed during the summer.
Respectfully,
Lucas Giguere
