Franklin MAtters Weekly: Horace Mann

Saturday, March 28, 2026

Be wary of foolishness, April 1 arrives Wednesday

Be wary pranksters may be around this week as April Fool’s day arrives on Wednesday.

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard

The FY 2027 budget is now published so there really is no time to fool around. The Board of Assessors met early Monday morning. The Agriculture Commission, Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee and the Library Board of Directors all meet later Monday.

The Mass Strategic Health Group meets Tuesday afternoon, and the Design Review meets Tuesday night.

Wednesday the Board of Health is scheduled for 5 PM with the Town Council scheduled for 6. The Board of Health continues the discussion started last meeting on a potential ban of mind altering products. The Council gets into their first public hearings on zoning bylaws. Minor and technical changes to the Crossing Neighborhood District and to complete the MBTA compliance requirements are covered in 2 bylaws each (total 4 bylaws for hearings and first readings).

The Commission on Disability meets Thursday afternoon and the newly appointed Economic Development Subcommittee of the Town Council gets its first session in the Thursday evening broadcast time slot not being used this time by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The ZBA are scheduled for a non-public, executive session meeting.

The agendas for these individual meetings are provided below.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1702-fm-weekly-outlook-lookback-combo-03-29-26/

*** Meeting schedule and agendas as of Town page 3/27/26, 8:00 PM ***

Board of Assessors

Monday, March 30 Time: 8:30 AM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03302026-2212

Franklin Agricultural Committee

Monday, March 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03302026-2215

Franklin School Committee - Horace Mann Legacy Subcommittee

Monday, March 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03302026-2211

Library Board of Directors Regular Meeting

Monday, March 30 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03302026-2216

Massachusetts Strategic Health Group Meeting Notice

Tuesday, March 31 Time: 1:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03312026-2225

Design Review Meeting

Tuesday, March 31 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_03312026-2217

Board of Health Meeting

Wednesday, April 1 Time: 5:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04012026-2218

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, April 1 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04012026-2229

Franklin Commission on Disability

Thursday, April 2 Time: 4:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04022026-2209

Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting

Thursday, April 2 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04022026-2223

ZBA Meeting- NO Meeting

Thursday, April 2 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04022026-2213

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04022026-2228

*** Looking back at the week that was ***

The Planning Board met as scheduled on Monday, March 23. The video is available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdEd3y7QdY

The School Committee Budget subcommittee met on Tuesday at 6 PM before the full Committee met at 7 PM. The exclusive audio and recap of the Budget meeting can be found https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/03/school-committee-budget-subcmte-reviews.html

The video and recap for the full School Committee meeting can be found

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2026/03/school-committee-gets-update-on.html

The Conservation Commission met as scheduled on Thursday March 26. The video is available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56oBa37n5j4

Nothing was happening on the school's front this week. On the All Access front, a video “Rockin’ the Boroughs” a concert of senior singers recorded in October 2025 in now available for viewing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwRuJZfpgrQ

The audio recording of the No Kings Rally on the Town Common on Saturday is available. The video should be available in a few days. So if you missed this event, you can listen and catch up on what you missed.

Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

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Saturday, April 12, 2025

Wet weekend weather continues ahead of the Town Council meeting and informal Q&A sessions

Another wet weekend to dampen the spirits of the area residents. Wet enough that the Applause Gelato shop has rescheduled their re-opening until April 26 to be timed with the Ladybug Trail Walk which hopefully will bring more Spring-like weather. In the meantime, the moisture is gradually refilling the aquifers so that the State is gradually coming out of drought status so that is good.

On the Town meeting front, the Town Council meets on Wednesday with a zoning bylaw to permit shared use kitchens, authorization for early voting for the special election June 3, and presentations on the Police Dept Mental Health Clinician work as well as the Town’s Crisis Advocacy Team.

Town and State officials hold their office hours at the Senior Center Thursday morning. Franklin Q&A has 2 sessions this week; at the Library Monday night at 6:30 PM and Wednesday at the Senior Center at 11 AM. All three sessions designated for informal question and answers on Town business.

*** Meeting schedule for the week of April 14 - April 19

From the Town of Franklin calendar - as of 04/11/25 8 PM

Norfolk County Advisory Board Meeting Notice

Wednesday, April 16 Time: 6:30 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04162025-1657

Town Council Meeting

Wednesday, April 16 Time: 7:00 PM

https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04162025-1682

Town Council Office Hours

Thursday, April 17 Time: 8:30 AM

No agenda expected for this informal business hour

Franklin Housing Authority Meeting

Thursday, April 17 Time: 4:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04172025-1681

Conservation Commission Meeting

Thursday, April 17 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/372?fileID=4420

Council On Aging (COA) Meeting

Friday, April 18 Time: 1:30 PM

no posted agenda at this time

*** Looking back at the week that was ***

The School Committee Policy Subcommittee met on Tuesday to confirm that while Horace was never going away, due to some folks impatience with the process, there may be a Horace Mann Campus proposal for the full School Committee to vote on at their April 29 session. The audio for the meeting is available exclusively from Franklin Matters/Franklin Public Radio https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/04/school-committee-policy-subcommittee.html

The full School Committee met also on Tuesday to get detailed updates on the redistricting efforts for the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) expansion as well as the elementary schools. The video is available for replay from Franklin TV. https://www.youtube.com/live/3rgXaYFUtNA?&t=100

The Chalkboard Chat session with School Committee Chair Dave Callaghan recaps both the Policy Subcommittee meeting and the full School Committee session to condense the four hour combined meetings to about 40 minutes

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/04/this-chalkboard-chat-condenses-both.html

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For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendars at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events on posted on the top of the page