KEY FACTS

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1. EDUCATION

   1. 200 experienced teachers and 8 of 13 principals quit the Framingham Public Schools (FPS) in the last 2 years.

   2. Student performance dropped in each of the last 4 years, with 40% of 3rd graders now not proficient readers, compared to 20% 4 years ago.

   3. School buses were chronically late for 3 years due to a shortage of drivers caused by low driver pay of $29/hour compared to the market rate of $34/hour.

   4. A chronic shortage of classroom aides for non-English fluent and special needs students is due to their pay being 20% below market.

   5. Pre-K expansion to cover all 4-year-olds stalled at a capacity of about 400 out of 800.

   6. Over 4 years, the Mayor diverted $18 million in education funds from the schools. Those funds are now sitting unspent in the city general fund.

2. INFRASTRUCTURE

   1. A $200 million backlog of water & sewer work is being addressed by imposing HUGE water & sewer rate increases on everyone. The next one will occur in about 2 years under the Sisitsky plan. A MUCH BETTER solution is possible, with no new taxes and LOWER water & sewer bills. That solution moves the city pension liability pay off date from 2030 to 2040, freeing up $10 million/year to fund the work.

   2. A $100 million backlog of roof replacements is being badly managed and projects deferred, when a solar installation on each new roof with a parking lot solar canopy at each site could fund most of the work.

3. SENIOR SERVICES

   1. The 20,000 strong senior population is having services reduced by budget cuts, removal of the Director of Aging Services and the planned gutting of  the Council On Aging.

4. RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

   1. The city has never reported on the net profit on high density developments. Uncontrolled high density apartment building development can often be a break-even or loss proposition for the city, while stressing the failing water & sewer system and increasing traffic snarls. Developers make tidy profits and walk away leaving the community with the problems.

   2. Both Nobscot and Stearns Reservoir neighborhoods have been threatened with high density developments and a great deal of environmental damage done by developers who are protected from fines, sanctions and other penalties by the Mayor and his staff, who by word and action have made it clear that developers interests come ahead of neighborhoods.

5. ENVIRONMENT

   1. Environmental action is at a standstill, with no plan, no new solar installations started in 4 years and curbside composting delayed for 18 months. All 4 existing solar installations were approved and funded in March or July 2021, before Sisitsky took office.

6. INFLUENCE OF MONEY ON POLITICS

   1. Real estate developers and outside interests poured tens of thousands of dollars into prominent City Councilor campaigns.

 

These and many more issues have been addressed by Geoff in more than 230 articles in his Substack newsletter: The Framingham Observer, which launched on March 19, 2023. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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You can subscribe to this newsletter by clicking here.

 

The newsletter mission is to build an informed Framingham community by using public data and analytics to illuminate Framingham government. A great deal of effort has gone into checking the accuracy of the data used in the articles, and references to original information sources are provided where possible.

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The articles have covered a broad range of city government activities, and have served as a means for residents to keep abreast of what truly is happening in the city, and as a reference archive which can be searched for information.

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