Thursday, March 22, 2012

FHS Vote next Tuesday


Dear Franklin Downtown Partnership Member,

As many of you are aware, on March 27th Franklin voters have a chance to support construction on a fully furnished and equipped 21stcentury high school and auditorium for our community.  A town-wide vote will ask residents to pass a debt exclusion to fund $47 million of a project costing a total of $104.5 million. The balance being paid for by state reimbursement.

We at the Franklin Downtown Partnership do not feel that as an entity we should publicly support any initiative without 100% agreement of all our members.  However, we do feel it is important to mention that there is strong support on the Partnership for this initiative.  Here are the reasons why:

Why a Yes Vote?
·         A now or never chance for state reimbursement of 59.52% on this project
·         The new high school will remove Franklin High from accreditation warning status and meet all future needs
·         Taxpayers will have to pay 100% for repairs to the current high school should the debt exclusion not pass
·         Failure to pass this exclusion can severely threaten our future property values and tax base

In addition, many of us feel that this project can be a strong growth vehicle as we try to improve our town and a “Yes” vote will have direct and indirect benefits on increasing business for Franklin both now and in the future. 

For those looking for more information on this initiative, please visit www.newfhs.com or www.facebook.com/newfhs  

Please remember to vote on Tuesday and remind your neighbors to make
their voice heard.