Dr. Alicia's Weekly Update - 6/1
Dear Friends,
What a week it has been! More meetings, more debate, and we’re loving the dialog going on on Facebook. We’re so excited to host our first “Q & A Sessions”. Don’t miss this opportunity to talk with Ms. Emily (of Ms. Emily’s viral video: “Budget 101”) live!
Here’s what PNF has been up to this week:
We sent letters to every current Town Meeting member and Town Meeting candidate to alert them of the budget gap and invited them to get involved! That’s A LOT of letters people.
We’re hosting our first virtual Question & Answer Sessions, which we hope you will attend! You can find login information in our Learning Center as well as on our website.
We got a new logo!
We’re pushing the GET OUT TO VOTE - All the info you need to register and vote can be found in the “How Can I Help" section below
We’ve narrowed our message - Let’s close this budget gap with cuts for both the school and municipal sides that are SAFE, SHARED and REVERSIBLE!
Here’s a reminder of what you can find in each newsletter:
HOW CAN I HELP - Read this section for quick, easy ways to contribute.
TOWN MEETING LINKS - Do you hate tracking down Zoom links as much as I do? Well, they’re all right here!
LEARNING CENTER - Confused about what the h*** is going on? Us too! Check out the learning center if you want more information about town committees, budgets, and town politics.
WHAT’S NEXT - See what we are planning for the weeks and months to come.
SHOUT OUTS - Just a place for us to “cheers” some of the people making this possible!
-The Protect Natick's Future Team
How Can I Help In Just A Few Clicks?
Login to Town Meetings- URGENT!
The list of this week's meetings are below. We are now logging in as “Name (PNF).” For example, I will be logged in as “Alicia Lynch (PNF)”. Even if you’re not listening to the whole meeting, just having your name on that screen sends our town’s elected and hired officials a message!
VOTE VOTE VOTE!
Need to register? Deadline is June 19! Register to vote HERE
Don’t want to go to the polls? Request an absentee ballot using this form. Fill out the form and submit it by email, fax, or snail mail:
•Scan & e-mail the form tovote@natickma.org
•Fax the form to (508) 655-6715
•Mail it to the Town Clerk’s Office:
13 West Central Street, Natick, MA 01760
Join us on Facebook
Join & share our Facebook group with your Natick friends. We’re at 1200 followers! Can we hit 1500 this week?
Join our E-Mail List
Sign up HERE to be added to our e-mail list. Bad jokes included at no cost!
This Weeks' Town Meetings
Monday, June 1st | 7:00PM
School Committee
Meeting ID: 203 856 6119 Password: 987179
YOUR PRESENCE IS ESSENTIAL! Today is an important vote for School Committee. They will be voting whether or not Natick Public Schools should remain a school choice district (which is distinct from METCO). Considering the level of financial information available, as well as the CDC guidelines around reducing density until a vaccine is developed to combat COVID-19, Protect Natick’s Future is asking School Committee to vote NO to expanding the program for the FY21. Students enrolled in previous years will remain in NPS but we would not accept new applications at this time. Do you have an opinion on this? Let our School Committee members know! (schoolcommittee@natickps.org).
Monday, June 1st | 6:00PM
Board of Selectmen
Meeting ID: 971 2684 6549 Password: 736028
YOUR PRESENCE IS IMPORTANT!
How can I help in 1 hour or less?
Join our efforts!
We have multiple initiatives moving forward rapidly and we’d love your help. Get in touch with Alicia Lynch (aliciadlynch@gmail.com) to learn more about protecting our town’s future.
Be a Champion in Your Precinct!
We need volunteers to help reach out to Town Meeting members in the coming weeks. Sign up for Town Meeting Member outreach here!
Are you a Slack Guru?
We could use some help organizing our Slack channel - sending messages to the proper channels and alerting specific people when questions pop up. Email Alicia Lynch (aliciadlynch@gmail.com)
What’s Next?
June 8th is the day we will see the full budget for the Municipal Departments and have the update TA endorsed Budget for NPS. Deep breaths, deep breaths!
LEARNING CENTER
•Attend our FIRST Q&A Session (& invite your friends, too)!
We are hosting two Question and Answer sessions this week. During the meetings, we will introduce ourselves, share what we’ve learned about the budget gap, answer common questions and welcome dialogue. The sessions are scheduled for: • Thursday, June 4 at 7pm • Saturday, June 6 at 10am Join us virtually via Zoom. Meeting ID: 816 7049 4905 Password: 7iDj2j
•Video Explainers
Emily Grant, Natick mom, teacher, and all around fabulous person has created a series of videos to help people better understand the ins and outs of our town budget and politics.
Budget 101 Video
•Join us on our Slack channel!
This is where we're sharing articles and discussing ideas about the finance and budget, special interests like sports, theater and Johnson school- and a general thread for us to figure out what the heck is going on!
Shout Outs!
Holla to Amy Conwell who stepped up to help out with the District 3 Town Meeting Initiative!
THANK YOU Deana Becker for pitching in on our Town Meeting outreach!
Rebecca Pinault made us a Logo! We LOVE it! Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing your talents!
Questions? Just want to say hi?
Shoot us an email! ProtectNaticksFuture@gmail.com
