11 Apply For Strategic and Financial Oversight Committee

FRAMINGHAM, MA- Framingham's School Committee received 11 applications for the new Strategic Initiatives and Financial Oversight Committee or SIFOC.

The committee was created by the city charter and will work to advise the Mayor, City Council

and School Committee on the status of Framingham’s long range strategic plan, the state of the
municipal economy, sufficiency of municipal revenues, and other fiscal matters.

The Mayor, City Council and School Committee are each allowed to choose three members. To sift through and review applications, the School Committee Chair, Adam Freudberg, created a temporary subcommittee to review applicants. Richard Finlay, Chair of the School Committee’s Facilities Subcommittee and Geoffrey Epstein, Chair of the School Committee’s Finance & Operations Subcommittee are the Co-Chairs for this Temporary Subcommittee. Each can choose one additional School Committee member to join them for the appointment’s process.

The subcommittee will also have ex-officio non-voting advisory members including the Mayor, the superintendent of schools and a City Councilor who is a member of the City Council’s Appointments Subcommittee. The incorporation of the Mayor and City Council in the School Committee's process was done for transparency, according to a document released by the School Committee outlining the process.

“In our short time as a new city I have been impressed with the detail oriented and transparent process our government has led as we finalize and plan both our near and long-term budgets,” said Adam Freudberg, Chair of the School Committee and District 4 Member. “Moving forward with the establishment of the Strategic Initiatives and Financial Oversight Committee we have an opportunity to broaden our views by strategically utilizing community input from experienced residents and members of the business community.”

Seven of the 11 applicants to the School Committee also applied with the city council.

Applicants for the School Committee appointments are:

Richard Baritz – a former IRS employee and former Town Meeting member, current

Community Development Committee member. District 9 Resident. Applied for City council appointment as well.

Jacob Binnall – Current UMass Amherst student obtaining Masters' in Public Policy. He was appointed by Mayor Yvonne Spicer to serve on Framingham’s Community Development Committee, and currently serves as a campus representative at UMass Amherst. District 2 Resident. Applied for City council appointment as well.

Gerry Bloomfield- Former Town Meeting Member and District 1 Resident. Applied for City council appointment as well.

James Culhane- Former BNP Paribas employee and former Framingham United Soccer Club coach. District 6 Resident. Applied for City council appointment as well.

Joel Francis - Senior manager and Executive Director at Ernst & Young. District 2 Resident. Applied for City council appointment as well.

Michael Gatlin- Lawyer with private practice. Chair of the Framingham Economic Development Industrial Commission, President of Framingham Downtown Inc., and Vice President of the Framingham State University Foundation. District 6 Resident. Applied for City council appointment as well.

Amanda Shepard-Professional Scientist experienced in molecular diagnostics research, analytical test method development, and Quality Systems. District 4 Resident. Applied for City council appointment as well.

David Kiklis - District 1 Resident

Marshall Krashin - District 5 Resident
Darline Umina - District 1 Resident

Richard Weader - District 3 Resident

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