The new superintendent of Franklin’s public schools’ request for $119,000 in carryover funding only one month into both the budget year and his tenure clearly raised some eyebrows on city council. It also indicates that Willie Bell has little regard for how things have always been done in Franklin.

Teachers and students should throw their hands skyward and rejoice.

Bell has requested the funds earlier than anticipated in order to pay teachers for work they did over the summer to update their curriculum, as well as provide ongoing training for teachers once the school year starts.

Certainly, there is room for debate on the procedural correctness regarding the request, but given the fact that the funds were already budgeted for later in the year — and that Bell’s primary concern is for the preparedness of his teachers — such arguments could be construed as petty at best.

If nothing else, it is refreshing to have someone leading the school division willing to rock the boat of conventional thinking rather than being merely content to hug the mast as it sinks to the ocean floor.