To the Editor: I have been a resident of Warwick for over 50 years, so I am well invested in this community. My children attended Warwick Schools and have all grown into successful adults. At present, I am very concerned with the state of education in
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To the Editor:
I have been a resident of Warwick for over 50 years, so I am well invested in this community. My children attended Warwick Schools and have all grown into successful adults. At present, I am very concerned with the state of education in this city. The current students deserve the same solid foundation for success as adults that my children received.
First, I am perplexed by the consolidation process. Wasn't the plan for Vets to open as a middle school next fall, and elementary consolidation to be in the 2018 school year? How much extra money was spent to rush the makeover of Vets by the start of the school year? Secondary consolidation has thrown the entire district into turmoil. How can you be considering moving forward with elementary consolidation ahead of the recommended timeline?
Talking about extra expenditures, why are extra lawyers needed at each bend in the road? There was a staff lawyer at one time that took care of all legal matters. Why can this continue? From what I hear the school department legal expenditures are quite high. To me it sounds like a waste of money.
Second, I have seen contract disputes come and go over the years. Outside of the one that sent teachers to jail, never have I seen one like this. In the past, there have been actual face-to-face discussions that resulted in compromise by either side. The fact that the teachers union rejected the most recent proposal, which included raises, indicates to me that there is more to all of this than what the superintendent shares in his press releases. From past experience, I suspect there are important educational issues in play.
Negotiations should be a time when the team for each side sit down at a conference table and talk about each item in the contract. I have not seen this since the 1980s. A contract cannot be settled from opposite sides of a building on a take it or leave it basis. Negotiate.
Third, Mayor Avedisian, it's time for you to step in and encourage both parties to settle this dispute. It's not unprecedented, as one of your predecessors did so.
Fourth, whatever is happening in the special education department appears to be having a detrimental effect on our schools in general. While federal law ensures the educational rights of special needs students, I don't think it was intended to disregard the rights of other students. It seems like the district is trying to provide the bare minimum. I hope that changes happening in that department are based on what's truly right for all students, and not cost-cutting measures.
Finally, I hope the Warwick voters understand bond issues. They cost money. Almost every time a bond issue is called for, it is because something has been taken out of the department budget over and over again. Because preventative and routine maintenance is not accomplished in a timely manner, the cost is much higher when it goes to a bond issue.
I would not feel comfortable approving a bond issue for $90 million until the mess the district is presently in is cleaned up. Fix the boilers, fix the roofs, fix the plumbing and all the other problems before building a new sports complex.
Paul Kelley
Warwick
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davebarry109
Close the schools asap. We have needed to close schools for the past ten years. We have needlessly avoided closing them and have wasted millions of dollars. As for the contract negotiations, the teachers in Warwick are some of the highest paid in the region, not just the state. How much more can we afford? Should we be paying top dollar for poor results?
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
davet1107
Mr Kelly,
As a parent of two kids in our schools, I share your concern about the state of education in our city and I too have some issues with the consolidation process so far. As to your point about Vets opening next fall, that was the plan of the original Long Term Facilities Planning Committee. That plan was voted down and the public's call for an outside consultant was heeded. By the time the RFP for the consultant was developed and put out to bid, a consultant hired, and their work completed, the State Fire Marshal had denied Warwick any further extensons to delaying the final round of fire code woirk at Gorton & Aldrich ($1.8 million and for which we had, I think 8 or 9 years of deferments). So the opportunity to keep those two schools open while Vets closed for a year evaporated. With respect to a full time legal counsel, Warwick had a full time legal counsel/HR Director for years, which was, in my view, a blatant conflict. The aftermath of the Atoyan incident proved that, in my opinion, and saw that person dismissed and outside counsel hired. I believe that many, if not most, districts utilize outside counsel instead of full-time counsel. Unfortunately, the litigiousness that Warwick has had for the last couple of years has, I'm sure, driven up that cost. Special Education is a deep concern for me as a parent who has a student with an IEP and I continue to look into to this to better understand what is going on with respect to that. Lastly, with respect to the upcoming bond. I fully support it and we need to be honest with ourselves as a community. Our newest school is 45 years old and we've made deferred maintainence a form of art. Our schools are not compliant with American With Disabilities Act (ADA) and that Act was passed in 1990! We should be ashamed of ourselves. The Vets heating system is original to the school (1955), as is it's elevator Much of the infrastructure is original to these buildings. Most all of them still contain asbestos. Most of the items you mention to replace are items that can't be financed out of the general operationg budget. The fact is we need the bond to be able to upgrade classrooms, increase technology, increase energy efficiency, replace boilers, roofs, and windows that have outlived their life cycles and so much more. The recently replaced Pilgrim Auditorium stage was structurally unsound and contained literal 'no-go' zones for the Drama and Band students. It's football field contained hazards to the althletes who play on it. Good schools and good commnuities go hand in hand. We have inflicted such neglect on these buildings that it's harder and harder to provide a 21st education to our kids. Other districts have buildings just as old as ours but they maintained and invested in them. It's time we did the same. Regarding Elementary consolidation, I don;t think that Sept of 2017 is the prudent course nor am I convinced that these were the right buildings chosen. I'd prefer it be delayed until Sept of 2018,
David Testa
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
richardcorrente
Dear Paul Kelly,
A comment on your "third". You are asking Avedisian to "step in". You accurately state that it is not unprecedented but that he never did it. His predecessors did. In my opinion he won't. He never has and he never will.
I will not be that kind of Mayor. BEFORE I hand over $160 million dollars of taxpayer money I will require some level of accountability. I will ask some questions. I understand that I must be accountable to the taxpayers, therefore I will require more from the School Department. I like what former Mayor Walsh did. He locked them in a room and "wouldn't let them out until they had a contract". I might not be that bold but I might do it symbolically, say, in a restaurant. Also, I will be available for as much or as little as both sides want (as long as the law allows). The biggest issue facing our City today is the schools. We must settle this. It's hurting our City too much and I will work day and night to correct it. Count on it.
Happy Autumn Paul.
Richard Corrente
Endorsed Democrat for Mayor
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
Justanidiot
and after the school department gets done laughing, you can get back to your job mister mayer
Wednesday, October 12, 2016 Report this
MikeDisalvia
So with these consolidations I see pink slips after all you dont need janitors in these now closed buildings you certainly dont need as many maintenance personal and in administration you could cut jobs there by eliminating the head of elementary or secondary or even high schools position and make a consolidation there after all the reason is there are not as many kids so why do we need so much office staff then maybe with all those cuts we could bring back some after school activities for the kids after all with the money saved from all those jobs you just ended and the money saved from the maintenance on the buildings lol (had to put that in the maintenance dept is a joke)
Wednesday, October 12, 2016 Report this