The elementary consolidation process showed no signs of slowing despite pleas to put the brakes on the plan to close Randall Holden and Wickes Schools and re-purpose John Brown Francis School as the district's early childhood center. A vote
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The elementary consolidation process showed no signs of slowing despite pleas to put the brakes on the plan to close Randall Holden and Wickes Schools and re-purpose John Brown Francis School as the district’s early childhood center.
A vote is set for October 25. If approved, the schools would close in June.
The Department of Education requires three public hearings before closing a school. At the first of the hearings last Thursday, School Committee Chair Beth Furtado and Vice Chair Eugene Nadeau defended consolidation committee findings, detailing the extensive study and saying the committee has spent a year and a half on the process.
“The bottom line is that we cannot afford to maintain the buildings for the students for education. That’s it. It’s not we’re going to pick this one, and this one, and that one and throw it up in the air. That’s not it,” she said. “This hasn’t been a 15-minute conversation.”
Furtado was interrupted numerous times. When Nadeau took the microphone a few audience members loudly demanded he resign.
“I’ve listened to all the remarks here tonight. You know we have to close the schools. You know consolidation had to take place. We tried to do it the right way, the common sense way, and with respect,” Nadeau said. “All I’ve heard is negative comments repeated month after month after month. As Beth said, to do this successfully for the benefit of our students, it has to be done together.”
There were repeated requests for the committee to “slow down.” School Committee member Karen Bachus called it “idiocy” to move forward after a “botched” secondary consolidation. Warwick Vets teacher Mike Pierce said there was still mold and asbestos in classrooms and Warwick Teachers Union President Darlene Netcoh agreed many classrooms had not been properly equipped to serve students. City Council President Donna Travis proposed delaying consolidation talks until after the November election.
Bachus also asked how many on the committee are Warwick residents – four of the 13 present members raised their hands, prompting jeers from the crowd and a loud proclamation from Bachus that none of them “had business” serving on the committee.
“Have you ever noticed that the population of students is going down at the same rate the quality of Warwick education is going down? Maybe that should be the concern,” School Committee candidate Dean Johnson chimed in.
A presentation from the consolidation committee outlined the consolidation process since 2008, which began with the Potowomut and Christopher Rhodes closures. John Greene School was closed and Drum Rock re-purposed a year later. Short and long-range planning committees were assembled from 2010-2013, and SMMA was hired for consulting a year after. The firm recommended the closure of 4 to 6 elementary schools, which is now being discussed after the consolidation of secondary schools. The presentation cited population declines as a reason for consolidation; Since 2006, elementary population has decreased by 859 students and the schools are currently 26.5 percent under capacity. It’s expected to drop by another 1,090 students by 2024.
Wickes is recommended for closure due to difficulties with Main Avenue reconfiguration, the building’s proximity to the Green Airport runway extension (it is 1,600 feet, approximately five football fields, away from the runway), and the $9.8 million needed to for renovations. Holden was recommended due to its small size, closeness to other elementary districts, and the $5.5 million cost of renovations.
Wickes students would be sent to Greenwood, Park, Robertson, and Scott schools, and Holden students would be off to E.T. Wyman and Holliman schools.
Drum Rock and John Brown Francis were recommended for re-purposing. Drum Rock scored 1/5 on the BrightStars Tiered Quality and Improvement System, so its conditions are not appropriate to serve its young children, the presentation said. The facility would become part of the Career and Technical Center on the Toll Gate campus. John Brown Francis has the proper resources for children like restrooms, large hallways, and square footage that meets state and federal recommendations.
John Brown Francis teacher Elena Habershaw was not in favor of the re-purposing.
“Your presentation spoke on and on about why John Brown Francis will be a wonderful school for the students at Drum Rock, but you didn’t say any reason why it’s not a wonderful school for the students that are already there,” she said. “Our school is a loving and wonderful community, and you want to take it away from them just because it will be a wonderful place for someone else, and I think that is a horrible decision.”
While numerous comments in defense of all four schools were made, Randall Holden’s representation came out in particularly vocal force. The school’s PTO along with a few young students was present, highly visible decked out in bright blue Holden t-shirts and brandishing “S.O.S. - Save Our Schools” picket signs. Many of them spoke during public comment, including the students, who read prepared statements.
Many parents pointed out perceived hypocrisy in the decision to put Holden on the chopping block and referred to the size of Cedar Hill. Holden, suggested for closure on the basis of small size, is at 54 percent capacity with 209 students. Cedar Hill is at 64 percent capacity with 316 students. Why, the Holden representatives asked, was Cedar Hill not an option?
Nadeau responded Friday that Cedar Hill was not recommended for closure as it services a large portion of students in the Potowomut area.
The next meeting is set for October 13th at Pilgrim, and the last for October 17th at Toll Gate. Both begin at 6:30 p.m.
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davebarry109
'Bachus also asked how many on the committee are Warwick residents – four of the 13 present members raised their hands, prompting jeers from the crowd and a loud proclamation from Bachus that none of them “had business” serving on the committee.'
I strongly disagree. These closings are highly emotional and having people with no skin in the game takes the emotion out of it. WE NEED TO CLOSE BUILDINGS. Get over it.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
richardcorrente
Dear Daveberry,
I agree with you that we should have an unemotional segment to the committee, but I would suggest that you consider that these are schools, not buildings, as you say. With "schools" comes a lot of fond memories and emotion. We should treat it with a more gentle touch, in my opinion. It will help us all to "get over it", if we handle it with a softer approach.
One thing that isn't being addressed is the reason behind it all. In the last ten years Warwick has lost 5,800 taxpayers (according to the U.S. Census). They took their students with them. The real solution lies with bringing the population BACK. I have a plan to do that. Avedisian does not. Please visit www.correntemayorwarwick.com. The big picture Daveberry, is where we should be focusing, in my opinion. With more students much of these problems go away.
Happy Halloween
Richard Corrente
Endorsed Democrat for Mayor
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
wwkvoter
Maybe the loud opponents should try to actually make things work. Sheesh!
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
Stella
Dave, you can close almost all the schools and still not have the money needed to just correct what SMMA put in the final report the school need to be in usable condition and up to code. The committee needs to get what they did right first. Dave go to Vets and tell me they did a good job.Take a walk through not just the front, as a matter of fact start in the back. If you have not then you shouldn't comment. Talk to the students and the teachers, look at the equipment they spent your tax dollars on, looks like it came from Walmart. I could go on and on because I have taken the time to see for myself, you should too. Oh and I heard Bachus was the only committee member to walk the entire building. Also any good leader knows if the troops are not with you then you have a big problem. SMMA told them to settle the contract first, then at the very least you would have a buy in from the teachers. Great schools make a great community, it really is that simple.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
CrickeeRaven
Perhaps, instead of using an article on schools to push his political campaign, the Democratic candidate for mayor should concern himself with filing his campaign finance reports on time. As of 8:55 p.m. on Oct. 11, his 28 days before the election reports had not been recorded by the Rhode Island campaign finance office.
In addition, perhaps he could offer some kind of evidence for his claim of 5,800 residents leaving Warwick -- this time, with actual verifiable proof behind his claim, unlike his prior fraudulent statement of businesses leaving Warwick [which, it should also be noted, he pointedly left out of his comment above].
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
Okgo-okgo
Stop hiring useless administrators then they could save some money. There's a whole lotta people doing a whole lot of nothing getting paid very well. None of those administrators are teaching kids so what are they doing besides collecting paychecks?
Tuesday, October 11, 2016 Report this
pmhendry
@davebarry109: I agree with Committee member Bachus. If you do not live in the city of Warwick, you have no business sitting on our School Committee and deciding what happens to our schools.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016 Report this
wwkvoter
Crick, Corrente says 5800 TAXPAYERS left Warwick. Thats simply not true. And wow Corrente didnt file his campaign reports the law says he has to file? And he decries "corruption"???? wow
Wednesday, October 12, 2016 Report this
ThatGuyInRI
Zen question of the day:
Will Richard Corrente finally go away after election day?
Hopefully he's either 1, lost the election and goes away, or 2 somehow won and is too busy to comment on every article in the Beacon. Election day can't come fast enough.
Thursday, October 13, 2016 Report this
JessCForcier3
I don’t believe the backlash is just a matter of emotions. Perhaps it’s a matter of logic. I think the school committee has to acknowledge that if there is this much opposition from the constituency than perhaps it’s time to take pause and reassess/regroup. That doesn’t mean a consolidation won’t occur. Perhaps it just means that they put the brakes on to ensure the easiest transition and greatest results for all parties involved. At a certain point you have to acknowledge that these are real, living, breathing people and not just numbers in an excel sheet/consulting report. You have to put the humanity back in it and also have to realize that sometimes mistakes are made. Yes, they hired this group and have to make tough decisions, but there is also no shame in slowing down the process and admitting that maybe the timeline isn’t optimal. People need to work together and leave their egos at the door.
Thursday, October 13, 2016 Report this
CrickeeRaven
WwkVoter, I need to correct my earlier comment. Apparently there was a delay in uploading the candidate's reports to the Board of Elections website; they were not available until today [Oct. 13] and were recorded online as being received on Oct. 11. So the issue was the BoE's, not the candidate's.
Still, as you indicate, this candidate's record of accuracy in his claims is suspect, to say the least.
Thank you for joining the thousands of Warwick voters who do not accept his claims at face value and who will reject his campaign on Nov. 8.
Thursday, October 13, 2016 Report this