School Committee Candidates: Week Two

This week, Newport Patch's coverage of the Newport School Committee race addresses the controversial issue of regionalization of Aquidneck Island's schools.

The challengers are listed first; the remaining six candidates are incumbents seeking reelection. An asterisk placed next to a school committee candidate's name indicates that,as of press time, repeated emails and phone calls requesting comment for the article were unreturned.

This week's question: Will Aquidneck Island regionalization ever happen? Can Newport school committee members do anything to make it happen? Will you?

James Asbel: I think that for economic reasons alone regionalization is inevitable. However,that does not mean that we should rush into it any faster than history dictates. We must take control of the regionalization process so that it serves our schools rather than weakens them. The study to which all Aquidneck Island towns now subscribe is a first step to assessing advantages and disadvantages that will be different for each town. While I don't think that we should rush into anything, I do think that as soon as we concur on advantageous cooperation we should begin to implement it step by step, because with the unknown of regionalization on the horizon it is getting hard to plan for our local investment in facilities and educational resources.

Lynn Ceglie: I certainly would support regionalization of schools on Aquidneck Island.  Economically,  consolidation of transportation, food service, and school supply contracts would make the most sense for the three communities of Aquidneck Island.   I have always thought that combining music and art programs would be a good start. All Aquidneck Island school committee members need to keep an open dialogue to further understand each district's strengths and weaknesses.  Residents of Aquidneck Island must realize that all children have value and and that each child should have similar educational and enrichment opportunities. Making regionalization happen would be a long, extensive process, but Newport would be in an ideal position if the proposed Claiborne Pell Elementary school bond is approved on November 2.

Rebecca Bolan: No one knows the answer to will it happen. I personally believe that it should happen. It would be a win/win for both students and taxpayers. What regionalization will look like is anyone's guess at this point. I don't believe that full regionalization will happen all at once. I believe our best chance of seeing this concept to fruition will be in combining high schools. Will all three high schools agree? Maybe not. I think we need to see it happen in increments. The Newport School Committee made the decision to wait until the educational value steady comes out before becoming more proactive in the process. I would hope that when the study does come out, it will give us just as compelling reasons why it makes sense educationally as it does financially. At that point our work will really begin. We will need to make sure that we get out into the community educate, discuss and listen. I'm sure there will be many lively discussions I would like to see this issue of regionalization on the ballot for 2011. At that point our voters will make their wishes clear.

Jo Eva Gaines: Yes. Newport School Committee members can promote the educational advantages of regionalization. They must be vocal and "out front" in support. I have attended the meetings of Aquidneck Island Town/City Councils, School Committee members and Superintendents for the past five years. This group commissioned the RIPEC Report on the financial issues of regionalization. NESDEC is presently preparing a report on the Education Advantages and is scheduled to report out by December. I also serve on the Newport Study Group.

Sandra J. Flowers, Ph.D: Aquidneck Island regionalization among all three communities will occur only if the citizens demand it of their municipal and educational leaders. Newport School Committee members have been working for some time to promote this concept, researching fiscal and educational advantages that would benefit, first and foremost, the students of our communities. This is discussed frequently as part of our regular meetings and two of our members have been, and continue to be, active participants in island-wide discussions.

As important as the meeting of city and town leaders is in planning realization, teachers and school administrators of the island communities must gather according to grade levels and specialties to lay some of the groundwork. Through this initial collaboration, the people "in the trenches" can determine the first steps toward establishing pilot programs in the areas of languages, gifted and talented opportunities, special education services, as well as increased professional development presentations that would benefit students and educators throughout Aquidneck Island.

Using the experience and expertise gained as an educator, I will continue to promote the move toward regionalization. This will work only if all participants are fully committed to making this a success.

Charles Shoemaker, M.D.: I am currently chairman of the Aquidneck Island School/municipal Advisory committee, which has commission [sic] two studies. The first is the fiscal report by Rhode Island Expenditure Council showing that if Middletown, Newport, and Portsmouth do not consolidate that each school district will have major deficits in the near future; on the other hand, if the districts were combined and one high school and one middle school were closed, the combined school district would have a surplus. The second study, yet to be completed, is an educational study being undertaken by New England School Development Council. This study will be looking at the educational pros and cons of consolidating. My intuition is that if the combined school district has a surplus rather than a deficit that more programs can be maintained and others added.

Robert Leary: I don't know that's up to the voters they will have the final say. Maybe that question will be on the 2012 ballot, at the earliest, lets [sic] hope so. It is clear that a decision regarding consolidation requires rigorous and detailed analysis to convince the voters. I say this because I always thought Foster- Gloster [sic] was one school system and on the 2008 ballot the voters decided not to regionalize and stay separate school systems.

A balance of issues must be considered, including how consolidation will impact the quality of education, student life, revenues, and spending. Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) has completed a financial analysis. That overview shows a picture of what consolidation might look like on the island. Six models were developed showing various options and potential savings that may result.

Presently an educational study is being completed by New England School Development Council (NESDEC) and the results have not been completed. Thus, I'm not going to speculate on the most effective instructional and economic regionalization program until the study is complete. Often, potential cost savings are the primary impetus behind district consolidation. However, an equal, if not more important, consideration is how consolidation may impact student's educational experience.

So, how would I do anything to make regionalization happen? Opportunties [sic] exist to generate significant savings to the districts through consolidation while I suspect (NESDEC) report forth coming will show educational opportunties. [sic] I would say there are significant benefits that should be seriously considered.

Pat Kelley: Aquidneck Island school department regionalization will happen when an informed public is provided the opportunity to vote on the subject. The substantial economic savings combined with the obvious educational benefits are a compelling argument that will convince most citizens to support this initiative. It is disappointing that the local city and town councils did not each put forth a non binding referendum for the 2 November election which would have allowed residents to have their voices heard. Going forward, it is important to recognize that Rhode Island General Laws 16-3-4 and 16-3-5 stipulate that communities interested in regionalization will appoint a local Regional School Planning Committee and joins those committees to form a Regional School Planning Board. I put forth a motion on 5 March 2010 requesting the City Council to appoint the planning board for Newport. The motion was unanimously supported by the school committee and a four member board was subsequently appointed by the city council. As a member of the school committee I would continue to push this local committee to seek to join the other communities in the formulation of a Regional School Planning Board and develop a range of options for school regionalization to allow community discussion and debate tooccur in preparation for a November 2012 vote.

Note: The eight candidates were invited to respond in emails of 150 to 250 words. The candidates' answers have not in any way been corrected for matters of spelling, grammar, usage or punctuation, nor edited for relevance or clarity.