Basic Education Plan

I've done two postings on this & the press has yet to pick up on what these new proposed regs actually mean for schools & towns; except for Projo. Even teachers (except for school librarians) seem to be clueless.

Tom Sgouros has picked up on the story with "But who will run the programs?" He gets it. Lots of yak-yak in the new regs about great programs, but zilch about who will run them, how, or even when.

Talk about gutting education, these will do it. These regs are school committees' bibles. It details most everything down to how many books need to be in a library & how much $ needs to be spent per pupil (?$1.69- last computed in 1969). Updated- yes. But these were gutted. And what are we getting for it? Simplification. Yeah. That's what they say. Change that to stupefication.

What we really need to do- come up with a plan (state, federal, AND local) to fund education, not strangle it.

I was speaking last week to an art teacher who currently works in the h.s. & formerly the elementary schools. She was speaking of how students get a top notch experience in primary grades, but most then receive zilch in middle school. In h.s. students are req'd to take one art class. A senior was given a "C" by her. This student wanted "A" for a grade point average, so kept coming after school to work with her until the grade was achieved. She lamented that this would not have been necessary if the student had rec'd a better background in Art, but... Think this will improve?

Newport School Committee woman, Dr. Sandra Flowers, who writes here, says these changes are a good thing & will give teachers more freedom in the classroom. I don't get it. B.E.P. never caused me any problems and actually helped me as librarian. The only constrictions that I ever felt were caused by Principals & School Committees who seemingly rec'd messages from God & issued their commands while descending from the mountain and intermingling with we, the sinners- the common people.

However, maybe Sandra is right & I'm missing something. The great flying spaghetti monster hasn't communicated with me recently.

New B.E.P. Hearing

I'm 60 years old. I know crap when I see it, I know it when I hear it, and I definitely know it when I smell it. And this hearing for public comment by the State Board of Regents (two were present) was crap.

When school committees, parents' groups, & teachers have no time to review the plan (the download site doesn't work) & you schedule something like this with a week's notice, it begins rather smelly in my book. And I was right.

The audience consisted of appx. 25 with 7 people elected to speak, & the new proposed doc was given out. Good thing because the link on their site doesn't work.

Middletown's School Supt' Kraeger was there (spoke), along with School Committee woman Gaines. Present, but not speaking was Liana Ferreira-Fenton, Linda Savastano (ass't sup't), and Sandra Flowers (Newport Schools). There were a number of school librarians in the audience. Evidently they were the only group able to get info out regarding this meeting.

The BEP ("Basic Education Plan"- see previous article) is every school's Bible. This doc reads well, sounds good, and goes down real easily. But what the heck does it mean? You've got me.

The actual session last an hr. with 7 people electing to speak. It was announced that the Regents are "interested in [the] need for further revisions." Doubt that. Seems to me they are interested in "teaks only."

#1. Dr. Carol Herman- the most impressive speaker with 1 1/2 pages. She is a teacher-librarian & new member on the non-partisan Tiverton School Committee. She stated that we "need explicit" B.E.P. regs to prevent school committees from decimating programs in order to lower taxes. She referred to the Sat. Tiverton Town Budget meeting which cut $627,000 from schools at a poorly attended meeting. She said that these new regs would results in "the only winners [are] those who want lower property taxes. The losers are the kids." She referred to economic development necessitating good public schools and the real problem in education is not casued by the current B.E.P, but by not having a fair funding formula and a basic lack of monies from the State.

Here! Here!

#2. Helen ? spoke for School Counselors. Sorry, she spoke too quickly & with her head down, so I missed much of this. She spoke to a wording problem in the new doc.

#3. Gentleman. Sorry, he did not speak directly into the mic & I just couldn't hear him. His focus seemed to be that the doc calls for a "minimum adequate education" and he wanted it to address excellence. Good point.

$4. Barbara Ashbe of RILINK spoke to the new doc not addressing "reading" in library requirements nor does it address what a "highly effective staff" actually mean. She is also afraid that the loss of professional school librarians could results in the state dropping interlibrary loans to school. She is concerned that their is no method of challenging districts' interpretations of this doc mean.

#5. Middletown School Sup't Krager was delighted that the doc address "inputs." Of course, she has not yet had time to speak with the school committee (no one has). Her critique address very specific items- mostly concerned with definitions. She was also concerned with tech & consumer ed. Heck, just kiss them goodbye.

#6. JoEva Gaines. She is a former music teacher in Midd., was head of the Union here, and was on the Board of Regents who helped draw these old regs up. She is now on the Newport School Committee. She loved the new doc! It is "superb" and expresses "confidence in teachers." It leaves a basic education "up to each district" and speaks to "rigor & accountability."

Hmm. School Committees love this as it leaves everything up to them. Sorry. Doesn't inspire much confidence in me. The bottom line is ALWAYS $, you can't kid a kidder.

You know, it seems the Guv achieved in these appointments & this doc what he hasn't been able to do otherwise- get rid of the Caruolo Law & crush public education (and get rid of those bothersome Unions). But that's me.

#7. Deb?- A school librarian spoke to the need for professional staffing & collection developemtn. Let's face it, without a librarian- a library is just a pile of books. That's all.

#8. Stacy Lyon- Coggeshall School Librarian. This is her second career & she spoke to "research literacy" and the fact that most school librarians work "behind the scenes."

Yup, you don't love us until we're gone.

Dave Fontaine (MHS librarian was also there).

I was the only press. Big sigh here. The Bible of our public school system undergoin major change (thing of replacing the Bible with "Cliff Notes" or "Classic Comics") and few shows. When this thing passes (and it will), you'll see major changes in your schools. And not for the better, I might add.

Hearing on New Basic Education Plan

The Board of Regents is holding one on Monday at MHS on their newest proposal. Wow, so much publicity on this. The press release from them is dated May 4. So much notice. You think they are actually interested in receiving your "public comment?" LOL.

Not familiar with the BEP? It's the Constitution or the Bible for ALL our public schools. Currently it's over 400 pages and covers everything that your school must offer & includes staffing. I know that without the BEP backing us up in the libraries, we would have gone back in time to the closet libraries where you never actually saw a librarian. And little wonder as there were 8 elementary schools & 1 clerk (no computers then). The required funding wasn't much (think 1967 & about $1.50/kid), but at least it was something. The download for the new doc doesn't work. What a surprise.

The specificity of it guarantees that the schools in Newport offer the same basic education as the schools in Little Compton, Tiverton, & Middletown. The proposal is 40 pages long. 40 pages.
The hearing begins at 6 pm. Important? Yup. But aside from this & a short article on it in todays Projo, who cares? The purpose of the change is to update the doc & "assert a greater degree of state influence." Yeah, sure inspires confidence in me.

Outrage!

RIFuture is running the story of how the Dept. of Edc. is planning a small salary raise for the new Commissioner:

"Pay Grade: F00-F56 base salary rate adjustment - flat rate ($135,516) to ($203,000)"

"On Friday, March 27, 2009 at 9:00 A.M. in the Executive Dining Room, Ground Floor, William E. Powers Building (Department of Administration), One Capitol Hill, Providence, Rhode Island 02908-5890, the Director of the Department of Administration, Gary S. Sasse, will hold a public hearing in accordance with the provisions of Sections 36-4-16 and 36-4-16.2 of the General Laws of 1956, as amended, to consider revisions to the Unclassified Service Classification and Pay Plan."

No wonder the State has $ problems. What an insult not only to our current teachers facing major layoffs, but $ cuts. And since we all help finance ALL of this (remember, we the people), I'm once again reminded of not only how stupid they believe all of us are, but how stupid they are.

Middletown School Budget in Trouble

Well, this is a duh. Everyone needs to keep their eye's open for what is happening here.

"The town is facing a loss of up to a $2 million in state, federal and other impact-aid revenues, which she [School Super Krager] said could mean restructuring the schools and grades and staffing layoffs might be necessary. Although no specifics emerged about what those cuts might be, school officials said the outlook was grim. "

While focus always seem to be spotlighted on the Council, you'd better start watching what goes on with school committees- all of them.

WHAT'S NEXT- Members of the Middletown School Committee and Town Council will meet with local members of the General Assembly on Monday, Feb. 2.- The Middletown School Committee will hold a budget workshop on Thursday, Feb. 5. (NDN)

Thanks to NDN reporter Matt Sheley.

Getting Rid of Henry

You might enjoy this short article written by a teacher as we talk of merit pay, eliminating defined pensions, teacher accountability, blah, blah, blah. This article could have been written by any teacher, any day of the week. But it's all their fault when education goes bad, right?

Here via www.buzzflash.com

College Grads Often Jobless

Nothing new- just that the mainstream press is beginning to write on this. From author Barbara Ehrenreich's Blog: "[Jared] Bernstein [Economic Policy Institute] says, the wage gap between the college-educated and non-college-educated is beginning to narrow, and this not because the wages of the latter are rising." How many do you know who are under-employed or working at jobs that just pay crap? Not to mention being in the hole from college debt. Uh-oh, guess you're not related to anyone who counts. And this from an article in May of 06!


I'm not spreading this good news to my URI soph son. My mother didn't raise any fools. And him studying business to boot. Oh, well. No good trying to enter the job market now anyway.

Middletown Schools Restoring Frosh Sports

***UPDATE*** This in from the NDN's reporter Matt Shelley. As my husband said, it takes a good Irishman, Wm. A. Kelly (class of 70) to do that! Baseball is back & football may also return. "Besides donating several thousand dollars to help the program this year, Kelly is helping create a permanent fund to support freshman sports for years to come."

Kelly no longer lives here, but owns Kelly Financial Services of Braintree, Mass. What a great thing to do! You may also make donations to the "Middletown High School Freshman Sports Fund" by sending a check to MPS on 26 Oliphant La., 02842.

Now if there were just some really rich nurses out there, they could restore them to each elem. school


From Meaghan Wims of Projo:

The School Committee last night shaved roughly $78,000 from its current-year budget plan by eliminating the freshman football and baseball teams, three part-time teaching assistants and one school bus.

The schools still have $15,000 to cut for a balanced budget.

Kraeger [sup't] said it will be difficult to find the remaining money, particularly if more teachers are needed to handle unexpected growth in enrollment.

Classes sizes now are maxed out. "The school district has so far recalled only about five of the 16 positions it eliminated for this school year."

When will fingers start being pointed to those who mandate everything & provide little (State funds cover 30-40% of expenses; feds- around 7%). It's not the income tax, the sale tax, etc. It's the property tax! You know, the ones the guv "forgets" to pay (Helmsley- "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes ..."). Hello Guv, General Assembly, Congress, Pres.

Newport, Tiverton, & Little Compton teachers are all still in contract negotiations.

Let's start to hear some chatter here!

Governor Vetoes Anti-Tracking Legislation

Projo carried an end-of-the year follow-up article on Middletown's pilot use of student tracking devices. Elementary students at Aquidneck school this year were tracking for one semester in a pilot program. Radio detector tags were placed on students' backpacks.

During the legislative session a bill was introduced and passed prohibiting the use of such tracking devices on students. The fears were that the devices could be used for other tracking with/without permission and that acess to the tracking system could be gained by unauthorized persons.

The guv vetoed the legislation, “in certain circumstances, it may be helpful for schools to have the ability to quickly identify where each of their students is located.”

Rep. Charlene Lima (D-Cranston), the House bill sponsor, "said it is one thing if parents wish to monitor their children...however the government should not have a role in tracking people.” The ACLU aslo weighed in against this type of student tracking which deletes our civil rights to privacy. Kids have rights, too.

"The Mobile Accountability Program, or MAP, was the brainchild of Collins’ brother, Chris Collins, a former engineering director at GTECH who left his job to start MAPIT Corp." The program was tested in a free semester-long pilot program at one school. Edward Collins, Middletown's facilities director, is the brother of the MAPIT Corp. owner. The results, along with comments made by school personnel, will now be used to promote and sell this technology to school system. Good luck with no $. Aquidneck School had a 90% participation rate.

The use of this technology is prohibited in Calif. & some other states have it on their agendas.

“If you want to make sure a kid is on the bus, why not just count them?” said Guilherme Roschke, a fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy protection research center in Washington, D.C. Roschke said similar proposals in other states typically haven’t been accompanied by data or research that shows why the tracking technology is necessary.

"

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Middletown School Budget

I received the following comment from Councilor Silveira. He is explaining his attempt to add revenue to the school budget. This is the 120k which may or may not materialize from the State with monies from extended gambling hours at the two casinos. The Newport Daily News link is not available without $. It barely mentioned his attempts or offered any explanation.

A few other communities also decided to accept the State's promise of "iffy" funding for schools in their budgets. I thought that the Councilman's plan was clever and right-on-the-money. I applaud him. This whole can of worms (school funding & the reserve funds we hold) will likely replay next year, the year after, blah, blah. The State needs to come up with more $ and give in yearly without all the drama scenes. They come up smelling like a rose for the election season while locals take the heat. And then there's the federal element...

I felt the need to comment on the recent Daily News story regarding the approval of the Middletown School budget. My attempt to budget the 120k as a revenue would have done few things-

1. Funded the school an additional 30k- potentially saving the sports programs.

2. Protected these potential, additional monies and allocate them as committed. As Superintendent Kraeger says herself the money will just be spent- therefore increasing their spending without a structured spending plan. As stated by Paul Rodrigues, it would be like winning the lottery- but no one will ever know what happens to the extra income. These potential extra funds from the State should be used to reduce the tax burden to the residents!


3. Lowered the proposed year's tax increase from 3.36 to 3.09 and, again, potentially saved vital programs.

If at the end of the year we didn't receive the full 120k from the State [monies realized from casino gambling], I proposed that we use a very small amount from the fund balance (undesignated). Remember that we have multiple different reserve funds with significant $ in them.

Yet again this Council chooses to spend reserve funds on anything that the majority see fit; i.e. manhole rehabilitation (400k) and the Potter League (150k). Yet they continue to try to paint me as being irresponsible. They continue to arbitrarily spend based on their own political agenda(s)- very sad.

Middletown School Funding

I rec'd this letter & thought that it was well worth publishing in its entirety. It's well-stated. Like many others, I'm pretty sick of yearly school budget cuts. I've been hearing them for ? almost 40 yrs. And concerning the same darn things (all-day K for all was added in 1994). Thanks to the writer & his friend for bringing it to my attention.
The good news is that the School Committee is on the agenda this year with 3 candidates & only 2 needed. Responses and comments are, as always, welcome.


It’s ALL about the children. Alternatively, it’s all about the CHILDREN. Wherever the grammatical emphasis is placed, such is the familiar mantra that echoes through Middletown’s Town Hall and School Administration Building. But the refrain apparently is empty.

How else can one interpret the Town’s inability to identify the $93,000 that is needed to fund freshman sports, as reported in the Daily News July 1 article, “Frosh sports on the bubble”?

First, I’m disappointed that freshman sports have been targeted exclusively (no other programs were mentioned in the article, and this letter discounts as a separate matter those actions taken as part of the normal budget process to comply with S3050 tax cap limits)). Second, it shows little creativity in addressing the problem - if there is a problem at all.

If considered a problem, the issue can be viewed from at least two perspectives: whether there is a budgetary “shortfall”; and why freshman sports should be targeted as the sole beast of burden.

Viewed from the first perspective, the School Department’s $36.6 million budget for 2008-2009 represents 59.6 per cent of the Town’s overall budget of $61.4 million. Somewhere in this forest of numbers, the children got lost, but surely there is $93,000 – representing one-quarter of one percent, and less than two-tenths of one per cent of the School’s and Town’s respective budgets – that can be re-directed to ensure that our students receive the FULL benefit of their student experience, including academics, the arts, club activities…and sports.

As to the second perspective, and whether freshman sports should serve as the lone target for this fiscal laser beam, I suggest that the Town’s concern is misplaced that this “real service” will be cut - only because of the way the issue is being addressed. Instead of possibly spreading the $93,000 across the entire budget and having everyone share some level of relatively tolerable and survivable pain, School officials have imposed the entire burden on a single group – the freshman and, more specifically, those wishing to play sports.

Let me be clear. This is not a complaint against teacher salaries and/or benefits – or the uncontrollable costs of some budget lines (e.g., transportation, fuel). It more simply is a matter of how expected pains are distributed across discretionary budget lines in response to – let’s face it - a very modest budget hit. The 2008-2009 budget requested $300,040 for athletic and student activities. $93,000 represents a 32 per cent reduction. No other budget line suffered similarly. My question: why freshman athletics? The School Department’s Budget Fact Sheet states that the reduction was made based on recommendations from the Sports Advisory Committee. I am curious as to exactly how the Advisory Committee expressed that recommendation.

If School and Town officials wish to inculcate a sense of confidence in the general public of their ability to apply reason to the budgeting process – especially for the vast majority of those who cannot attend the School Committee and Town Council meetings – then perhaps they could be a bit more open in how they came to their conclusions regarding freshman sports as the lone target. “We considered doing X, but dismissed it because…” We also evaluated the possibility of doing Y, but dismissed it as well because…” Perhaps this level of detail is missing from the article because of newspaper space limitations, but I hope that School and Town officials went through some “analysis of alternatives,” and that they can find some way to inform the community at large on the decision process. Somehow, though, I have little confidence that any rigorous analysis was applied when the School Superintendent concludes that the School Department can “make do if the council agree[s] to cut the requested reduction [$186,000] in half.” Why not by two-thirds? By three-quarters? By nine-tenths? What analysis generated the “half” solution? And what does “make do” mean?

I must admit however, that this year provided somewhat of a twist on the traditional Town Council-School Department dance that occurs every year during budget season. In the past, the School Department traditionally has submitted a funding request that represents a nominal increase above the current year budget, and the Town Council has approved something less than the requested amount, but more than the School Department’s current year budget. The School Department’s oft-repeated response: “How are we going to absorb these ‘cuts’?” Can someone please explain how a net increase above last year’s budget is a cut?

But this year, the Town Council initially indicated that it would approve the entire School budget, only to specify later that an $186,000 reduction was being considered. How, School Department officials reportedly wondered, could these “eleventh hour cuts” be absorbed? In addition to freshman sports, initial proposed reductions included elimination of a School/Nurse Teacher position that was restored in the proposed 08-09 budget; elimination of the position of Dean of Students at the high school; elimination/reduction of after school programs that assist and enhance students’ educational experience; elimination of one bus, scheduling fewer bus stops, and increasing walking distance by one-quarter mile at each level; elimination of some non-certified positions; and consideration to eliminating the All-Day Kindergarten Program. These targeted reductions suggest a less than thorough scrub of the budget, and in any case ultimately were “saved,” leaving only freshman sports in the cross-hairs.

Understandably, Town leaders expressed a desire to shield this year’s budget against larger cuts in order to protect the baseline against which next year’s caps will be applied. But what if the current budget is fundamentally flawed – or at least not as productive as it could be? There are indicators that this may be the case.

For instance, from 2001-2008, Middletown witnessed a 16.5 per cent reduction in overall enrollment (from 2895 down to 2416 students). Yet the School Department’s annual budgets have risen steadily over the same period (increasing from $24.7 million 2000-2001 to $32.8 million 2007-2008 – a 32 per cent increase). Freshman sports survived these years. To be sure, the Budget Fact Sheet reveals an explanation for continued budget increases. I cannot help but notice, however, that even in the face of enrollment reductions, there have been no discernible reductions in Administration-related expenditures. Shouldn’t there be some consideration given to cuts or drives for efficiency for the clerical and administrative staff in the rear areas (Oliphant) instead of on the front lines (sports and teachers)? The good news I guess is that School officials report that enrollment has “leveled off”, although the projected enrollment for 2008-2009 is down an additional 73 students from this past year – apparently continuing a trend of steady and consistent annual reductions that began in 2001.

Additionally, Rhode Island Monthly magazine (September 2007), in its annual High School Report Card, reported that only one school district in Rhode Island (Block Island) spent more on “per pupil instructional spending” at the high school level than did Middletown.

Middletown spent $9,260 per student and received an “Insufficient Progress” assessment in school performance. By comparison: Barrington, $6,965 (High Performing); East Greenwich, $7,031 (High Performing); North Kingston, $6,755 (High Performing +); Portsmouth, $7,046 (High Performing); and Rogers, $7,992 (Moderately Performing). Each of these schools has retained freshman sports.

How can Town and School officials use this year’s budget to justify or protect next year’s based on such performance? Does Middletown’s insufficient progress at the high school level suggest that even MORE funding is needed? I hope not (although School officials project annual shortfalls for the next four years - increasing from $302,701 for FY 09-10 to $609,004 for FY12-13). Based on these numbers, perhaps cutting sports programs isn’t such a bad idea.


Dan Withers, Middletown

State Lege to Schools- Maybe, Kinda, Sorta

I was delighted when I first heard the Lege was intending on giving an increase to most communities in the form of more school aid. I was a heckuva lot less delighted when I understood all the and's, if's, and but's.


Your schools will get the extra funds IF slot machines pay off as expected when as of yet they have not been doing so. The Council could award the school some of the extra funds out of their budget & then asked to be reimbursed, but I'm not sure that can be legally done.


What's this mean then for schools? You can't actually include these monies as revenues because you may never get them. You can't actually use them to balance your budget NOW. So what do you do with maybe monies? Not a darn thing until you actually have them in hand. A sad way to fund schools when you've actually mandated just about everything about them. Schools matter, then. But only if you hit the lucky numbers. So please, play those slots! Your kids future may depend upon it.


It's better than nothing, I suppose. But maybe not. Balancing the State Budget on the backs of kids, seniors, & and poor families- that's the best that we can do? Thanks to the federal gov't, too, who helped put us in this mess.


This weekend I heard an economist suggest that we need to start throwing monies out to solve our energy problem & perhaps enact a new Manhattan project. Energy- yes; education-no. Just mandates & punishments. Heaven forbid actually spending on education. And since education costs by their very nature primarily consist of labor costs... well, you know the rest.

I've had several residents with kids in school & various school personnel speaking to me lately regarding the current town school budget shortfall which I've written about previously. I'm no longer hearing complaints on teacher salaries, nor even benefits. The biggest complaint is that while there are no more reading teachers, various programs have been cut, and many staff laid-off, the administration stays the same. Actually, not even that- it's being added to. I've written about this before- ALL administrators belong for a period of time every week IN the classroom. It serves as a reminder of why they are there.

Parents/teachers need to actively find candidates on ALL levels, make their concerns known, and SUPPORT those candidates. Support them not just with votes, but money & time. NOW IS THE TIME. If you don't fight for them, who will? Good schools are good for everyone.

Good News for District Schools!

The Lege in their new proposed budget has decided to stem the flow of the bleeding from local education costs. Here is the rundown of school district increases proposed for the State's 2008-2009 budget:

Newport $233,854

Middletown $206,787

Little Compton $7,265

Tiverton $116,848

Thanks to Pat Crowley's posting from RIFuture & Projo

Newport School Committee Candidate

I'd almost move to Newport so that I could vote for Sandra. She's the perfect candidate, I think.

Sandra J. Flowers has announced her candidacy for a seat on the Newport School Committee in the upcoming November general election. A veteran teacher of thirty years in the Newport public schools, Flowers has continued her involvement in education as a volunteer tutor and mentor, as well as service on the boards of numerous education and cultural groups in the area. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and education from Salve Regina College in 1965, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Rhode Island College in 1969, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Salve Regina University in 1996. She received a PhD in humanities from Salve Regina University in 2006. She also taught for several years as an adjunct instructor at Salve Regina.
In making her first run for public office, Flowers states that her years as an educator, as well as her continued involvement in research and hands-on tutoring, make her acutely mindful of the challenges faced by the students, teachers, parents, and administrators of the Newport Public Schools. At the same time, Flowers, a native Newporter and property owner, said she is “all too aware” of the social and economic changes faced by the local taxpayers. She sees some of the major issues that school committee members must address are the high school graduation rate, test scores on all levels, special education, the school physical plants, and operational costs. Noting that part of the School Committee’s mission, “in partnership with students, families, and the community,” is to assure that students will attain the skills and abilities to become life-long learners and productive citizens, Flowers said she intends to work “to improve the sense of collaboration and cooperative spirit that is so sorely needed in our community and in the state.”


For further information, contact Sandra J. Flowers at: 847-7271 (home)
378-7554 (cell)
sjflowersphd@yahoo.com

School Budget Beheading

Recently the Middletown Town Council told the School Committee to cut an additional $186,000 from its budget. In a recent "Daily News" letter, School member Ned Draper (also on the Budget subcommittee) decried the late communication of this by the Council & referred to it as "an appalling surprise." I'll say. Doesn't allow much time for planning, does it

On Mon., June 16 at 6 pm there will be a Town Hall meeting. And as Ned aludes to, another in Nov. (translation- elections)/

Thanks are to be extended to the guv who says that we don't do enough to control local costs, the lege, who has yet to HELP fund education, and the federal government who has plenty to spend on war but little to spend at home.

On the chopping block are either all-day K or middle school sports. A devil's bargain if ever I heard one. What will be on the block next year? Councilor DiPalma suggested tapping into the beach fund which didn't even receive a second. I know, I know, it's designated beach monies to be used there. As far as I'm concerned, schools first, beaches second, but you're free to try & change my mind. It's all our monies anyway. If one group has to belt-tighten, evenone's belt gets tightened. That's what community means.

Yeah, I know, a 15% pupil decrease. But this doesn't mean much unless it's across one grade level, does it? For example, you can't say 15% less in heating costs, or 15% less for electricity or even staffing (although I believe 15 positions have been eliminated).

I'm with you, Ned, & left wondering why a more clear-cut bottom line demand wasn't communicated sooner. And why the guv decries being a high tax state but always ignores the reason we are just that- abnormally high property taxes caused by insuffficient state funding- especially in education.

Please feel free to add comments either way. Better yet, show up next Mon. & voice your opinion one way or another. This is the time!

Superintendents, Principals and Teachers

The Projo has a article on Newport government salaries. One comment caught my attention:

Ambrogi [school superintendent] said it makes sense for him to be the top paid employee in the School Department, just as principals should be earning more than teachers.

My question is, why should they? My husband had an interesting Edc. prof at Roger Williams Univ. who challenged this prevailing thought. She thought that the most important component of education was working with kids (novel idea). Everyone involved in schools should be working with kids. Admins too often become out of touch as they no longer work with kids on a regular basis.

I've seen it happen even with custodians (until they were told to stop). They'd have kids working with them on small tasks, all the while talking to them about students' concerns in a non-threatning atmosphere. Sometimes even visiting classrooms to read a story to students or working with a student who needed to leave their classroom for a time. Sounds like real-life education to me.

Why should Principals get paid more than teachers? One could argue the point that they should be paid less. How about the same as teachers, perhaps even rotating the job with other staffers. It's an intriguing thought which opens up a lot of possibilities. Superintendents also. Let them teach kids on a daily basis. It would certainly serve as a daily reminder of why schools are there. Perhaps alleviate much of the current mainstream thought of admin. versus teachers and parents- "us" against "them." Any thoughts?

Rant for the day.

Get more info on the highest paid Newport gov't jobs- police & principals for the most part.

Thanks to Projo reporter Richard Salit.

Still No Contract for Tiverton Teachers

The Tiverton teachers unanimously turned down the latest school committee's offer. This proposal would place them among the lowest paid with one of the highest co-sharing of health premiums in the state.


Amy Mullen, Pres. of the NEA Tiverton local states: "When the superintendent proposed this to our negotiating committee he described it in a very derogatory term. Even he knows how bad it is." *NOTE: "shit sandwich" was the term.

Currently 3 other RI districts that have no contract. Recently Tiverton teachers proposed a one year contract that would have taken them through next Fall. However, it was rejected by the school committee.


The teachers then offered to accept the first year of the school committee's three year proposal in "an attempt to end this continuing animosity, take a short breather and for both sides to return to the bargaining table refreshed and ready to try to reach a multi-year agreement. It would also give both sides a realistic look at funding once the state budget has been adopted by the General Assembly. ...Instead the sschool committee chose to continue the acrimonious relationship."


The most recent school committee proposal (3 yrs.) offers first year staffers a 3% raise with 12% co-share of health care costs. The latter represents an increase of $522 (family plan). Year two includes a 1% increase for most and a 2.5% increase for those on step 10 ($6.99/wk. before taxes) .

The reputed reports of a teacher graduation boycott is denied by local Pres. Amy Mullen. This misinformation came from a letter left for Superintendent Rearick who refused to meet with teachers last Tues.


Read all of this as no end in sight. How many more of these non-contracts before the Lege decides finally to act? The promise of a permanent school funding formula led many to believe that there would be more state assistance, but that seems to have gone up in smoke, esp. with the latest bill before the Lege. The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief bill is ironically named, to say the least (see previous posting). Doublespeak is here. Tiverton would see an 11.6% cut & they fare better than the rest of the District. Still our Sen. Gibbs says nothing.


Health care & salaries are the sticking points. Not exactly headline news. What is headline is that it's all starting to hit the fan now. Property tax caps, level funding from the State (and perhaps substantially less in the future), soaring health care costs, exploding state deficits, and no solutions in the near future- The Perfect Storm. While Tiverton is feeling it this year, expect even more areas in our District to be facing this. Little leadership from our Guv except to budget cut. In an education system wherein most of the costs are personnel, there's only one place for cuts to come. And of course no $ from the federal government either. After all, we've got a war going on & a mortgage problem to solve.


Awfully quiet from our legislators. Shhh. Don't wake them. After all, they have NOTHING to do with this. It's a local problem, it's a local problem, just keep repeating...

Fair Funding for District Schools?

A new House bill (The Education Equity and Property Tax Relief) is on the agenda this year with the much anticipated new reliable school funding formula. It is sponsored by Democrat Edith Ajello (Prov.) who was the co-chair of the Permanent Education Foundation Aid Formula Committee which released their final report last year. Edith, a particular fav of mine, sprouts a head of white (not blonde) curly hair. My kind of woman. The Republican co-sponsor is Rep. John Savage of E. Prov. who was also a member of the aforementioned committee.

Says the report in the "Daily News:"

"Under the formula, four of the six Newport County communities — Newport, Portsmouth, Jamestown and Little Compton — would have their state aid eliminated within three years. Middletown would see its aid cut by 65 percent. Tiverton fares the best but still would see an 11.6 percent cut in state aid."

These formulas would be phased in over 3 yrs. No statement from our Senator Gibbs (nor Rep. Coaty or Amaral), who was a committee member, although everyone else weighed in against.

Ajello, now serving her eighth term in the House, is aware the plan will face stiff 0pposition. But she can also count. About 40 of the 75 House members, and a majority of the Senate’s 38 members represent communities that come out ahead under the formula, Ajello said.

Uh-oh. Not quite what we expected after all. Stay tuned. Let's see what kind of pull our lege members have. Evidently, Sen. Gibbs= zilch, nothing, nada.

Economic Development

Recently this Middletown committee along with the C of Commerce, & Rep. Kennedy (coordinated with the Mayforth Group- our town's development directors) hosted a Contractors' Conference. Over 350 attended the conference & surpassed everyone's goals. In other words, projected Navy bulding projects attracted hungry contractors, union leaders, & subcontractors.


If you had any doubt about tough times around here- this provided a real eye opener. I see an auction of real estate sponsored by two large local agencies (with reserve prices withheld). It's been at least ?15 yrs. since I've seen this happening. My husband has a graph. In 1989 real estate (for the state as a whole) reached a peak. It then dived for the next 5 yrs. It then went into slow recovery until reached the previous high in 2000. That means a 10 yr. downward turn. In 2000 in soared upward until 2006. Then downward once again. Anyone who is projecting a short downturn in real estate in this area, must have their fingers crossed. Talk about a bubble bursting is premature- it's more like a steady, slow leak.


While our District's meal/hotel tax revenues hold steady, one may well ask for how long? We live in a service economy. Retail has been suffering here for quite awhile, including anything tied in with a tourist economy. And while those revenues are holding steady, that could simply reflect of higher prices or increased locations. The hoteliers (inc. b& b's) & restauranteurs I'm hearing from are hurting. Long-times businesses located here, not just Newport, are closing. Economists are predicting the worst recession in 20 yrs.

While your home is decreasing in value, don't expect your taxes to go down. Good deal out there for renters, though. The multi-family home market (inc. duplexes) is practically dead and has been for awhile (worse than the declining condo market). Schools are laying off teachers & they do not return (12 expected in Middletown, more in Tiv). Newport is seeing an onslaught of retirements this yr. due to their contract expiration. So probably no lay-offs there.

The town has submitted Congressional appropriations paperwork for Aquid, Corp. Park improvements & Woods Hole funding (storm water issues at First Beach). But not to hold your breath. The wars are sucking up most funding & earmarks are scarce. There is also the plan to provide some federal funding for the exploration of a much-needed regional water processing plant. Great idea, expensive, and fraught with potential problems (Raytheon vs. Portsmouth housing development). Evidently, you can't have both. Too good an idea, though, to let it pass us by.

Cast-off properties from the Navy seem to be in the offing, but please, fair-market value bids only. They need bucks. Now is the time to zone any of these areas so that they are not attractive to outside buyers. The former Navy Lodge is now zoned recreation & it should stay that way. Re-zoning can be done afterwards. The other M'town location is the old piers.

Councilman DiPalma tried once again to gain backing for a legislative bill to regain local monies from the Newport Tourism board & once again was shot-down. This is where politicking can play a role. If you can't convince your own constituency, let alone the board & business owners to support this, what's the point? What might actually work is having legislation amended to return local monies here rather than the Prov. convention center (7%). Maybe then we could lobby for more local funding to local budgets.

While a contract was approved for the new police station in Middletown, one might ask why there was a plus difference of 2 mil in expected costs (figured ? 2 yrs. ago). Besides the price of copper, what's changed? A heckuva difference, to be sure. While we are assured it won't add to the tax rate, the money to build still comes out of our pockets. With the selling of GMH's assets to a British-based corp., this could drastically affect the expected payments-in-lieu of taxes deal which is supposed to help build the new police station. And let's not forget the projected new fire station (which we never voted on, b-t-w, but thought we were). The payments may well have just evaporated. It's a wait-and-see deal. Expect to hear more on this. Charter-change talk may well be forced to take a back seat.

Which reminds me, I have not yet heard one complaint voiced on the Guv's budget to towns/cities, school dept. And what ever happened to the promised re-vamping of the school aid formula? Sh-h-h-. This was an improtant component of the state's forced reduction of local property taxes.


There are residents hurting out there. Even local, private naval contractors are noticing a dearth of monies out there. And if you aren't one of those hurting, remember the adage about New England weather- wait a minute. And watch those tax/motgagee sales & dropping real estate prices. Beats playing the lottery (perhaps).

Talk About Ending Teacher Strikes

The new proposed pieces of legislation eminating from the Board of Regents seems to hit the spot, doesn't it? End teacher strikes & jobs actions. What's not to like? Teachers don't like them, parents & school committees, even students as they go to school longer & longer in June long for their cessation. So this should be a no-brainer, right? Onward it goes to the guv for his approval & then submittal to the Lege. Quoting Joan Rivers seems appropriate here: "Let's talk!"

"Officials at the state Department of Education researched tougher labor laws in Pennsylvania and New York when crafting the amendments, according to Deputy Education Commissioner David V. Abbott." (Projo)

Evidently they forgot looking into the results of these laws and whether or not they work. New York has some of the toughest anti-strike laws on the books to prevent public workers from striking. The first is the 1947 Condon-Wadlin Act, a state law that forbids strikes by government workers on penalty of dismissal and a three-year pay freeze for those later reinstated. This law is so onerous that despite many strikes, it has never been invoked.


In 1967 New York passed the Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act (Taylor Law). While still banning strikes, the penalties were decreased & a labor relations structure ( PERB) was set up to help resolve disputes before they escalated. It was the Taylor Law that gave teachers the right to organize and teachers across the country watched what happened here. In fact, it was Republican Gov. Rockefeller who made this bow to labor in an attempt to balance labor's interests with management rights.


I recall watching what happened in N.Y. in the early seventies. My college ed course focused on the differences between the NEA & Albert Shankar's newly organized United Federation of Teachers out of NYC. The NEA considered itself a "professional" organization much like the AMA. Union tactics were most definitely part of their agenda. The UFT was considered "radical" and backed using union tactics & bargaining to improve not only teachers' lives, but education.


Did the Taylor Act work? The fact that it's had many amendments since its passing demonstrates that while having some sucess the problem still remains. In fact when the 1975 teachers' strike was settled, the Board of Education ignored much of Taylor's punitive action as part of the agreement.

"Yet even as strikes in New York State have become rarer, the conditions that drive unions to contemplate striking have not disappeared, a function of the Taylor Law’s inability to prod government employers to bargain in good faith and sign timely contracts." "said Al Viani, a veteran arbitrator...the Taylor Law does not provide any finality for teachers." (here)

Teachers still strike even with severe penalties. They also stage walkouts (299 in the first 15 yrs.) at various schools to spread out penalties among membership. And when they do settle job actions, punishment strike activity is excluded.

"New York's United Federation of Teachers, for example, now boasts a potent no-strike contract with the board of education that covers salaries, checkoffs, teaching conditions, grievance procedures and binding arbitration." (here)

One could say that the passage of the Taylor Law resulted in the formation of not only the AFT but the philosophical change of the NEA. The AFT's sucess in better teacher contracts resulted in the sea change of the NEA into an actual union.

Another unexpected result of delaying teacher contracts, is the physical decay of buildings, larger class sizes, the lack of basic materials & supplies, staffing, etc. (here) And still teachers persist in job actions. (here) They still walk the picket line and defy the law. Who can blame them when there still is no strong motivational factor for school boards to actually settle contracts? Teachers in Buffalo waited ten years for a raise with no contract. While some like to say that contracts are ONLY for teachers, in fact working conditions improve not only teachers' lives, but student education.



To combat the problem of school boards refusals to negotiate contracts there have been a number of amendments offered in N.Y., but so far vetoed by Gov. Pataki. The Triborough Amendment, continues pay raises while contracts are being negotiated. Another amendment requiring acceptance of a union's last offer when management refuses negotiating in good faith & substantial monetary punishments for not negotiating expeditiously. Part of the package also includes substantially reducing strike punishments. All of this legislation is expected to eventually pass.


The referred to Pennsylvania "legislation" (Republican backed) prohibiting strikes demands is, in fact, a Constitutional amendment. It faces tough opposition with Democratic proposals calling for binding arbitration.

“To me, this feels like a piece of legislation that essentially puts the blame and penalty only on teachers,” said Callaghan. “I think the right to strike should be retained. In most cases, when teachers strike, it is often the only thing that brings everyone back to the negotiating table.” [says] Colleen Callaghan, director of professional development for a teachers’ union, the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers. (Projo here)

And Colleen hits the nail on the head.

Nearly all labor-law experts feel that public employees cannot be handled by simply barring unions or outlawing strikes. To be sure, the presence of unions fosters strikes to some extent.... In light of the public sector's enormous labor growth, however, the experts argue that strong laws alone will no longer do. Sound bargaining and judicious injunctions, they say, are the modern way to help political leaders avoid strikes and aid the public weal. (here)

In response to the proposed legislation:

Robert A. Walsh Jr., executive director of the... National Education Association, said he prefers third-party binding arbitration over striking as a way to resolve contract disputes between teachers’ unions and school committees. Connecticut uses binding arbitration. “Police and fire have arbitration because everyone agrees it is not in the public interest to have those public employees on strike,” Walsh said. “Well, if there would be irreparable harm to the public when teachers don’t report to work, the same standard should apply,” (Projo above)

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Simplistic solutions such as the Board of Regents is suggesting, just don't work. You can't just cut out the teachers' unions & various support personnel groups when you mandate these laws. Everyone who is invested needs to have a seat at the table.


And we have even more of this stuff to look forward to:

"The task force meetings generated so much discussion the Board of Regents expanded its focus to include ways to improve teacher quality, contract negotiation and mediation.. revamping teacher preparation programs at local colleges; strengthening mentoring programs..." (Projo)

Blah, blah, blah, yackety, smakety. We can't actually figure out a way to solve actual problems so we'll just pretend that we can. Leave it all to daddy. He does know best after all. Why don't they just say it - let's eliminate the public schools and/or those nasty Unions & have private/charter schools. These teachers will NEVER think of organizing, complaining, or exerting influence on what happens in their schools & will gratefully do whatever we tell them. Nope, nope, nope. Say it often enough and ... it's still malarkey.

Come on, we can do better. Like Joan says, "Let's talk."

Thanks to Projo reporter Jennifer D. Jordan.