Middletown Elections Are Coming- Be VERY Afraid!

Sorry, well not really, that I have not kept up with Middletown politics.  I do know some of what's going on due to visitations, not the daily snooze (they charge).  Truly, it's not very high on my list since I no longer reside nor own property there!
I do know about the referendum question (above) and some of the local yokels running (I say this most affectionately).
I'll be short & sweet.  If you don't elect Ed Silveira, Barbara VonVillas, and Dick Adams- you are nuts & deserve what you get.  I've only heard mention of a few other names- "I've heard that song before." Feel free to check the archives!  Check Projo's, too.  Change is extremely difficult, if not impossible for most, so past performance matters!
It's highly questionable why ANYONE would want to run for Town Council/School Committee, but aren't you lucky that they do!  Hat's off to one and ALL of them!   
Pay special attention to State Lege races.  Often these candidates are ignored and get a free pass every year.  They Should Not!  High property taxes- thank them.  Tolls raised?  Look to them.  School woes?  Hey, cast your eyes towards Prov.  But, damn, they do know how to look effective and duck. It's often a beauty contest.  If you haven't got the physical attributes- spin city. So don't let the philistines escape!
Hang tough & buckle down!  Ask those  hard questions & duck the incoming. "Eggheads of the world- unite!  We have nothing to lose but our yolks!"  Adlai Stevenson.

Kennedy School Closing on News

This is the link for Bill Rappleye's Channel 10 report last night. Since the School Committee is meeting tonight, expect to see more on this.

Middletown Council Asks Schools to Reduce Budget

There was a budget workshop last night for the School Committee & Town Council. The Schools had worked up a budget that was 4.75% higher than last year's. 4.75% is the max increase allowed by State law (next yr. it will be 4.5%). Of course, when the State passed these caps, it also promised a reliable school aid formula and a share in the general revenue funds. The former never materialized & all funding is in jeopardy.

The Council asked that it be reconfigured to a 2% raise. Why 2%? Chair Semonelli spoke that 2% is what's "palatable to the town." Indeed, from Councilor Sylvia, "If 2% was conveyed to you, why are we looking at 4.75%?" Good question, although that figure was only recently given to them. School Committee woman Theresa Silveira-Spengler, who was often quite upset and vocal at an otherwise calm meeting replied: "But, it's not reasonable."

As School Chair Michael Crowley explained, it's not only a difficult budget year, but they are smack in the middle of contract negotiations with both teachers & teacher assistants. This translates into a salary projection of the current contract. They are also unsure of State & fed'l funds. Any stimulus funding will not apply to current personnel- a definite drawback; not to mention know what the actual numbers are.

Since the largest expense of any school dept. is personnel, both groups were concerned with program cutting beyond what is already planned; e.g., the closing of Kennedy School. Councilor VonVillas was especially concerned with salaries. If you can reduce this line, you will not have further program cuts. "Start at the top." Councilo Silveira urged worked together on this budget, "We need to be part of the solution."

The meeting was dominated by Councilors VonVillas (a former school sup't), with frequent comments & suggestions from Councilors Sylvia and Silveira. It's nice to see people up there who actually know what they're talking about & can ask pointed questions. After all, that was the point of this workshop.

Sup't Kraeger did a good job with her Power Point presentation which was much appreciated by the tiny audience who had no copies of their budget (would have been nice). Short & to the point. School Chair Crowley was able to get to the heart of the schools' problems in coming up with a workable budget. Indeed, he mentioned the problem of the "starve the beast" philosophy which is now full-force at the local level. With little State and Fed'l funding (yet plenty of mandates), it is virtually impossible to fund schools properly. The guv's own office has suggested changing the budget year to Oct. rather than June so that $ would be more forthcoming.

School Committee woman Spengler had plenty to say about taxes & schools in an often confrontational manner full of non sequiturs. I didn't get her connection that if you pay higher taxes, you may as well send your kids to private school. Most notable is her anger with Vision Appraisal assessments & her high property taxes. Somehow she believes that if her assessment decreases, so will her taxes. Ah, you dreamer, it doesn't actually work that way. The irony of her discontent is that since the schools are appx. 70% of the town's budget, her own actions are increasing her taxes. She did liven up the meeting though. She is passionate about not cutting programs and that's a good thing.

Bottom line- it's not a good year to be in contract negotiations. BTW, Town Admin. Sean Brown (the Quiet Man), bespoke the fact that in the past year there have been more foreclosures in town than in the past 12. It's been much worse in Newport. The town, unlike Newport, does not keep figures on businesses gone kaput.

Expect to see a final budget from the Schools in June. They are also meeting tonight with a lively session expected from parents unhappy with the Kennedy School closing. Let's face it, it's all about $. It always has been.

The audience for this budget workshop was tiny. 3 elem. school Principals, two from the town's Finance dept., Matt Sheley from the NDN, RINEA local rep (God bless her, not a good year to have that job), and Karen Roarke (former Town Counselor). When Karen spoke up from the audience, she was reminded that it was a workshop (no comments) & promptly left. She forgot to ask, "Mother, may I?"

It was not filmed.

Middletown Council Meets with School Committee Tonight

That's at 6 PM tonight at Oliphant School (cellar). The school budget IS the Council's budget, for the most part. I can't recall (brain freeze) whether or not the public may speak at a workshop; although, I've always found members quite willing to receive input from attendees.

Beer afterwards? Works for me. Myself, I like the Brew Pub (Connell Highway) where they make their own beer. Now that I think about it, forget the stupid meeting & just go to the pub.

Kennedy School Closing Raises Complaints

Kinda late in the game. Where were you during the winter hearings? Some parents have been giving this some thought & have decided that "the plan doesn’t place the needs of the town’s students first and won’t save nearly the money that’s been suggested." (NDN, 4/7/09, "School closure worries parents") I always thought that the given $ savings difficult to believe. I also questioned the deed. I'm surprised that it isn't limited to educational uses like the library next door- we acquired this school from the Navy. Heck, no one has EVER said that this was being done for sound educational reasons or is even in students' best interests.

"A group of parents is circulating a petition asking the School Committee to reconsider or postpone the closure of Kennedy at its next meeting on Thursday, April 16, at 7 p.m. in the Oliphant administration building."

For more info on the petition contact John McBride at jwm@yahoo.com. Good luck! The School Committee next meets at 7 pm, Oliphant School on April 16. Sign-up with the Sec. of St. for school meeting notices & agendas. It's EASY. Do it HERE. Once you cast your election vote your job is not done. You've got to pay attention & speak up. Otherwise... this is what happens.

Thanks to reporter Matt Sheley at NDN (sorry, article is not online & you can't comment on their site regarding it) for some of this info. But you MAY comment here or write about it OR cover the school committee meeting & write about it if you contact me. For free!

Middletown School Closing?

The School Committee is thinking of closing Kennedy School on W. Main Rd. & sending upper grade students to Gaudet & lower ones to Aquidneck School. There are a number of reasons for this cost-cutting measure (the town anticipates a $two mil shortage) including one odd one stating that Aquidneck School must be used for only educational or rec purposes in the deed. However, I believe that also applies to Kennedy School, too, along with the Library.

If ever there was a time to stay informed about the goings-on of local and state gov't- this is it! When the budgets are tight, can cuts be far behind? And I'm not speaking of just getting rid of the billboards the town now owns on East Main Rd. ( soon to be minus $6000/yr. in income). Also be prepared to be nickled & dimed even more.

Thanks to Mat Sheley from NDN for the article.

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.

Mother Supports School Bus Monitors

Sophia Pendergast is a woman on a mission. She wants to educate people, especially those with school-aged child, of the "risks and safety factors" involved in riding school buses. Sophia wants everyone to understand the role of bus monitors in promoting safety and the risk when non are provided.

She, along with daughter Julie Mott, realize far more than the rest of us and on an extremely personal note, the consequences of no bus monitors. In 1985 Sophia's daughter and Julie's sister, Vanessa, a Middletown first-grader, was killed by her school bus after disembarking for the short walk home. The bus driver, quite simply, didn't see the little girl who got trapped underneath.

In 1985, the year of her daughter's death, two other Rhode Island students were killed by a school bus. Prior to that, an average of one student each year lost their life. In 1986 the State Legislature passed a law requiring all buses for K-5 to have monitors on board to assist students, the drivers, and alert the public to students getting or leaving buses, and crossing the street. Since then, no students in our State have been killed. Not one.

Currently, the town of Middletown places monitors not only on buses for young students, but for all students, costing the town $117,000 this current school year. Mike Crowley, School Committee Chair, is determined to keep this program going. Like myself who was a teacher in the system at the town, he recalls all too well this shocking and avoidable incident. The next school year we remembered the little girl by planting a cherry tree in front of Aquidneck School in her memory. I also had her sister, Julie, in grade school and later in middle school. How much is a child's life worth in your town or your State?

Mike has made his opposition to this item in the Governor's supplementary budget proposal requesting the State Legislature's repeal of this law thereby eliminating the cost for local schools for these monitors. "This is a decision that most all school committees weigh in on. The decision will be made by our legislators."

Sophia knows this all too well as in recent years this has been previously proposed by legislators at the bequest of some towns and school committees. Knowing the severity of this year's financial crisis and the rapidity with which this budget will be adopted, she and her daughter have launched an e-mail campaign to call attention to the consequences of repealing this school mandate. In contact with parents from other states, she has heard horror stories of students assaulted and robbed; especially those with older students. In between her work as a bookkeeper, supported by her husband William, a former Newport police officer now working as the computer manager at the stationhouse, and with Julie doing some of the crunchwork, a web site is being worked on.

Sophia is determined to get out more information for parnets and guardians of students riding school buses. She urges voters to get in contact with their Senators and Representatives to let them know about the importance of this issue to them. Newporter Sophia's Senator is Paiva-Weed and Rep. Martin. She has not yet reached them yet personally, but won't give up trying.

Sophia and her family are on a mission because they know more than most what is at stake. Expect to hear a lot more from them. And when your child, niece, grandson, returns home safely on their bus today, send a little note of thanks to Sophie and remind yourself to contact your newly elected politicans. Now, not later. Time is of the essence with House Finance hearing on this budget being scheduled. See my previous posting for a sample letter & local legislative addresses.

Check Projo & NDN for more stories. I'll also be doing more follow-up on the specifics of what Middletown does to promote bus safety for students and Sophia's tips.

Governor's Supplemental Budget for '09

**UPDATE** Via Justin Katz at Anchor Rising:

Article #7 suspends any General Revenue Sharing payments for the current fiscal year: loss of $55.1 million
#17 freezes the tax rate applied for the Public Service Corporation (Telephone) Tax to stop further losses in tax revenue which goes to cities and towns
#19 creates a statewide health insurance contract which municipalities may opt out of if they can prove they’re realizing more savings under their own plan
#20 expands joint purchasing opportunities to services
#21 establishes a panel to resolve school-municipal budget disputes in any year there is a reduction in general or education aid
#40 establishes last-best offer, total package arbitration as the impasse procedure to resolve contract disputes with police and firefighter unions
#41 establishes several commissions to study and report on municipal public safety and other consolidations/mergers by March 10, 2010
#42 expands the criteria that arbitration panels must consider in rendering their decision and allows for arbitration awards to be up to three (3) years in duration
#43 removes all issues related to manpower levels and deployment from police and firefighter collective bargaining
#44 mandates a 25% health insurance (including dental and vision care) co-payment for all municipal employees and school teachers
#45 makes major changes to the Municipal Employees Retirement System and also affects private, municipally-administered pension plans (e.g. 1% increase in employee contributions, 50% disability pensions, min. 30 years service or age 59, 25 years service for public safety pensions)
#46 reduces on-the-job injury pay to police and firefighters to 80% of pay rather than 100% of their pay
#47 prohibits municipal employees from being sued in their personal or individual capacity, limits joint and several liability and eliminates the award of pre-judgment interest by the courts

and from Carol Andrew Morse:

Eliminate General Revenue Sharing to Cities and Towns $55.1M
State Agency Corrective Action Plans $51.2M
Reduce Local Education Aid, Corresponding to Pension Contribution Deferral $41.1M
Defer Repayment to Rhode Island Capital Plan Fund $38.4M
Lowered Teacher's Retirement Fund Contribution $28.1M
Anticipated "Medicaid Stimulus" $27.5M
Lower State Employee Retirement Contribution $25.9M
Increased Revenue from Raising Cigarette Tax $17.4M
Medicaid CNOM Savings $10.5M
Defer Station Fire Settlement Payments $10.0M

$305 million in savings.***

This is what Governor Carcieri proposes to get us out of the hole by $357 million (20 min. speech). No surprises here.

1. Public employee pension changes- min. retirement age of 59 (35 yrs.), goodbye COLA's- going forward, defined retirement plan (e.g., 401 K's) $100M in savings

2. Aid to towns & cities- 6% reduction for the rest of the year. This will also be accompanied by a single statewide healthcare contract, elimination of state many mandates (e.g., bus monitors, fire trucks), and a statewide food service contract. Gov't commission to explore combining 39 towns & cities (regionalize) with extensive powers to force referendum votes on this.

3. Delivery of social services- Lege must pass the global Medicaid waiver.

Also not spoke of but mentioned by the newscasters are the specifics of: $1 cigarette tax raise, & higher DMV charges, pension reduction costs for towns & cities (75%),

4. No broad-based tax increases.

Fed'l monies to be used to lower taxes, create growth, & stimulate the economy. Some must be set aside for likely worsening conditions. Various state offices may be closed on a regular basis. Sacrifice, support, & understanding by the public is needed.

I was not able to locate the $ amount of local aid being held back online. Here are the 2009 amounts from the Budget Office. In red is the minus 6% figure:

Middletown: $2,097,859 (-$125,871), Newport: $4,576,145 (-$274,568), Tiverton: $2,083,573 (-$125,014), Little Compton: $419,987 (-$25,199)

I did ask Middletown Town Council & School Committee Chair for initial comments. I'm hoping that we'll hear from Newport's Sandra Flowers (School Committee). At some point I'll follow up with our State Legislators.

Candidate Questions

I'm planning on sending local candidates questions a la John McDaid at Hard Deadlines. So as to distance myself a bit, I'm hoping to sweet-talk John & use his for both Council & School Committee. I'm open for suggestions on other questions you'd like to ask. I can't promise I'll use them, but I'll sure consider it!

I'd also like to do it for State candidates, but time constraints may kick in. If you have questions for those (Senate, Rep. & State Senate, Rep.), I'm all ears- well, all eyes in this case!

Sugestions are always welcome on most any topic. Thinking (at least on my part) is a good thing! If I thought there was interest, I'd broaden the question-asking to more in the District (Newport, Tiverton, & Little Compton). But unless there is a groundswell, I'll limit to Middletown.