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I have never written a letter to a newspaper, but then again, I have never been this angry about an issue before. My daughter attended John Greene, and she was devastated when her school closed. Now whe is at Gorton, and after 2 months of deliberating, this Short Term Facilities committee has decided to close her school. My child is now going to be shipped across the city to another junior high, and the school administration has prepared so little that they can't even tell me what school she will go to. Beyond that, they can't even tell me what high school she will attend the following year. In fact, they are hinting that the next step will be to close Vets.

I still probably wouldn't have written this letter if I had not attended the facilities committee meeting on Tuesday. I watched Superintendent D' Agostino bully the committee into submission. I watched him berate people on the committee who disagreed with him. I saw him lecture female members of the committee as if they were children who needed to be educated. It was embarrassing, and disgusting. I was so glad that I didn't bring my daughter, as it was such a poor lesson in how adults act and accomplish things.

I'm a dad, and dads are supposed to protect their daughters. I felt helpless to protect her. I feel like Mr. Mullen and the superintendent are playing with my child's education and future. I feel like they care about nothing other than their own agenda.

Really, though, it is Mr. Dennis Mullen that made me angry enough to write this letter. Why? He as used his position and power to protect his own child, but he won't protect everyone else's. His child is important, but our children are simply numbers on a piece of paper. Uproot children from their schools, cram as many as physically possible into two buildings, cut 12 teachers, and claim that the quality of education will be equal. He has smirked and self-congratulated himself through every meeting of the facilities committee. He and the superintendent act as if the schools and the students in them are their personal playthings.

How did he protect his own son? Nepotism, at a criminial level. When I was on the Warwick school department website, I ran across the name Ryan Mullen, who is listed as the Supervisor of Math and Science. I asked some friends of mine, who told me that this is indeed Mr. Mullen's, (Director of Secondary Education), son. I then was told the whole story. When Ryan Mullen was faced with a layoff as a young math teacher in Warwick, the position of Supervisor of Math and Science became open. He did not have the credentials, so the requirements of the position were changed. His father, as a member of the school administration, helped pick the members of the committee. Ryan went through the interview process, and and with only 5 years of teaching experience was picked over other far more accomplished and degreed candidates. Ryan Mullen may be fantastic in his job, but how he got the position is obvious to anyone that looks at the situation.

What's the point? Dennis Mullen protected his child. He obviously used his influence to make sure his son continued having a job. I get that. I probably wouldn't care, except that he so obviously does not care to protect my child, or any of the other children in the Warwick system. He protected his own, but his job is to protect all of our children in Warwick.

From: Panel accepts plan to close Gorton Jr. High

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