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John Stark

1. Yes I know.

2. Where are those documents now? I know many people looking for those documents.

3. I told you the 35 kids was an over-exaggeration for emphasis. I have read the contract, its online.

4. Now, hold on here....As a referee I have been in practically every school in RI. Every school except the private ones and the new ones all need new locker rooms. Ever smell the sewer in the TG locker room? How much does a new boiler cost? 100k?, I thought the Pilgrim roof leaked like a sieve and the tiles were all coming down. That sounds like a bigger problem than the ones at Vets. And the committee wants to send upwards of 600 more students to Pilgrim? A teacher friend told me one small section of Vets does drip during heavy rain, but needs a new roof and that recommendation came from the NESAC committee. Don't get me started on those characters.., and an elevator repair, (which rises one floor), my how much money can that actually be?

Ok this is the last time I'm going to say this. I am being realistic. Pilgrim and Vets are virtually the same distance from route 95. That shouldn't be a consideration at all! If we're talking about sports teams, did anyone consider the smaller busses for some of the smaller teams? Tennis, track, x-country, golf, gymnastics, swimming, all smaller teams, less fuel, more savings.

5. Before you go on, where does the 40-45% capacity come from? Are you telling me that walking thru the school halls, more or less 6 of every 10 classrooms are empty? At all 3 schools? Or are you saying that at full capacity +/- 2000 students there are only 900ish students at the school?

Moreover, if there is not money for improvements for the building, tech, arts, etc...where is this money coming from, the electricity costs and building maintenance of the jr. high schools?

And by the way, who is moving all the equipment from Vets to Pilgrim this summer? Who is setting all those computers up? Getting them online? What about technical education? The art rooms, shops, etc. How about all the science equipment? God knows what they have in those rooms. The smartboards, the printers, the overhead projectors, the sports equipment, the textbooks. Shall I go on? ? Imagine a Hurricane (no pun intended). Imagine a wet summer when it's really hard to move electronic equipment or like this past summer when we had 5 weeks of 94 degree weather. Someone has two months to do this? gulp...

Where is the money for the new boilers, elevator and roof at Vets for 2014-15? And most importantly to fix the fields, fix the roof, paint the walls, improve the technology at Pilgrim for the influx of 600 kids during the summer?

6. Where does the 86% of the money go? I think your hinting at salary and benefits. 669 teachers? Remember, 19 school librarians at $81k each? 28 guidance councilors at $80k? 3 groundskeepers and 3 painters at $50k each or maybe (line 5110 three helpers) at $41k. Schools are not a business. As you know there is little form of revenues in schools.

8. Ya, teachers on the Committee!!

9. Lastly and importantly, I am very happy for you and your ER Nurse child. I am not belittling the committee in the least. I am having an adult conversation and thank you for being civil. Too many comments from others on this topic or others are short sighted to say the least. I want the school committee to go back to the drawing board and come up with a different plan and not RUSH into something. Thank you for your time, if you were on that committee. I just had questions, and this is the forum. I hope to speak up and I hope you will speak up also if you see 'shady' deals happening. This decision needs to be about YOUR kids and shouldn't be how much money the city can save.

From: Parents explain selection of Vets

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