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I have read through all the materials publicly available and have not seen any form of a "long term plan". What I have seen are some very important questions raised by committee members that were disregarded. In response to a question about a 10 year plan for the Career Center, one committee member stated that ten years was too far out to think about. That comment is very indicative of the mind frame of the majority of the committee - short-term, bandaid solutions in absence of a long range vision/plan for our schools. One committee member stated that the birth rate and population are declining. While the RI population is aging, the state population is expected to increase slightly and the birth rate is expected to remain stable. There may be a projected decline in Warwick's population, but other cities/towns are expected to grow. Another parent asked a very thoughtful question regarding why the school population is declining. That is something the City and School Committee should be jointly addressing as surrounding communities are growing and Warwick continues to shrink. Many parents/families have already given up on the Warwick schools (I can name 20-30 in my area without pause), the remaining engaged families are awaiting this plan to determine their commitment and I venture to say that without a real plan to improve our schools, they will give up and the schools will continue to decline. Why not look at the actual census numbers of school age kids and examine how many are not enrolled in Warwick schools? Analyze the age groups that are shrinking, are they school age children and their parents? That would be a indicative of families leaving the City due to the schools. Even if the recommendation is to close a high school, a full analysis of all day kindergarten, middle school model, operational planning, technology planning, comprehensive capital improvement plan for all schools should be integrated to have a full understanding of the costs/viability of the recommendation over the long term.

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