Testa looks to open communications; runs for school committee

By Kelcy Dolan
Posted 6/23/16

David Testa hopes that the third time’s the charm, as he is once again a candidate for the Warwick School Committee. Testa has been closely following the School Committee for more than 15 years, …

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Testa looks to open communications; runs for school committee

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David Testa hopes that the third time’s the charm, as he is once again a candidate for the Warwick School Committee. Testa has been closely following the School Committee for more than 15 years, and ran against Gene Nadeau in 2010, losing by less than 170 votes. He ran at large in 2012.

After the tumultuous year Warwick schools have experienced, Testa, a self-declared “civics geek,” wants to help.

“I really believe in public schools. I’m a public school kid, my whole family is,” Testa said. “Schools are one of the most important things a city does, I’d say right up there with police and fire departments, in no particular order. Every day our future walks through those school doors, and it is our responsibility to give them the best possible education.”

Testa, who will be 53 on June 29th, grew up in Cranston, graduating from Cranston West in 1981. He would go on to receive his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Providence College in 1985.

He moved to Warwick with his wife and high school sweetheart, Laura, a Vets alumnus, in 1992. Together the couple has three children, Julia, who graduated from Pilgrim and just finished her first year as a political science major at Rhode Island College, Georgia, a sophomore at Pilgrim, and Abigail, and 8th grader at Aldrich.

Now Testa works as a category leader at Gordon Food Service, a $13 billion family-owned food service distribution company. He has also served as the chairperson for the Parent Communication Advisory Committee (PCAC) since 2009.

“We have good schools, but we can always do better,” Testa said.

Testa was in favor of consolidation, saying that population decline is “binding” and that although it may level off several years from now, it is not “going to turn around.” He said that this is not just a Warwick problem but something districts are seeing across the country.

“Any rational mind can agree we need to consolidate even is we disagree on how to do it.”

Testa’s biggest criticism of the district is that the system has become “sclerotic,” unresponsive to change, and as a result ignored schools for 20 years.

“We have neglected issues like school infrastructure and now we are paying the price for that. We neglected population decline and are paying the price now. The longer you put off addressing a problem the more acute it becomes,” he said.

As a result, he said, all the schools need to be “revamped,’ but we can’t look to tax paying residents to pay for all new schools, instead he believes it will take increased leadership and collaboration on the part of the school committee to see schools move forward.

To begin seeing the necessary leadership, Testa said it is important to improve the school committee’s relationship with various parties, including city leadership, parents and teachers.

Although this is not the first time teachers have been without a contract, it is the first time the contract issue has gone to court, because none of the parties feel they are on “solid ground.” The inability to speak and compromise was an “absolute gamble” in Testa’s opinion.

He has also seen current school committee members abstaining from votes, something he believes should only be done if you have a direct interest in the issue.

“As an elected official it is your duty to vote yes or no, that’s why you were elected to make decisions. If I am elected to the school committee I won’t abstain, but listen to those I represent.”

Especially since in the past the City Council has proposed appointing School Committee members, an idea Testa believes would be “disastrous,” the committee needs to “build up a level of trust” with the city. Testa said with appointed members, the school committee is “injected” with more politics that it just doesn’t need, bringing in a host of problems the district doesn’t need either.

To begin repairing these relationships, Testa would focus on improving communication from the school committee if elected. He believes the only way Warwick’s district can move forward is by the parties actually reaching out to one another to talk and to realize no one party can get everything they want, there needs to be compromise.

“We need to get past this notion of us versus them,” Testa said. “We need true leadership in the committee. Our mission as members is to serve those you represent. Communication, I think, is what people will be looking for in this campaign. Voters aren’t expecting to agree with you 100 percent of the time, but they do expect mutual respect. Essentially, it’s the golden rule: treat people how you would like to be treated.”

Testa also supported releasing the Ragosta Report because “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” He believes that the more things are swept under the rug, the more a problem festers and only leads to more issues down the road.

If elected, Testa would advocate for updates to infrastructure, sports equipment and athletic fields, and to push for more technology in the classroom.

Testa said, “At the end of the day, someone’s school system has to be the best. Why not ours?”

Testa is beginning to develop some literature that he will pass out as he begins to walk the city. He has received immense support from his family and his youngest daughter, Abigail, is his de facto campaign manager. He is looking forward to meeting with the people of Warwick, and different community organizations as well as hopefully participating in candidate forums.

“I can relate to parents, taxpayers and I understand the issues from following the public schools for so long,” Testa said. “I am going to walk as much as I can before the election and get my name out there for residents to see where I stand. We aren’t splitting the atom here, we can and should do better.”

For more information on Testa and his campaign, visit his website, www.davidtesta.com, or his Facebook page, “David Testa for Warwick School Committee.”

Two at-large committee seats are on the ballot this year. Incumbent Karen Bachus is running for reelection, but Jennifer Ahearn has chosen not to seek another term. Nathan Cornell, who graduated from Toll Gate last week, has declared as a candidate. Daniel Hall is also running for the committee. Should more than four candidates qualify for the ballot, all candidates will be entered into the September primary with the top four vote getters being listed on the General Election ballot.

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  • Scal1024

    I've never met David in person. I've had discussions on this page with him a number of times in the past. I'd say about half of those were disagreements. However, I have to say he knows what he is talking about. He understands this school system much better than most, the budget and how to move this school system forward. I hope people help support him because people like him are needed badly on the committee. The current committee needs a shakeup and I hope the voters reflect that.

    Friday, June 24, 2016 Report this