To the Editor: The School Committee's newest member, David Testa, stated in a letter to the editor, that my comments about the School Committee are a Theater of Absurd." He claims that my letter of 2/23/17 shows that "He evidently has no understanding"
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To the Editor:
The School Committee’s newest member, David Testa, stated in a letter to the editor, that my comments about the School Committee are a “Theater of Absurd.” He claims that my letter of 2/23/17 shows that “He evidently has no understanding of what our Charter says with respect to schools, their governance and their financing.”
Let’s see if he’s right.
In the Warwick Public Schools “School Committee Powers and Duties” (file BBA), it states,
“The School Committee shall determine and control all policies affecting the administration, construction, maintenance and operation of the public schools in accordance with the Warwick City Charter.”I think I understand that. I think it means that the School Committee is responsible to spend our tax dollars “responsibly.” Right? The School Committee is responsible to “maintain and operate” our schools, right?
Just since Mr. Testa’s letter of March 9, Warwick Schools have had sewage backup into a Vets art classroom under. They have also had a fire alarm that was out of order for weeks before it was reported. This is a report card of the School Committee (SC) just since March 9. What kind of grade do you put on the SC? The kind that deserves a raise? An $85,000,000 raise? If an organization is spending money this inappropriately, that organization deserves LESS not MORE! Just ask the 80,000 taxpayers. They’re the ones that are paying the tab.
The SC receives $160,000,000 of taxpayers’ money each year.
That’s over a billion dollars since 2009. Do you think it’s “absurd” for me to think we should refuse to give your organization another dime? We taxpayers give more money to the SC than all other departments put together. Can you say with a straight face that you spend it wisely or honestly? That we should trust your organization with more? We have these safety issues because the SC is criminally irresponsible. Period! Vice Chair Gene Nadeau was quoted as saying he was “unconcerned.” For 30 days the SC made the conscious decision to mislead the public. Clearly, they can’t be trusted, but we can’t blame everyone.
The fire department acted immediately upon being notified. I can’t see how they could have done a better job. Can you?
As far as Superintendent Thornton, he apologized and stated at the School Committee meeting last night (4-4-17) that “the buck stopped with him”. The question that I can’t answer is this. Is Thornton the spokesperson or is he the decision maker? I don’t know. I tend to believe he is the spokesperson/scapegoat. Here’s what I do know. Bethany Furtado is the Chairperson of the SC. She can’t plead ignorance. She had to know. Therefore…She has to go. We can’t trust her with the safety of our children. One SC member, Karen Bachus, focused on the solution. Smart! She made a motion to get the schools immediately hooked up to sewers, and it was approved. Terri Mederious suggested that the City should pay. She is very wrong. The school committee powers and duties clearly states that the SC is paying this one, not the city.
Finally, let’s get back to you David Testa. I was honestly very impressed with your comments last night. You separated the events in two categories. What happened and how it was communicated. You admitted that the communication part was poorly handled and you took your share of the blame. I respect you and thank you for saying that. It showed leadership. Maybe you are part of the solution. Maybe you will help Karen Bachus reform the School Committee. Maybe then you won’t think that I am so “absurd,” especially in light of the recent events. Maybe you will even agree with me that the SC needs an independent audit, from an independent outside source. Maybe you actually do want more transparency, like I have been campaigning for, these past three years. Maybe you will help rebuild trust in the School Committee.
Maybe. I hope so. Happy Easter everyone.
Rick Corrente
Warwick
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Stacia24
TEACHERS CONTRACT UPDATE IN FULL (from Oct 2016)
The teachers have been offered a very lucrative contract, they just don't like it. On the CITY side of business, the Mayor needs to be holding the municipal union's feet to the contract fire. WE currently have the firefighter union taking the City to court because they don't like their cuts either. Guess what unions... THE TAXPAYERS ARE FED UP AND CANT AFFORD IT ANYMORE.
"Due to multiple requests from parents, community members, and the media, the Warwick Public Schools are disclosing their current state of contract talks between the school system and the Warwick Teachers Union.
Reaching a stalemate, the School Committee took the matter to Superior Court so that we could move forward. Just last month, Superior Court Judge Gallo stopped a Labor Board decision that would have halted our consolidation plan as we continue contract negotiations and arbitration process. The decision allows us to operate in the best interests of the students, residents, and taxpayers of Warwick.
The School Committee and the Warwick Public Schools continue to negotiate in good faith with the Warwick Teachers Union and remain optimistic that both sides can reach an agreement soon.
Listed below are the areas of discord.
Salary increases:
The Warwick Public Schools are offering raises that would make Warwick Teachers among highest paid in state and region.
The School Committee is offering 0% for 2015-16, 3% in 2016-17, 3% in 2017-18, and 3% in 2018-19 with no changes to the health benefits (the school department currently pays 80% of teacher health care).
15-16 school year (last year) proposed 0% raise
16-17 school year proposed 3% raise puts Warwick top step teachers at $79,830
17-18 school year proposed 3% raise puts Warwick top step teachers at $82,225
18-19 school year proposed 3% raise puts Warwick top step teachers at $84,691
Currently 87% of the 897 Warwick teachers are at top step.
It is projected that some teachers may surpass the $100,000 per year with the inclusion of coaching, stipends, longevity and advanced degree. Currently, out of the 897 WPS teachers, some 618 (69%) receive some combination of these income benefits.
Each percent increase in teacher salary works out to be approximately a $1,000,000 increase in each year of the school department budget.
Sick Days:
The Warwick Public Schools offered 18 per year. The WTU wants 90 per year.
We are proposing that teachers receive 18 sick days per year that they can accumulate to ninety (90) days. We are also proposing a teacher sick bank in case of serious illness. Additionally, the School Committee proposed participation in the TDI system (TDI on your paystub).
The WTU does not want the sick days in the expiring contract to change. In that contract, teachers have 90 sick days each year. To our knowledge, no other school district in Rhode Island has 90 sick days a year.
Athletic Coaching:
The Warwick Public Schools want athletic coaches annually appointed based on qualifications of candidate (best person for the job). The WTU wants coaches selected solely from an internal teacher pool based on seniority.
When a coaching vacancy is open, the Warwick Public Schools want to hire the best person for the job, regardless of whether they are an internal or external candidate.
Student Placement (stanines):
The Warwick Public Schools want students placed in classes based on data, potential, and performance. The WTU wants to maintain a student tracking system that arbitrarily determines a student’s academic future based solely on his or her performance and behavior in sixth grade.
The Warwick Public Schools seeks to eliminate the current practice of Grade 6 teachers recommending 7th grade student placement process. The Warwick Public Schools wants all students to have the same opportunity for success regardless of their sixth grade performance.
Weighting:
The Warwick Public Schools would like to eliminate the process of weighting special needs students in calculating class size. Under the WTU model, the number of students with disabilities are counted as 1.5 or 2 students in calculating class size, arbitrarily based on the level of their disability.
All students are provided services based on individual student need. Weighting students does not guarantee improved student services. The Warwick Public Schools wants to allocate resources based on the needs of each and every student we serve.
To our knowledge, no other school district in Rhode island uses special education student weighting to calculate class size.
Electronic grading
The Warwick Public Schools wants all grading recorded online with parent access to grades, assignments, projects, and homework. The WTU did not.
The Court has already ruled that the School Committee can require electronic grading throughout the district. The Warwick Public Schools and WTU have agreed to contractual language regarding this subject, however the WTU will not cooperate until the other pieces of the contract are resolved.
All other school districts in Rhode island utilize a district based electronic student grading system.
Co-Op versus Co-Teaching:
The Warwick Public Schools want to eliminate co-op classrooms and move to a co-teaching model, requiring both educators in a classroom to participate in the instruction of all students. The WTU wants to continue the current co-op model where staffing is based solely on the number of students in the classroom and not the individual needs of the students in the classroom.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law, requires that IEP teams, including parents, determine students’ needs, write goals and objectives addressing these needs, and provide all necessary specialized instruction from the special education teacher. The co-op formula in the contract does not individualize student need, and simply guarantees that a special education teacher will cover, not teach, students with disabilities.
To our knowledge, no other school district In Rhode island uses a co-op formula model for special education staffing.
Staff Reductions:
The Warwick Public Schools is seeking layoffs, as needed, due to consolidation and enrollment decline. The WTU wants to limit layoffs to 20 per year, regardless of enrollment or school closures.
The WTU's expired contract limits teacher layoffs to no more than 20 per year. We did close Aldrich Junior High, Gorton Junior High, and Veterans High School as we right-sized the district for efficiency and effectiveness. We believe - with these school closures and far fewer children in the schools than even ten years ago - that a reduction is necessary and warranted. We identified 64 positions to be cut. Through retirements and other changes, the actual number of employees on layoff has been reduced to 22.
Common Planning Time:
The Warwick Public Schools want Principals and Instructional Leaders to participate in helping teachers improve instruction.
Principals and instructional leaders want to meet with the teachers in their schools outside of classroom time, to participate in discussions on curriculum, instruction, assessment and student learning. This is a commonplace practice that occurs across Rhode Island and the nation. Current contract language prohibits instructional leaders from attending these educational discussions.
Job Fairs:
The Warwick Public Schools want a job fair process that is not based solely upon the teacher’s seniority in the district and allows for some input from the Superintendent based on experience, credentials, and ability. The WTU wants to continue the process based solely on seniority.
It should also be noted that the district is currently awaiting a RIDE decision on a hearing that was held this September to determine if the current job fair process is compliant with state regulations.
Teacher Evaluation:
The Warwick Public Schools want teachers evaluated using the same criteria as the rest of the state. The WTU wants its own evaluation model used.
The majority of schools in Rhode Island are currently using the “RIDE Model”, firmly rooted in research and best practices related to teacher quality. Warwick currently uses its own model which is neither approved by RIDE nor based on research.
Evaluation of Department Heads:
The Warwick Public Schools want department heads evaluated annually. Currently, there is no evaluation process in place.
The Warwick Public Schools want high school department heads – teachers who oversee the courses taught in a subject area - to be reviewed annually and renewed based upon that evaluation. Currently, there is no evaluation of these positions and they have lifetime appointments.
Educational Materials:
The Warwick Public Schools want to expand the definition of educational materials to include 21st century terminology. In essence, we want the term “textbooks” to include educational materials such as ebooks, software, and apps."
Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Report this