While state legislators and the City Council have chosen leaders for the upcoming sessions, the Warwick School Committee has yet to pick who will lead them as the department embarks on the singular largest capital improvement project in Warwick’s history – the construction of two high schools projected to cost $350 million.

With five members, three of them newly elected, it stands to reason that either Karen Bachus or David Testa is in line as committee chair. Testa, who was elected six years ago, said last week he has spoken to the members-elect and expressed his interest in serving in the leadership slot. Bachus, who served as chair and lost a bid to keep the seat, has been on the committee for 10 years.

The current chair is Judith Cobden, who chose not to seek reelection.

Bachus said last week it is “too early” for her to make the decision on whether she’ll seek the position.  Nonetheless, sounding like a candidate, she questioned how, as chair, Testa could negotiate a contract with the Warwick Teachers Union, seeing that his daughter was recently hired as a teacher.

Regardless of whom ends up leading the committee, Bachus, Testa and the income members, Shaun Galligan, District 1; Leah Hazelwood, District 2 and Michelle Kirby-Chapman, District 3 are in agreement that new Pilgrim and Toll Gate High Schools are forefront followed by improved test scores, relationship with the city administration and communication.

Traditionally, the committee elects a chair as the first order of business following the installation of incoming members. (Inaugural ceremonies will be held Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023 at the Crowne Plaza.)  Often, as has happened with the City Council and state legislators, leadership is determined in a caucus or poll of members prior to the inaugural session. No such effort has been made on the part of the School Committee.

Galligan was the only member-elect who voluntarily ruled himself out as a candidate for chair.

“I have no interest in it,” he said adding he is anxious to get started and working on some of the issues he campaigned on including improved busing to reduce long rides and walks to schools. He said he has talked with Testa.

“I respect him very much, [he’s] very professional and I promised I would give him consideration,” he said.

Galligan said the administration and committee can’t wait until the 11th hour to start teacher contract negotiations .

“We owe it to the teachers to have a contract when the (current) contract expires,” he said. He recommended that talks begin now.

Is there a conflict?

“We need to get the union president to the table early,” he said. He didn’t see Testa’s daughter as representing a conflict of interest as he doesn’t see his brother, Frank who is principal of Warwick Neck School, as presenting a conflict. If there is a question, he suggested Testa seek a ruling from the Ethics Commission. In response to whether he sees a conflict, Testa first pointed out that the chair doesn’t necessarily have to negotiate the contract, observing that Beth Furtado, Jen Ahearn and Gene Nadeau represented the committee in negotiations and they weren’t chairs at the time.

 “Second, we had this same issue with Kyle [Adams], whose mother was on the WTU Exec board when the last contract was negotiated. He could only vote on the tentative agreement. He couldn't be part of any discussions prior to that. So we've been down this road before.”

“Lastly,” Testa added, “my daughter has a one year 'gig' so it's very possible that she may not be there after the end of the school year. I don't see this as an issue at all because we know what the ground rules are for members with a conflict.”

Kirby-Chapman said from her observation of School Committee meetings, she has made a choice of chair but was not prepared to release it. She said her immediate goal as a committee member is to get her feet wet and “learn everything I can.” She added she “will strive to work together” and she is looking for the “full school community all working cohesively together.”

She said between being a mom and training for a new job in sales for Wine Brothers, she hasn’t had the time to meet with school administrators although Darlene Netcoh, president of the Warwick Teachers Union reached out to her and she talked briefly with Mayor Frank Picozzi.

As a goal she cited, “making everyone proud who voted for me.”

Hazelwood called the new high schools “the biggest issue” before the committee. She pointed to obtaining council release of the bond funds as the first step and then ensuring construction of the schools for $350 million. Of the incoming committee members or those now serving, Hazelwood has spent more time in Warwick schools as a teacher assistant than any of them.

“We’ve got to make it happen,” she said of the new schools. “We set the stage for life what goes on in high school,” she added. The budget and contracts are also high on her list. She aims to talk with Testa and Bachus before making a commitment on leadership.

Testa said he asked all three members-elect to consider him for chair. “I think I have the qualifications.” Testa is chair of the School Building Committee as well as the Rhode Island Association of School Committees. He sees the role of Warwick School Committee chair as “making things run on time” and as “point person to the mayor and the council.”

Double due diligence

“Time is of essence with this [construction of the new schools],” he said. His immediate focus is meeting with the City Council, which he is hopeful can happen next month, for their approval to move ahead with the new high schools that requires approval for the use of bond funds. So as to best answer if the schools can be built for $350 million in this time of inflation, material shortages and rising interest rates, architects Saccoccio and Associates have retained PM&C of Hingham, MA, to review and update cost projections as made more than six months ago. This will help the committee evaluate possible revisions, such as the elimination of solar panels, to trim costs and ensure the schools come within budget.

“We aren’t going to have an entire new estimate from the ground up,” Testa said of the work being done by PM&C. He called the effort as “due diligence on the due diligence that has already been done.”

With council approval of the funds, the process of designing the schools and seeking construction bids will start. In order to receive the full 52.5 percent reimbursement approved by the state Department of Education, the schools must be completed in five years. With the exception of modifications to conform to the sites and to give them individuality, the two schools will be the same and built concurrently. They will be built on the existing athletic fields and when completed, the existing buildings will be demolished to become sites for the new fields.

Outside of the high schools – work is being done on upgrades including roofs and installation of HVAC systems to Winman Middle School and elementary schools – Testa sees placing a heavier focus on achievement  and communication with the city administration. The budget and contract negotiations with the teachers and Warwick Independent School Employees union are also in his sights.

As for his advice to incoming committee members, Testa recommends to “listen and learn” for the first year or two and to do the work, “anticipate issues and to be prepared  for the worse.” He urged incoming members not to let “the wool get pulled over their eyes that this is something you can do at your kitchen table.”

Bachus said an important role of the committee is to ensure the safety of students and faculty and its “primary responsibility the budget.” She’s not optimistic.

“There’s noting left to cut. It’s all salaries and benefits,” she said. She called the administration’s no tax increase budgets of the past four years “irresponsible” and there will come a time soon when even the maximum allowable 4.5 percent increase in the levy won’t be enough to balance the budget.

Bachus is far more positive about efforts to improve classroom outcomes. 

“The [school] administrative team is focused on that. They have been able to make changes,” she said. She also has a positive outlook on the committee, saying Galligan “is a bright guy” and noting Hazelwood’s long involvement with schools. “Leah knows them inside and out.” She hasn’t gotten to know Kirby-Chapman yet.

“I’m optimistic for the future,” she believes new high schools will play a role in increasing student proficiency and serving to attract young families to Warwick.

“I don’t think there’s anything better than building two new high schools. This is an exciting time.”

Hazelwood said the committee is faced by a lot of uncertainties, but chair of the committee is not one.

“It’s going to be one of them [Testa or Bachus], that much I know.”