Little Compton plans to build a new school.
While you have been wondering where your next paycheck was coming from, or maybe still recovering from the shock of skyrocketing costs of gasoline, heating oil, food, homeowners insurance (If you can get it) the Little Compton School Committee has been planning to build a new school.
While you have been watching Patriots and Red Sox games, American Idol or whatever on your wide screen LCD-TV the big spenders on the school committee have been planning the biggest raid on your tax dollars in the history of Little Compton.
I'll spell it out for you; thirty five million dollars. Here we are in the middle of the worst economic times since the Jimmy Carter years, and the liberal majority of the school committee led by Michael Harrington Esq. have launched a plan to tear down most of the Wilbur & McMahon School and replace it with a state-of-the-art "Green" school house.
While you have not been watching, they have already expanded the third grade program, and instituted an All-Day Kindergarten, now its lets build a new school.
Back in 2006 the Fire Marshal conducted his annual fire inspection of the school resulting in a list of code violations with a price tag of about $100,000. This rocked the administration and prompted a further engineering evaluation of the facility conducted by Mount Vernon Corporation. Mt. Vernon estimated that it would cost 11.5 million to upgrade the facility, including the fire code problems.
It gets better, or worse depending on your vantage point. The school committee decided that they should look at alternatives i.e. build a new school rather than fix it up. They created a "School Facilities Needs Committee." It should more appropriately be called the School Facilities "Wants" Committee. The Needs Committee promptly decided that it was a waste of money to fix the problems, and that the only solution was to build a new school.
To assist the needs committee the school committee hired Greg Smolley of JCJ Architects. Mr. Smolley's main task was to guide the committee through the maze of applying for state aid from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).
The committee ploughed through countless meetings over the next two years and came up with a plan to replace the school, and a strategy to convince you that it was the right thing to do. They were in the process of developing a "roll-out," sort of a trade show format, to educate all of us and convince us that it somehow makes sense to spend 35 million bucks.
The Facility Needs Committee presented their recommendations to the now Harrington led School committee which gave its blessings to the program and told them to go ahead with the 'roll-out.' Unfortunately there was a little problem. Superintendent Dr. Ron Devine discovered that the needs committee under the guidance of Greg Smolley, had not followed the RIDE regulations. So, it was back to square one. Well almost.
Getting back on the track of building a new school, the school district entered into the RIDE Stage 1 process which included a letter of intent along with the appointment of a School Building Committee. This is where it really gets interesting.
According to RIDE regulations the building committee must be made up of specific members of the town government and the community.
According to RIDE, "The school building committee must, at a minimum of eight people, include the superintendent of schools, at least one member of the school committee, the local official responsible for building maintenance, a representative of the office or body authorized by law to construct school buildings in the municipality, the school principal from the subject school, a member who has knowledge of the educational mission and the function of the facility, a local budget official or member of the local finance committee, and at least one member of the community with architectural, engineering and/or construction experience to provide input relative to the effect of the project on the community and to examine building and design plans for reasonableness,"
It is clear that RIDE wants a well rounded committee with expertise and experience to move the process. Let's see how well they did. Here is a list of the members:
1. Harold Devine, Superintendent of Schools
2. James Gibney, Wilbur & McMahon Principal
3. John Osborne, Maintenance Supervisor, Wilbur & McMahon
4. Donald Gomes, School Committee member
5. Lynn Brousseau-LeBreaus, School Committee member
6. Micha Shaipiro, School Committee member
7. Michael Harrington, School Committee Chairman
8. David McGregor, Retired Wilbur & McMahon teacher
9. Donnie Wordell, Wilbur & McMahon teacher
10. Robert Mushen, Town Council Chairman
11. Ben Gauthier, Budget Committee member
12. Blair Shanklin, Architecht
13. Mark Rapp, Architecht
14. Russ Racette, Engineer
15. Tom Adler, Carpenter
16. Margaret Manning, volunteer
17. Donnie Freeman, volunteer
18. Beyrl borden, volunteer
19. Jake Talbot, buildier
20. Paul Golembeske, Town Council member (alternate for R. Mushen)
I don't now how much experience you have had working on or with committee's, but I can tell you from my experience that working with 20 people on a committee is a nightmare. It is hard enough to get five people to agree on anything, never mind 20.
I hope that you noticed that in its wisdom, the school committee appointed four of its five members to the building committee. Unless I am mistaken, doesn't that constitute a quorum of the school committee? It shall be interesting to see how that works out relative to the RI Open Meetings Act.
I should also point out to you that seven (7) of the former "Needs" committee have been appointed to the building committee. Maybe we should forgive them of their mistakes of the past.
Folks, you really need to start to pay attention to this band of thieves who are about to raid the treasury and send your real estate taxes skyrocketing. There has got to be a viable alternative to building a new school. Right now it looks like it will come down to a Special Financial Town Meeting some time next year. In the meantime, attend meetings, get involved, watch Channel 18 for meetings which are being produced by the LCTA. Do something, before it is too late.
Sarge
While you have been watching Patriots and Red Sox games, American Idol or whatever on your wide screen LCD-TV the big spenders on the school committee have been planning the biggest raid on your tax dollars in the history of Little Compton.
I'll spell it out for you; thirty five million dollars. Here we are in the middle of the worst economic times since the Jimmy Carter years, and the liberal majority of the school committee led by Michael Harrington Esq. have launched a plan to tear down most of the Wilbur & McMahon School and replace it with a state-of-the-art "Green" school house.
While you have not been watching, they have already expanded the third grade program, and instituted an All-Day Kindergarten, now its lets build a new school.
Back in 2006 the Fire Marshal conducted his annual fire inspection of the school resulting in a list of code violations with a price tag of about $100,000. This rocked the administration and prompted a further engineering evaluation of the facility conducted by Mount Vernon Corporation. Mt. Vernon estimated that it would cost 11.5 million to upgrade the facility, including the fire code problems.
It gets better, or worse depending on your vantage point. The school committee decided that they should look at alternatives i.e. build a new school rather than fix it up. They created a "School Facilities Needs Committee." It should more appropriately be called the School Facilities "Wants" Committee. The Needs Committee promptly decided that it was a waste of money to fix the problems, and that the only solution was to build a new school.
To assist the needs committee the school committee hired Greg Smolley of JCJ Architects. Mr. Smolley's main task was to guide the committee through the maze of applying for state aid from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).
The committee ploughed through countless meetings over the next two years and came up with a plan to replace the school, and a strategy to convince you that it was the right thing to do. They were in the process of developing a "roll-out," sort of a trade show format, to educate all of us and convince us that it somehow makes sense to spend 35 million bucks.
The Facility Needs Committee presented their recommendations to the now Harrington led School committee which gave its blessings to the program and told them to go ahead with the 'roll-out.' Unfortunately there was a little problem. Superintendent Dr. Ron Devine discovered that the needs committee under the guidance of Greg Smolley, had not followed the RIDE regulations. So, it was back to square one. Well almost.
Getting back on the track of building a new school, the school district entered into the RIDE Stage 1 process which included a letter of intent along with the appointment of a School Building Committee. This is where it really gets interesting.
According to RIDE regulations the building committee must be made up of specific members of the town government and the community.
According to RIDE, "The school building committee must, at a minimum of eight people, include the superintendent of schools, at least one member of the school committee, the local official responsible for building maintenance, a representative of the office or body authorized by law to construct school buildings in the municipality, the school principal from the subject school, a member who has knowledge of the educational mission and the function of the facility, a local budget official or member of the local finance committee, and at least one member of the community with architectural, engineering and/or construction experience to provide input relative to the effect of the project on the community and to examine building and design plans for reasonableness,"
It is clear that RIDE wants a well rounded committee with expertise and experience to move the process. Let's see how well they did. Here is a list of the members:
1. Harold Devine, Superintendent of Schools
2. James Gibney, Wilbur & McMahon Principal
3. John Osborne, Maintenance Supervisor, Wilbur & McMahon
4. Donald Gomes, School Committee member
5. Lynn Brousseau-LeBreaus, School Committee member
6. Micha Shaipiro, School Committee member
7. Michael Harrington, School Committee Chairman
8. David McGregor, Retired Wilbur & McMahon teacher
9. Donnie Wordell, Wilbur & McMahon teacher
10. Robert Mushen, Town Council Chairman
11. Ben Gauthier, Budget Committee member
12. Blair Shanklin, Architecht
13. Mark Rapp, Architecht
14. Russ Racette, Engineer
15. Tom Adler, Carpenter
16. Margaret Manning, volunteer
17. Donnie Freeman, volunteer
18. Beyrl borden, volunteer
19. Jake Talbot, buildier
20. Paul Golembeske, Town Council member (alternate for R. Mushen)
I don't now how much experience you have had working on or with committee's, but I can tell you from my experience that working with 20 people on a committee is a nightmare. It is hard enough to get five people to agree on anything, never mind 20.
I hope that you noticed that in its wisdom, the school committee appointed four of its five members to the building committee. Unless I am mistaken, doesn't that constitute a quorum of the school committee? It shall be interesting to see how that works out relative to the RI Open Meetings Act.
I should also point out to you that seven (7) of the former "Needs" committee have been appointed to the building committee. Maybe we should forgive them of their mistakes of the past.
Folks, you really need to start to pay attention to this band of thieves who are about to raid the treasury and send your real estate taxes skyrocketing. There has got to be a viable alternative to building a new school. Right now it looks like it will come down to a Special Financial Town Meeting some time next year. In the meantime, attend meetings, get involved, watch Channel 18 for meetings which are being produced by the LCTA. Do something, before it is too late.
Sarge
posted by Kevin Paul Healey at
6:03 AM
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