South Kingstown School Committee Work Session Minutes

Thursday, December 20, 2018

 

 

South Kingstown High School Cafeteria

215 Columbia Street

Wakefield, RI  02879

 

 

Attendees - Voting Members

Stephanie Canter-Chair

Sarah Markey-Vice Chair

Emily Cummiskey

Kate Macinanti

 

Absent Voting Members

Michelle Brousseau

Alycia Collins

Jacy Northup

 

Attendees - Other

Kristen Stringfellow - Superintendent

Maryanne Crawford – CFO

 

1.         6:00 PM - Call to Order

 

2.         Work Session

 

Facilities: Presentation on Stage 2 application from RGB (Tracey Donnelly and David DeQuattro). They showed some site plans and asked for School Committee feedback. They stated they are on track for the February 15th submission deadline. They are looking for direction from the School Committee. They made some assumptions in the change from Option B to Option A, and they need some feedback and confirmation on those assumptions.

 

Ms. Canter asked if this presentation is the same level of detail as that which was presented earlier today at the Building Committee meeting. Tracey Donnelly agreed.

 

Ms. Cummiskey asked if everything was on target to be submitted to RIDE as long as the Town Council and the School Committee approve the Stage 2 application. Tracey Donnelly agreed.

 

Ms. Macinanti stated when the School Committee was moving toward Option B, South Kingstown was allotted a certain amount of money distributed among five buildings. Now with Option A, we have one more building. What is the financial ramification of spreading out those funds? Tracey Donnelly responded that RGB is cost estimating and then they will go forward with elementary pricing.

 

Ms. Cummiskey asked if the renovations to the HS and MS are the same with Option A and Option B? Tracey Donnelly agreed.

 

Ms. Macinanti stated that the rest of the funds (not those allocated for the MS and HS) were being spread among three buildings and now are being spread among four. Tracey Donnelly responded that there are no changes on the MS and HS plan. With the change from B to A, they will not be adding classrooms onto Matunuck or West Kingston. That money will now go toward the Wakefield component.

 

Ms. Canter asked what the changes were to Wakefield. Tracey Donnelly responded that a portion of Wakefield School will be demolished and a gym added. There would be a secure vestibule and an extended learning center. Dr. Stringfellow pointed out that in the sketch being presented, there is no designated room for art or music at Wakefield, and that needs to be corrected.

 

Ms. Cummiskey asked about the possibility of not putting as much money into the façade of the buildings and adding money to the improvements inside the buildings.

 

Ms. Markey asked if the cost estimate at the HS includes labs, etc. David DeQuattro agreed and said he would provide a cost estimate and the square foot price to the next meeting.

 

Ms. Macinanti asked about housing aid, and a question that came up at that morning’s Building Committee meeting. If our application goes in on time and RIDE gives us $60M, then in 2-3 years the enrollment dips and changes need to occur and we need to make a tough choice to close a school, what happens to our housing aid? If 2-3 years down the road we realize we’ve made a mistake and we need to close Wakefield, at that time what happens?

 

Dr. Stringfellow and David DeQuattro responded that under RIDE regulations, if you take the money and then close the school, you likely would not only lose housing aid on the school that you close, but you may also have to reimburse RIDE the money used on that building if it were closed within a certain time frame. This would be a good question to ask Christine Lopes-Metcalfe from RIDE at the next School Committee meeting.

 

Tracey Donnelly explained that RGB would like to refresh the demographic plan, and she would bring the cost proposal to the January School Committee meeting. She stated that RGB is taking multiple steps to address the utilization of the buildings under Option A. Ms. Cummiskey stated that it is responsible spending to update the demographic study.

 

Ms. Cummiskey stated that there is lots of support in the community for moving the 5th grade back to the elementary schools, that PK-5 is supported in the research, and so is the 6-8 configuration. Clearly we are not building until 2020; she would like to investigate a plan that would save money and bring the 5th grade back earlier. What would it save to move the 5th graders back to the elementary schools for September 2019, and move the 6th graders to CCMS in mobile classrooms that are attached to the building? Ms. Cummiskey had asked RGB and SKSD staff to do a cost estimate prior to the meeting. Ms. Crawford estimated $250K in savings on utilities and no change in transportation cost. Dr. Stringfellow estimated $375K-700K in staffing savings, depending on choices of the School Committee. Tracey Donnelly showed plans for the mobile classrooms on CCMS which included data, communications, toilet rooms, covered walkways, and power. She estimated $700K-1.1M plus a monthly fee. David DeQuattro stated that the cost of mobile classrooms is not reimbursable from RIDE.

 

Ms. Markey stated that she was not in favor of the trailers or mobile classrooms.

 

Ms. Macinanti asked if the $250K in utilities savings was a one-time savings. Ms. Crawford stated it was an annual savings.

 

Ms. Cummiskey stated that her rationale was that this path could be achieved without a lot of resistance, they would not be reducing any teaching positions, and students would not need to attend school in a construction zone. David DeQuattro described the care and consideration that goes into construction while school is in session.

 

Ms. Cummiskey abandoned the concept of the mobile classrooms due to the cost.

 

B.         Comments from the Community

 

Raissa Mosher questioned why the demographer was being brought back in. She stated that she did not think that was ever discussed at a previous meeting. She questioned what would happen if the demographics come back worse? Then what? Would that put stage 2 at risk? She asked about Tracey Donnelly’s comment about getting closer to the utilization rates and asked how that would be accomplished.

 

Tracey Donnelly responded that RGB is not expecting a dramatic change in the demographics. David DeQuattro stated that RIDE is looking at a 10-year span. Tracey Donnelly described the steps being taken in this plan to address the utilization. At the HS they are bringing the wood shop inside. They are combining the two middle schools. At the elementary level they are taking several steps to address the utilization.

 

Nicole Mulanaphy spoke about functional capacity and asked RGB what capacity they were planning for. Tracey Donnelly stated that by bringing the 5th grade back to elementary they are increasing the utilization. She stated they are doing their best to raise the utilization at all schools. Nicole asked if a higher utilization would make the application stronger. Ms. Canter stated that would be an appropriate question to ask RIDE. Tracey Donnelly stated that their goal is to increase the utilization rate and they are taking as many steps as we can.

 

Emily Totten asked if the submission is feasible for February 15th given the time constraints. She felt people at the Building Committee meeting were worried about meeting the timeline. David DeQuattro responded that as long at the School Committee and the Town Council agree on plans and cost by January 18th, then RGB will have 10 days to do any revision and finalization. Emily Totten stated that right now there is a feeling in the community that money will go to communities with greater need. David DeQuattro stated that right now it is an entitlement, and districts are not competing for the first 250M in funds. It can and probably will change in the future. Emily Totten asked if our application were rejected would we be given a reason. David DeQuattro responded yes. He also stated that after submission of Stage 2 there is an expected approval in May, and then a bond referendum in November, then 18 months in construction.

 

Nicole Mulanaphy asked what information we would need to provide when the application changes from Stage 1 to Stage 2? Tracey Donnelly responded that in Stage 1 you identify the need. In Stage 2 you justify the need. Does the demographics support the size? RGB feels comfortable that it does.

 

Michelle Neri urged the School Committee to give themselves room to grow which happened in the district she teaches in.

 

Dorald Beasley stated he was at the Town Council meeting on Monday night. It is the second decade in SK with no growth. We have space in SK and room to grow and people are not moving here like they used to. Why are we not growing as a town? Why aren’t young families moving here? Other towns are not spending as much as SK. Why is that? He shared information from Barrington. He shared their RICAS scores and that they have six schools; two schools are PK-3, one school is K-3, and one school is 4/5, one MS and one HS. There are three transitions over the lifetime of a student. If Wakefield comes back online, we will have six schools, and that is why our cost per student is 5K more than Barrington’s. They have 300 more students. They have 396 FTEs and SK has 485 and we have 300 less students. He stated that he does not believe that saving a neighborhood school is the real issue. He is not against union representation or teachers. His wife taught 40 years in public schools. With 300 less kids, we need less teachers. That is the real issue. He stated it is not on the Superintendent’s shoulders, as she does not have the authority to hire or fire per RI law. The school system is too expensive. We need to save money. Our number one priority should be to transform the HS into a 21st century learning building. It cannot be done for $30M. The Jacobs Report cited $25M was needed at SKHS just for the structural needs. With $30M if you were to only fix structural issues, you would only have $5M left for all of the educational upgrades. When this is done there will still be significant areas where rooms are not up to standards. As a taxpayer, that is not what he wants to see. He wants to get as much as possible to increase equity. If we are going to spend millions, every dollar we spend must be spent in the best way possible. The consultant threw away the thought of any new buildings. He shared information received from Mario at RIDE. We have 5-6 buildings with an average age of 54 years. He spoke of PK-8 buildings instead of fixing up old buildings. He spoke of an early learning academy at the Wakefield site. He asked the School Committee to not submit a plan for elementary or MS this year and focus your attention on the HS. Then over the next 12 months you can have thorough discussion on where 6th graders really belong. He stated he feels that the School Committee is panicked and he understands why they would be with the budget and the deadlines, etc. He asked to invite the Town Council to the meeting with Christine Lopes-Metcalfe. He sent her an email.

 

Steven Licht stated that he appreciates the work of Mr. Beasley. He cautioned everyone to not cherry pick scores or budget or demographics or land mass or SES in comparing SK to districts such as Barrington or in Massachusetts. We all have different challenges.

 

Deb Bergner stated she was not at the meeting Monday night, but the budget looks grim and there will be hard choices to make. She came late tonight but she stated that some things seem to have switched. Now the School Committee is adding a 5-million-dollar gym to Wakefield School and there will be no other improvements to classrooms at the other schools because they are adding a gym. With keeping an extra elementary school open, we will have substandard classrooms at the other schools. She reminded the community that they just built a new recreation center and that 7 out of 10 homes have no children in the school department.

 

Lauren Weinstock stated the first summit had no concrete plans. She felt that was a wasted session exploring Facebook HS and Disney MS. We got plans from RGB in mid-late January and then everything got accelerated. Ed specs were done in August, September, and October. It feels very backwards. With the deadline coming up she finds herself agreeing with Mr. Beasley in that we are all very confused about MS and elementary schools. In November, you were all elected because there was community support for four elementary schools. It was essentially a mandate. She urged the School Committee to slow this down. She stated that Curtis Corner is an asset. She disagrees with closing it. It is in the center of town with access to the bike path and Champagne Heights. She feels Options A-D were not very inspired. She believes we are making hasty decisions. She urged the School Committee to give themselves more time to think outside of the box. She agrees with Mr. Beasley that we should focus on the HS. Right now there is disagreement on all other elements (elementary and middle school).

Raissa Mosher stated that she would be concerned that we would lose all of our operational savings if we did not consolidate the middle schools. She also stated that Barrington spends $500K for transportation and we spend $4M. She stated that 6th belongs in the middle school. They previously explored all of the certifications that our 6th grade teachers had, and most are HS certified with a MS endorsement. If 6th grade moved to elementary, they would lose all of those teachers.

Emily Totten stated the weight is not only on the School Committee’s shoulders. There are Building Committee members from both town government bodies. At the Building Committee meeting this morning she got the impression that 20 years is a long time to commit to not closing a building. The Building Committee might say they are not comfortable bonding any money for the elementary schools.

Nicole Mulanaphy expressed the same sentiment. She is concerned that if the School Committee invests money in the gym(s) and enrollment continues to decline and they need to close a school within 10 years, there will be monetary repercussions to the community.

Laura Roebuck expressed excitement at the energy in the room and the commitment of community members attending a School Committee meeting four days before Christmas. She stated that some of us have babies and 20 years is exciting and she would like to end the meeting on a positive note.

Dorald Beasley spoke about Barrington and our State representatives asking for more money in the funding formula. He urged the School Committee to consider raising the amount from $30M to $45M to really transform the HS for our students.

C. Comments from Committee Members

 

Ms. Canter thanked RGB and the administration for putting the work session together this evening.

 

Ms. Macinanti and Ms. Cummiskey expressed interest in a focus on the HS and MS.

 

David DeQuattro stated that Massachusetts has spent 250 billion dollars on school improvements (10% local share and 90% state funded). In RI we are spending 1 billion. New schools need new sites. RIDE regulations determine how big an area for new schools. There are site costs and unpredictable costs for ledge and water. He gave statistics per sq. ft. for the school and site costs. Before Stage 3, the Town Manager will need to determine the bonding capacity and tax increase capacity. If you can’t sell it to the town, then you end up with nothing. Once we get the cost estimates to you in January, then the Town Manager will determine how much debt they are retiring and how much new debt SK can acquire. Westerly has a $70M project. Tiverton had a $64M project and then reduced it to $45M and then reduced it again to $19.5M. Getting the bond passed is the biggest hurdle in a community.

 

 

3.         Adjournment

MSV (1) move to adjourn at 8:07 PM.

Motion made by:  Sarah Markey

Motion seconded by:  Emily Cummiskey

Vote:  Unanimously Approved.

 

 

                                                                                                Respectfully submitted,

 

                                                                                                Kristen Stringfellow