New Hires Aim to Raise Student Performance

At its August 14 meeting, the North Kingstown School Committee approved two hires designed to .

Kathleen Perry was named assistant director of pupil personnel at an annual salary $91,000. School Superintendent Phil Auger praised successful innovations that Perry had implemented in her previous job with the Chariho School District.

The committee also approved moving teacher Susan Imschweiler into the position of evaluation service provider for one year. That job, with a salary of $75,000, is largely funded with a federal Race to the Top grant.

The positions were approved as part of the consent agenda over the protest of School Committee Member Bill Mudge, who had asked to exempt every item on that agenda.

However, Lynda Avanzato had proposed approving the entire consent agenda and a majority of the five members present agreed.

Avanzato and Richard Welch said they, too, would have preferred to discuss some of the items separately but they wanted to get through the agenda.

Committee Chair Kimberly Page noted that a lengthy discussion about possibly changing the rules for citizens comments and the comments themselves had delayed discussing the meeting agenda until 9 p.m.

Seven speakers during citizens comments blasted the committee for its previous decision to . They asked the committee to reconsider that change.

Resident Erin Benevides addressed the recent required by cutting two buses from the school fleet. She suggested consolidating bus stops to shorten the trip times and reinstate the previous school schedules.

Superintendent Phil Auger invited Benevides to review her proposal with school staff. "It is not a problem to look at this more closely," he said.

The committee also approved new policies for promotion and retention of students and for handling teen dating violence and sexual harassment issues.