Schools

Frustrations Mount In School Committee Meeting

Heated discussion permeated Monday's meeting, keeping the committee from its agenda.

Members of the North Kingstown School Committee left their three-and-a-half hour meeting this week after only completing their consent agenda, leaving nearly 15 other items — including discussion to — untouched.

The consent agenda, typically approved in one motion unless a member exempts items, took up most of the meeting after School Committee Member Bill Mudge asked for all 25 items to be exempted and voted on individually.

“These are not insignificant items,” Mudge said. “These are not routine items.”

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Mudge stated he wanted to discuss each consent agenda item as well. School Committeewoman Melvoid Benson suggested additional meetings be held to accommodate the growing agenda.

“This is a busy time of year,” she added.

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Among the items on the consent agenda was the approval of an IT consolidation study contract with . The study would be conducted by Elert, an outside agency, to assess both town and school IT services and needs. Mudge stood in stark opposition to granting the contract, stating the study could be easily done in house  and was a “waste of taxpayers’ money.”

“This contract isn’t one that’s about the kids or about the education system,” he said. “It’s about poor government.”

School Committeeman Joe Thompson echoed Mudge’s sentiments, stating he was “astonished” that the town and school were about to pay $36,000 for the project.

“This contract is not to emphasize our differences but merely to emphasize where we can come together,” said Vice Chairwoman Kimberly Page, who also noted this has been a four-year process. “The one thing both the town and schools could agree on is that someone coming from the outside would be totally unbiased and would be someone they could accept.”

Following the 4-2 vote with Mudge and Thompson opposing, Mudge told Benson he was “ashamed” of her for the approving vote.

Tensions flared between Superintendent Phil Thornton and Thompson on the topic of personnel issues as Thompson claimed Thornton had too much control over those matters, which then prompted Thornton to say, “Why don’t you do the job, Joe?”

Prior to their exchange, Thompson argued that a consulting purchase for Richer Picture was unnecessary and that the school’s photography department was well equipped. Once Thornton explained to Thompson that Richer Picture provides students with a platform to create their e-Portfolios (a graduation requirement) and had no connection to photography, Thompson retracted his opposition.

Another consent agenda item was the approval of the school calendars for the upcoming academic year. During discussion, Page aired concerns that religious holidays needed to be pulled off. Page also disagreed with Thompson’s suggestion to give students Dec. 23 — the Friday before Christmas break — off as many students may be traveling for the holidays.

“It is an educational day,” said Page. “I don’t want to put one more day off to the end of the year. Here in the high school, especially on the third floor, it gets very hot in here during the summer.”

A motion to pull Dec. 23 from the calendar failed 3-3, with Page, Chair Richard Welch and Larry Ceresi opposing.

The School Committee’s next meeting is slated for Apr. 12 at 7 p.m. at North Kingstown High Sschool, where items such as discussions to re-elect its chairperson, change legal counsel and reconsider NK’s withdrawal from are expected to be addressed.


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