NK School Committee Approves $16.8 Million For 2012 Capital Improvement Program

The North Kingstown School Committee approved the 2012 capital improvement program submitted by Superintendent Philip D. Thornton Tuesday night, which envisions capital improvements of $16.7 million for schools next year. More than half of the funds, nearly $9.5 million, would be allotted for Davisville Middle School.

The proposed program now heads to the Rhode Island Department of Education and the North Kingstown Town Council for review. Individual capital improvements will undergo further study and approval before being submitted for a bond issue or other funding.

The committee also approved all items on the consent agenda and agreed to put recommended improvements to the North Kingstown High School septic system out to bid. 

Alfred Cardi, president and general manager of SmartBus Live, provided a presentation on how his company has helped three Rhode Island school systems improve safety and generate revenue.

SmartBus places external video cameras on school buses, which digitally record traffic around the buses as they travel — including the license plates of cars that illegally pass buses while they stop to load or unload children. SmartBus employees also monitor the digital feeds and take note of vehicles that pass illegally.

The video record and witness affidavits from the monitors are sent to local police departments that, under state law, can use the information to issue citations. SmartBus also loads the videos onto a website where those ticketed can review the footage. Cardi said that only 29 percent of the video-generated tickets have been contested and of those, judges have upheld 96 percent.

SmartBus provides free cameras, installation, and monitoring, but the fines on the resulting tickets are split between the jurisdiction and SmartBus.

Cardi said that statewide, Rhode Island went from issuing 131 citations related to 1,400 school buses and receiving $15,481 in fines in 2007 to issuing 2,187 tickets related to 25 camera-equipped buses and generating $164,025 in 2009.

He said that after cameras are in place, the number of violations decreases, increasing safety. He projected that cameras on 10 school buses could generate up to $160,000 in fines for North Kingstown.

School committee members discussed the proposal before tabling it for further study. Committee members voiced their concerns over how bus owners would react, if the cameras seemed too much like "Big Brother," where the fines should go (the town or the school department), and whether the North Kingstown police could handle the additional work.

Committee Chair Larry Ceresi suggested that after a new committee is sworn in Dec. 6, a subcommittee should be appointed to work with school staff on the issues.

Additionally at Tuesday night's meeting, North Kingstown High School Assistant Principals Tim Chace and Lynn Sironen outlined how the school is improving student behavior by teaching students what behavior is expected, acknowledging students who behave properly, closely tracking students who present problems and using data to anticipate problem areas.

One tool is an online form on which teachers can quickly report problems before they grow too extreme. Administrators can monitor these reports daily to spot trends.

Finally, Thornton put the School Committee in the teacher's seat by giving them the record of a hypothetical student and inviting them to assign the student's grade for a quarter. Resulting grades ranged from 55 to 85.

The exercise demonstrated why Thornton has created the District Grading Policy Subcommittee, which is open to any interested resident. He invited the public to learn more about grading challenges from Ken O'Connor, an internationally recognized expert, who will speak at the Quonset O'Club at 7 p.m. Dec. 6.