Schools
Richard Welch Stepping Down As School Committee Chair
With the 2011-2012 budget gap closed, committee votes to request proposals on outsourcing food services for 2012-13.
The North Kingstown School Committee started Tuesday on a relaxed note, with members attending a reception in the North Kingstown High School cafeteria to honor retiring teachers and staff.
Things then turned somber. After the Pledge of Allegiance, Vice Chair Kimberly Page, who was presiding, had a moment of silence to remember former committee member Douglas Roth, who . During roll call she announced that absent committee member William Mudge is recovering from a heart attack.
Then Richard Welch, declaring, "I did not seek this job," announced he is resigning as School Committee chair, effective at the June 28 meeting. He will continue to serve as a committee member.
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Welch, who was elected chair early this year in a , voiced disappointment with how some committee members behave, showing disrespect to each other, the school staff and the public.
He said Page has been effective running previous meetings when he asked her to preside. "At the next meeting, be prepared to elect a new chair," he concluded.
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Committee members then plowed through a lengthy consent agenda, approving most items with no discussion, and a few more after discussion.
They decided to delay awarding $5,631 to refinish the high school gym floor while staffers investigate whether that needs to be done annually, as it is now.
They accepted the "high" bid for providing septic pumping services after reviewing two very similar proposals. Mumford Services of North Kingstown offered to do the work for 12 cents per gallon while East Greenwich's Diffley and Daughters bid 11.5 cents per gallon. Diffley also offered to perform rooter work for $125 per hour versus Mumford's $175.
Several committee members said Mumford has performed well on previous school jobs, and that they should support local businesses. Page, who voted no, said using the low bidder should be standard practice.
Another RFP, to rebuild the high school leach field, generated one bid. Welch suggested rebidding, but school staff pointed out that since that bid has been published, other vendors would have a benchmark for their bids, an unfair advantage. The committee awarded $24,880 to Effluential Technologies of Portsmouth.
An RFP to outsource the school mini-bus service, which mainly serves special education students, resulted in one bid. After review, the committee concluded the current system offers more flexibility and better service than the alternative.
Melvoid Benson questioned whether the staff time spent preparing RFPs is a good investment, and Joe Thompson said getting RFPs to outsource work demoralizes school staff.
Welch said, "Part of this job is to have enough information to make a decision," adding, "nobody loses their job by going for an RFP."
The committee then voted to get bids for outsourcing food service, which has been losing money for years. However, they delayed action on getting bids for custodial services. Superintendent Phil Thornton said he's working on a reorganization that could save money in that area.
As part of that reorganization, the committee accepted the resignation of the maintenance supervisor. Thornton suggested that rather than replace him, his workload should be distributed among other administrators, who would get small salary increases to pick up more duties. Thornton said that could save $47,000 per year. His plan was tabled until the next meeting.
For 2011-12, the committee also voted to reduce three positions by 20 percent each, saving $37,500. And it transferred $13,500 of $27,000 previously approved to expand the Academic Resource Center to add substance abuse counseling at the middle schools.
With an additional $100,000 in savings from more retirements than expected, Thornton said the budget gap has been closed.