Thursday, January 17, 2013
School officials will have to find $500,000 for the next school year.
Another hard year of cuts is ahead for North Kingstown schools, according to Superintendent Phil Auger. On Tuesday night, Auger presented a preliminary look at fiscal 2014’s budget, which starts July 1. According to Auger, the district will need to make roughly $500,000 in cuts to balance the budget. State and federal funding for the upcoming year are both expected to drop, according to figures from Auger and School Business Director Mary King. One of those factors is a drop in enrollment. According to King, North Kingstown schools are expected to cumulatively lose 100 students. Jamestown, which sends its high school students to North Kingstown High School, is also expected to have fewer students coming into NK next year. Fewer students …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
School, town and law enforcement officials appeared at Tuesday night's school committee, discussing school safety in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown.
The North Kingstown School Committee dedicated part of its Tuesday night meeting to an issue that has been on the minds of parents and students around the country since Dec. 14 – the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "I don't think there was any community that didn't think Sandy Hook couldn't happen to them," said North Kingstown School Superintendent Phil Auger. Following the deadly shooting in Newtown, CT that left 26 people (20 of them children) dead at the hands of shooter Adam Lanza, North Kingstown school officials have been working to tighten up security at schools across the district. At North Kingstown High School, administrators have restricted access to the building: visitors can now only enter the building through the …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
What are NK schools doing to improve safety following the shooting in Newtown?
Last week, the news of a shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, CT shocked the country as reports confirmed that 26 people were killed by a lone gunman. Of those 26 killed, 20 of them were first graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School. According to reports, the shooter – 20-year-old Adam Lanza – broke into the school through a window, circumventing the school’s security systems and locked doors. Communities across the country began to wonder, “Could it happen here?” In North Kingstown it was no different, as principals, teachers and administrators received emails from concerned parents throughout town. According to School Superintendent Phil Auger, each school is beginning to take a closer look at safety and security in the wake of…
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Home values are expected to drop following current property revaluations in North Kingstown.
It’s not even 2013 yet and town and school officials are forecasting another tight budget year for fiscal 2014. At their Monday joint night meeting, the North Kingstown Town Council and School Committee saw presentations from both the town manager and school superintendent highlighting the upcoming fiscal year’s forecast. For Town Manager Michael Embury, the upcoming property revaluations could mean a significant drop in property tax revenue for the town. According to Embury, initial estimates are projecting a 10 percent reduction in real estate values. If the 10 percent reduction holds (revaluations are still ongoing, so this figure is subject to change) and the town doesn’t cut anything from last year’s budget (i.e. expenditures remain …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The North Kingstown School Committee looks to approve a contract with the North Kingstown Education Support Professionals union.
After almost two years of negotiations, school officials have reached a tentative contract agreement with the North Kingstown Education Support Professionals union. The NK School Committee's negotiations sub-committee (made up of Kimberly Page, Larry Ceresi and John Boscardin) and Superintendent Phil Auger announced a tentative agreement had been made on Thursday after a seven-hour-long negotiation session. The ESP union (representing the school department's cafeteria workers, custodians and other support professionals) is scheduled to bring the contract to its full membership Tuesday. Once that vote is taken, the school committee will vote on the agreement at its Tuesday night meeting at 7 p.m. In a press release from the negotiations …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
All except one North Kingstown school will be returning to class tomorrow.
Only one North Kingstown school won't be holding class tomorrow following Hurricane Sandy. School Superintendent Phil Auger announced that most schools in the district will be up and running Wednesday after two days off of school following the storm. Suzanne M. Henseler Quidnessett Elementary School will be the lone school not back online Wednesday. According to Auger, National Grid representatives said the school's power is not likely to be restored until Wednesday and that most of the surrounding neighborhood is also without power at this time.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Compare the salaries of NK's superintendent of schools and town manager.
Last week, GoLocalProv posted an article about Rhode Island's highest paid local officials – our school superintendents. According to GoLocalProv, Rhode Island's highest paid superintendent is Providence's Susan Lusi with a $190,000 salary – just $13,000 shy of State Education Commission Deborah Gist's pay. Stephen Beale, who wrote the article, also states: The superintendents for some of the largest, more urban school districts made the top ten list, including those in Warwick, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket. But the heads of comparatively smaller school systems, such as Middletown and Portsmouth are also among the highest paid. The state average salary for superintendents is $135,535, according to the article. By comparison, town managers …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
A strike by a local union halted the start of school in North Kingstown.
On what would have been North Kingstown's first day back to school, passerby saw picket signs instead of students and school buses outside of North Kingstown High School. Though parents and students were given a tentative warning of a potential strike from Superintendent Phil Auger on Sunday, the official cancellation of the first day of school wasn't sent out until 6:30 a.m. Tuesday – 45 minutes before the high school's start time. According to many parents, however, the notification came too late as several high school students were already heading to the bus stops. In some cases, students were already on the bus when they received word that school was cancelled. “This is about our kids,” said parent Kelly McPartlin. “My children are …
The North Kingstown School Department and Educational Support Professionals are heading to court this afternoon.
While North Kingstown students are getting another day of summer vacation, the school department and Educational Support Professionals union will be heading to court this afternoon to resolve a labor strike in protest of outsourced custodial services and contract negotiations. School officials filed an injuction Tuesday morning, asking a judge to force the 150 ESP employees back to work and reopen schools for the start of the new school year. A hearing has been scheduled for 2 p.m. in Washington Superior Court. The strike comes after both parties failed to reach an agreement regarding the union's contract – which has been under negotiations for the past year and a half. Earlier this summer, the North Kingstown School Committee rejected an …
Superintendent Auger explains why parents didn't find out until the last minute that school was cancelled.
- OPINION
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Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Parents of the North Kingstown School Community, It is unfortunate that the NKESP and NEARI have decided to disrupt school in North Kingstown. The rhetoric, driven by the NEARI state organization, has been disrespectful, completely out of order, and much of it has been simply untrue. On Monday evening, members of the North Kingstown School Committee and I continued to bargain in good faith. We were committed to staying all night if need be, and we made significant concessions on every issue other than our decision to privatize custodial services. As for this issue, we feel that it is best to respectfully agree to disagree and handle the issue in court. Today’s decision to strike doesn’t make this difficult work any easier. Many have …
NK Politics
7:45 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Hopefully with 3 new members of our council we will see positive differences as compared to previous council's. more ›