Budgets and Consolidation – We Must Act NOW

Thanks to the Newport Daily News for its recent editorial which has expanded the conversation about school funding beyond the traditional “us vs. them” annual dance. Municipal governments seek to protect and serve the taxpayer as well as provide an education for the citizens of the future. However, available funding is finite and, although schools require the largest portion of budgets, they serve only a small segment of the citizenry.

With 41 years of experience as a teacher, Superintendent of Schools and School Committee Chair, I understand the need for funds to support the best possible program. As a current Town Councilor, I know that the “best possible program” might not be the “best” program under existing budgetary restrictions.

Nevertheless, our communities may be ready to recognize that the cost of independence might be higher than we are willing to pay, especially when maintaining separate systems diminishes the quality of education available to our children. Experience, research and the performance of other school districts affirm that a critical mass is required to maintain programs and make the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

Critical mass is the number of students that provides optimum conditions for the “best possible program.” The challenge is to create the critical mass within budgetary constraints so that quality education comes at a price the taxpayers can afford.

For 4 years, I was Deputy Superintendent in the largest regional district in MA, 5 separate towns of unequal size with varied economic and cultural differences. I arrived in the first year of full regionalization (the high school had been regionalized for many years.) I have followed the district’s experience since then with great interest.

In FY2012, it educated 7,469 students, 2,082 at the high school. Its test scores (MCAS tests compare more than favorably with RI NECAP) have been substantially and consistently above state average. The 25 different Advanced Placement courses yielded 92% of the test-takers earning AP scores eligible for college credit in English and 92.4% in mathematics.

As important is that this performance was achieved at a cost of $79,284,670 (including debt service for a new high school) at $10,615.17 per student, making the district “the second lowest per pupil foundation of any regional district in the state” according to its budget website. Compare this (without debt service) to Newport’s $18,732, Middletown’s $14,890, Portsmouth’s $12,850, and Tiverton’s $14,175 (RIDE).

Even more important is that the critical mass (one high school of 2,082 students) facilitates an educational program that reaches the needs of all students – not just the high achieving students or the ones who need extra support but also the 70% in the middle who can’t afford or don’t want to go to college or technical school but need skills training within the confines of a traditional high school. These students are the foundation of our communities and need skills to get beyond minimum wage jobs but don’t have the resources for extended education.

These are the 70% I worry about. Yes, we do need more Advanced Placement and other challenging courses and, yes, we do need literacy coaches and special educators, but we also need to teach computer skills or basic technology or child care or other skills that don’t require expensive post-secondary schooling and are available to all the students in a comprehensive high school.

So, yes, I am happy that the right conversation has begun – one that has a broad focus on solutions for all the students in the Newport County communities, solutions that may bring discomforting change but, in the long run, can bring a better and more productive education for all our students as well as guarantee an economy that thrives on investment driven by a skilled workforce.

Not all students have to be engineers, teachers or computer scientists. With just a high school diploma, they can be entry-level administrative assistants, secretaries, cooks, data processors or carpenters. Today, however, the 70% with only a high school diploma (or less) could be stuck in minimum wage jobs that preclude their joining the middle class.

It is time to do something about the educational system in Newport County. It will take a monumental effort by many committed individuals who care more about ensuring future opportunities than preserving their memories of past high school glory. Will you join me?

I graduated from RHS. I taught for 18 years at Middletown High School. My children graduated from MHS. I care deeply about the schools. But I know that times change, and the choices we make now will determine the economic future of all our children.