Unified High School - Frequently Asked Questions

On November 4, 2014, voters will be asked to approve a ballot question that permits Newport and Middletown to develop proposals related to unifying their 2 high schools.

It is important to know that approval of this ballot question does NOT give permission to unify the high schools. It merely allows the 2 communities to discuss serious proposals.

To actually unify the high schools, voters would have to approve another ballot question AFTER proposed plans have been developed.

The questions and answers below were developed by the Middletown-Newport Unified High School Exploratory Committee over a period of several months.  The answers are neither definitive nor final.  They are simply the options identified by the Committee, or in some cases the Best Practices in other regional school districts.  Should Middletown and Newport citizens decide to pursue high school unification; final decisions will be formulated by the communities over a period of several years.

Why should the citizens of Newport and Middletown consider the possibility of forming a Unified High School?
  Neither Middletown nor Newport has the resources to support the existing educational structures over the long term.  Programs will continue to be reduced or restructured while expenses rise each year.  The educational opportunities available to today’s students – fewer than those that were available to their parents – are unsustainable. 
    School districts in Newport County are faced with major issues related to sustainability that are irresolvable within the current structure:  1) increasingly inadequate funding that affects the quality of the academic programs, 2) diminishing enrollments that undermine the ability to serve the needs of all students, 3) a declining competitive workforce that promotes economic growth, and 4) a declining and aging population.

Governance and Administration
What would be the governance and administrative structure of a Unified High School?
State regulations require a Superintendent. The Unified High School would have its own Superintendent/Principal.  A unified high school could be governed in a variety of ways:

A.     State regulations require a Superintendent. The Unified High School could have its own Superintendent/Principal. A unified high school(s) could be organized as a unique district with its own school committee (separate from the K-8 districts that would be governed by the existing School Committees.)  The Unified High School Committee would have equal representation from each community.  To avoid tie votes, a majority would be required to approve any Committee action.

B.       A unified high school(s) could be governed by either the Newport or Middletown Superintendent and School Committee.  In this option, the high school(s) would be incorporated into an existing school district.  The host School Committee would include representation from both school districts.

    A unified high school(s) could be governed by a unified Middletown-Newport School District.  The Unified School Committee would have equal representation from each community.

 Finances, Affordability and Debt Obligation

 How would a Unified High School be funded? 

   A unified high school budget would be developed based on per pupil costs as defined by the RI Department of Education (RIDE).   The process would be similar to that used by other regional districts.  The funding from each community would follow the student.

   The budget would be presented to the municipal Councils using the method currently employed for municipal K-12 school districts.  The Councils would have bottom line approval.  As is presently the case, disagreements would be resolved by negotiations.  All debt obligations would remain with Newport and Middletown as is presently the case.

 How will the Special Education needs of students be met in a unified system?

There are two approaches which would be considered by a unified school committee:

1. Special Education services would be provided by the school district as is now the case in Newport, or;

2. Special Education Services would be provided by the Newport County Regional Collaborative as is now the case in Middletown.

   The decision of which approach to take would be based on an analysis of costs and benefits by the unified school committee.  Costs would follow the student, that is, the residence of the student would determine which municipality would pay for the needed special education services.  These costs would be included in the budgets submitted to the respective Councils for approval.

 Staffing Changes

Would there be reductions in teachers and staff? 
   It is unlikely that there would be reductions.  As programs and course offerings expand with increase student population, it is more likely that there would be modest increases in staff and/or changes in content areas and programs that affect staff.

 What would happen with employment contracts?

    There would be negotiations involving unifying and consolidating existing contracts.  Present Middletown and Newport employment contracts are similar but not identical.  The differences could be reconciled with “hold harmless” provisions for existing employees.

 Educational Program Changes

How would education programs be enhanced?
   A larger student body would result in class enrollments that enable an expansion of advanced courses as well as career development courses.

 How would unifying the student bodies of both schools make a difference? 

   A student body of 1,300 (instead of 600 or 700) would support classes and programs that cannot be offered now because there are insufficient students to fill the seats.
    For example, a class selected by only 6-8 students must be cancelled, but it could be scheduled if 15 or more students selected the class.  Larger class enrollments would also enable an expansion of advanced courses as well as school-to-work courses. 

 How would the curriculum be enhanced? 

   Career education would be expanded in multiple ways. The Career & Technical School programs would be expanded to more fields and developed to include partnerships with post-secondary institutions as well as connections with business and industry. Students with specific career aspirations could commit to full programs while other students could explore career fields on a space-available basis as well as in stand-alone electives that are not currently available.

 Would there be changes in the elementary or middle school curriculum?

    Collaboration would take place to develop a common curriculum so that all the students entering the unified high school would have the same curricular preparation and would be fully prepared for high school studies.

 How would unification affect elementary and middle school students?

   Unification does not alter current middle school or elementary school arrangements.  Newport’s Pell        
   Elementary School and Thompson Middle School are new and will not change.  Middletown is now considering a refurbishment and building plan for all the schools.  The plan is for renovation and repair needed regardless of any unification activity and will proceed, or not, irrespective of high school unification.

 Transitions, Facilities, Transportation, School Spirit,

Is a new high school being proposed as part of unification?
    The Unified Committee is not proposing a new school.  If and when a regional high school is proposed, the cost would be distributed among the state and the participating communities – approximately 40%, 30%, 30% respectively.
    Both existing high schools are in need of expensive renovations. The operating costs of one new building would be lower than the costs of renovating and operating two older buildings.
    Middletown’s facilities plan includes construction beginning in 2016 of a new $58 million high school, not including a gym or auditorium, followed by the renovation of MHS as an elementary school for $45 million.
Newport’s renovations would include a new roof at a projected $1.5 mil and a new track at $1 mil, not including other maintenance costs.
   Capital costs and bonding would be the responsibility of Newport and Middletown separately.

What would be the financial benefits of a constructing a single regional high school?

   Both existing high schools are in need of expensive renovations. In addition, the operating costs of one building would be lower than the costs of operating two buildings. 

 How would the two high schools be transitioned to one school?

    Community and parental involvement are the key to successful unification.  The Newport Pell School elementary consolidation and Middletown’s creation of a grades 4-6 Learning Academy required years of meeting and consultations with parents, school staff, school and city administrations.  These are models of how successful unification should proceed.

 What is the timeline for the transition to a single high school?

   A transition period would allow the combining of students to form a critical mass for curriculum expansion and development.  There are a number of different options being considered, but the committee would like to hear ideas from the public.

 What transition plans are under consideration for unification while a new regional high school is in the planning and development stages? 

   The goal would be to begin to create larger enrollments that would make possible the development of new courses or the restoration of opportunities that have been lost as the enrollment has declined.

 How would transportation be managed?

   The communities would continue to transport their students.  Collaboration within each town (9-12 and Prek-8) and across towns (common geographic areas) would ensure efficiency.

 How would the students be unified to create a critical mass prior to planning for a new regional high school?

    There are a number of options including the following:
    One existing school could focus on college prep programs while the other could focus on career prep programs.
    The 9^th and 10^th grades could attend one school, and 11^th and 12^th grades could attend the other.
    The schools in one community could be re-organized, moving grade 4 back to the elementary schools; the 9^th grade could move to the middle school, and grades 10-12 could be combined.
    These are only a few of the possible options, but a transition period would allow the combining of students to form a critical mass for program expansion and development.

Extracurricular Activities and Sports

Both MHS and RHS have built reputations that foster loyalty within the communities.  What would make me want to change anything that seems to be working so well?

    Aquidneck Island was once served by a single regional high school, Rogers High School.  A unified high school can build its own loyalties, customs and support base in the same way Middletown and Portsmouth did since taking separate paths years ago.
   Education is more than a location.  Education is an opportunity for all students to reach their highest potential. They cannot do that when their opportunities are limited because the low number of students does not support the range of courses that would meet the needs of all the students.

 How would unification affect the athletic programs?

    The number of athletic team and individual sports opportunities would increase. 

 How would unification affect extracurricular activities?

    The number of team, intramural, and individual sports as well as extracurricular opportunities would increase as staff could be used more efficiently.

To reiterate - To actually unify the high schools, voters would have to approve another ballot question AFTER proposed plans have been developed.