Thank you for joining us tonight.

Uh tonight we have a uh joint workshop with the uh Newport City Council and Newport uh school committee.

And so we appreciate everyone's uh attendance here tonight.

Um the the goal of this workshop is to have a discussion amongst the two bodies about uh hopefully looking to see if we're gonna move forward with a uh conversation with Middletown about possible school regionalization in some way, shape, or form.

Um what I would like to do uh is just kind of introduce uh some of the people that are here tonight.

Uh on the school side, we have superintendent Colleen Germain, uh we have Robert Young, director of the NACAC program, city manager Kennedy, and then we have the we'll let the members of the school committee introduce themselves and I'll let the members of the city council introduce themselves.

I'd like to do that.

Why don't we start with you, Bob?

Bob Power.

Stephanie Winslow and of course F.

Collins.

James Dring, Newport School Committee.

Lynn Segley, City Council, Jean Napolitano City Council, Stephanie Smythe, City Council.

Sandra Vlaws School Committee.

Uh Bobby Larry, Newport School Committee.

And I also like to take a second to thank uh uh Rogers High School for allowing us to have the the meeting here tonight and everything set up and also our IT department for the city for uh having us being able to be recorded.

So if you miss it or if you can't be here tonight, you can go back and watch it uh tomorrow starting tomorrow.

Um so that being said, uh we're gonna start off with uh I'm gonna turn over to Mr.

Dring here.

And you want to get sure.

I usually have something prepared, but I had a little crazy day in my house with no electricity, so I was a little behind the eight ball.

But um since the beginning years ago, I I've been an advocate of regionalization.

It makes no sense to me that we have three school districts on this island.

And I've been on the school committee now.

This is um I believe my fifth year.

And the entire time I've been on the school committee, I've listened to a superintendent and our finance director say over and over again what we're doing now is not sustainable.

Um we had a meeting with the city council, I believe it was maybe six months ago in the spring, and and I asked a question to our finance director.

I said, because of our our declining enrollment and our enrollment is based upon um the school population.

Um what are we gonna lose?

How much will we lose a year?

He said it could be up to five million dollars a year.

I don't know how what what are we gonna do to make up five million dollars a year.

I don't think my esteemed colleagues on my left here are gonna give us an extra five million dollars a year.

So what do we do?

So obviously we're looking at looking at regionalizing.

Now, what is regionalizing gonna do?

It's gonna our enrollment will immediately just about double overnight.

Um and that would that would solve that big problem.

But also over the course of the of the year, we'll say between the two communities, almost three million dollars just on busing alone.

Uh we'll get reimbursed uh over 80 percent by the state for the building of the schools.

That's a hundred million dollars between the two communities.

Now a lot of people like to say, well, you know, it's it's all this is all about the money, but the money is a lifeblood of education.

You know, if we can regionalize, we're gonna we're talking more AP classes, we're talking more honors classes, we're talking more CTE classes.

We're talking about more opportunities for our students in our in our a combined school system.

So please let's let's keep an open mind.

Let's look forward, let's have a good discussion tonight about the the pros and cons, and let's make the best decision for the city of Newport and make the best decision, especially going down the road for the students in the city of Newport.

So now um I'll send it back over to the mayor and see who else wants to speak up.

Thank you, Mr.

Drinks.

So we're gonna start off by having a little conversation amongst the uh the council and committee ourselves, and then we'll open it up to some public questions.

Um so if you do have a question at some point when we get to that, just please raise your hand and you can come right up to the podium, say your name and address, and we'll uh continue on the discussion.

All right.

Um start off.

Anyone wanna sorry?

Any questions.

Anyone on the school committee want to speak up?

Oh, sorry.

So the last time this all came up, I was personally not in favor of it.

I I really didn't want to even come out at all and say whether I was or I wasn't, because it was a perfect opportunity for the people of our community of Middletown to come out with what they felt was best.

But uh things have changed significantly for me, and um I feel as if this is the only way we're gonna survive is if we can pump up our finances so that we can provide for our kids because no matter what you say, money is always at the at the issue in order to provide for our students.

And I feel as if this is the only way we're going to survive, is if we can pump up our finances so that we can provide for our kids because no matter what you say, money is always at the at the issue in order to provide for our students.

So I'm I really feel good that we are going to have an equitable now with our two different um school districts combining into one.

And that I know that some people are very worried about equity and what our students might then lack or not be able to get, but I really believe it's going to enhance everything we do for them.

So I'm definitely in favor of Ms.

Cole.

Um I've always been for it.

Uh I think as you said, um Jim.

This island is really one community.

Our population is rather small if you add it all up.

And as our enrollment is dropping and our demographics are changing, um, it just only makes sense.

The efficiencies, we need the critical mass to make sure that our kids are getting what they deserve.

Um those that are high achievers could use a lot more help in advanced coursework.

Those that need remedial help could use a lot more of that as well.

Um, for example, um, neither Middletown or Newport currently has um uh uh a robotics coach, let's just say that, or um a department chair for artificial intelligence or um a marine tech program or um things that were really going to help our local economy.

We need to start preparing our children for the jobs that are right here, sustainable year-round, high-paying, high-quality jobs.

We can't do that and be duplicating overhead.

We can't do that without the resources to hire expertise, certified teachers to teach some of these CTE courses.

So I know that we have two, one in progress in this new beautiful high school, but we can figure out ways to make both of them work.

That is just an implementation issue.

I really think that there are um there's more to it than everybody saying equity.

There's no equity unless we can really get kids where meet kids where they are and support them academically with expert intervention.

We want to work on mastery, you know.

Right now, our kids are just you know getting by.

I'd like to see our kids really soar, and that can be done if we have the fiscal, if we have the money to to pay for those sort of supports.

So I'm all for it, and I hope we can move forward.

Thank you.

So I wasn't really sure what to expect tonight because I didn't get anything other than a notice that said a regionalization workshop.

So uh I've said this before, you're gonna get out of this what you put into it.

And so if we're gonna come at it with a haphazard plan with no plan, really, we're just talking tonight.

Um, that's really the way I believe it will go.

Um, you know, if you're asking me, am I gonna support a referendum in front of voters and as little as five or six months?

I mean, my views haven't really changed since 2022 because we haven't done anything since 2022.

There's been a lot of wasted time, and now Middletown is building another high school building, which is exactly what a regional school district doesn't need.

So we really have our work cut out for us.

If we're gonna figure out how to find efficiencies, just having one superintendent and one administration, those savings are small in the grand scheme of school budgets, and that will be erased very quickly.

I mean, we're on track to increase our own expenditures.

If we were to change nothing, I think it's the forecast is 1.3 million for just next year.

So that busing savings is gone unless we make real change.

You know, if you don't change the systems that we have in place, you will get the same results.

So when we're talking about how we want more CTE classes, we want more AP, we want more opportunity, we need the plan to get us there.

We can't just say that's gonna happen and that would be nice.

Um, you know, I'm not personally willing to just sign on the dotted line and figure it out later because I know that there is not a group in the world that will fight harder against something than parents.

If they're not happy, they will make sure you know it.

So again, really have a lot of work to do if we're gonna figure this out.

Um, you know, we're having workshops and we had endless meetings and discussions about cell phones.

Now moving grade five.

And I'm still under the impression that we think we're just gonna put a question on the ballot in a few months in front of voters and get them to approve it.

I might not have the most popular opinion at this table, but I can tell you I represent the voting block that took this down in Newport two years ago.

Um, Newporters do not want separate schools.

Newporters don't want us versus them.

We really did not want that.

And it was a shame that the last referendum was tied to building a new school in Middletown.

I can guarantee you that's why it failed.

We didn't want that to happen.

Um and you know, I'm gonna be even more cynical.

I really believe if Ride weren't offering us the construction reimbursement dollars, we wouldn't be sitting here.

I don't know that we would be having this meeting.

I think we called Middletown's bluff with the academic integration advisory committee.

I don't think that they were interested in partnering with a school district that I say this on paper has less to offer, right?

We have lower test scores, we have higher absenteeism rates, we have higher costs, we have more students in poverty, we have more English learners, and I know that this is not how you measure a school, especially in Newport, but this is what people see.

This is what people who don't know a lot about education see, and it's the very first thing, and it turns them off, right?

They don't they're afraid of change.

Our minds are trained to resist that and to be biased and wary of problems.

So you know, we want to talk about equity.

There's a lot of mindset shift that has to happen, not only in this school district, but also in Middletown, so that people can get past what they think they see here.

I mean we all remember in 2019 when there was this famous PowerPoint presentation showing Middletown voters why regionalizing with Newport would be a bad idea.

We've got a a lot of education.

So, you know, until we have it modeled out, until we have some kind of viable plan that shows how we can use all these new buildings, how some buildings are gonna have to be closed so that we can consolidate, operate as one, how we can reduce staff, you know, reorganize to better meet the social emotional needs of our students.

You know, it doesn't have to be perfect.

I know the best-laid plans always seem to fall apart sometimes, but it you know, I wouldn't expect one school committee and one superintendent to just figure it out when we have two districts.

Um, and I wouldn't expect voters to support that.

So really again, I don't have a lot prepared other than all these things that I've been saying for the last two years, and I really think regardless of the timeline, regardless of the um, you know, reimbursement that's being promised by Ride.

If the two communities truly want to do this, we will take time to do it.

But that that's why we're here.

I mean, for the last few years since regional table, it's been really just small groups of people having ideas and throwing ideas out, and not much of not even just two communities getting together, but just the city of Newport getting together.

That's why I in my opinion, no, it's important that we're here tonight.

And this and maybe it's a little bit late, but it's better late than never.

Um, a lot of the points you brought up, Stephanie, are in my opinion, are exactly why we need to really seriously think about regionalization.

Um, there are too many opportunities.

We know a lot more now than we did last year than we did two years ago, that we did three years ago, than we did four years ago when we decided to build a new high school.

You know, we see where we we financially we see where we are, we see where we are at academically.

That's why it's important for us to come together as a united front in Newport to go talk with Middletown and see if this is even something that's up.

But I'm not gonna in my time in the council, I'm not gonna sit here and be like, well, I hope it works.

Doesn't work, then I'm gonna be well.

No one really wanted it.

No, it there's too much at stake.

And it's not just the kids are yes, are they important 100%?

There's also a lot of residents that that this is important to that don't have kids in the schools.

So there's there's a there's our our our tax rate that that goes up because of some of the financial decisions.

But that's that's why this is a whole part of the whole thing.

Um I know we don't have the full city council here, and I know we have there might be some differing opinions, but at the end of the day, when we've had discussions, we're starting to come closer together.

We're starting to work together to be like, you know what, this is probably what is best for the city of Newport.

That's why I'm on the city council to what's best for the city of Newport, not just one group or one faction.

So I think it's important that do we have the exact plan right now?

No.

But that's why we're together.

Because if we decide, hey, this is what we want to do as a as a council and as a school committee, then we can really like dig deep, roll our sleeves up and get after it.

And that's what I think is most important.

Anyone else hold your applause to leave.

Yeah.

Uh well, uh, there's been a lot of good points been made.

I the one thing I will say, I think however this turns out, and if we if we did regionalize that the equity issue would get resolved.

Because if you've you're gonna have one school committee, you're gonna have one superintendent, and it's not gonna be one group of kids get something, another group doesn't get it.

It's gonna be equity throughout that whole school district or whatever configuration you have, there will be equity.

Um it's not gonna be that there will be the haves and the have nots in that situation.

Um I'm sh I I know that that will get worked out.

Anyone else?

No.

Mr.

Chairman.

Mr.

Carlin.

I'm not sure if my colleague uh counselor Napolitano wants to talk first, but or uh the vice chair.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Three three things very quickly.

Number one, uh the Rhode Island Department of Education does not define regional administration.

Uh administration is one bucket uh in which the combination of administrations is considered regionalization.

There are also a dozen plus other definitions of regionalization, including a full academic regionalization of two or more communities.

Uh number two, there's no bill.

Uh the bill died, as I said.

The bill died when the vote died.

Uh so it is up to the Rhode Island legislature in January to determine whether they even want to take the bill up or want to introduce legislation, and it will certainly need to be rewritten from when it was written originally, uh, which was in June of 2022, as we all know.

Uh and number three, I'm very concerned about our colleagues, our colleagues, we're all in elected office together on the Middletown School Committee, who unanimously reject this idea.

Uh forcing something on another body against their will is not something that I generally would support.

Uh and last uh Mr.

Chairman, Mr.

Chairman's what what's the purpose of this meeting tonight?

What are we doing here?

I mean, in all due respect, what I I agree with my colleague Stephanie Winslow, committee member Winslow.

What are we doing?

What's I mean we we we saw it on agenda said school regionalization.

What what do you want us to do tonight?

Whoever put this meeting together.

Thank you.

I think this meeting as the chairman stated was to discuss our ideas on regionalization.

I think and that's exactly what we're doing, and we're gonna open it up to members of the audience who'd like to speak.

Um I don't know.

I don't I don't I don't really think it's a mystery.

I mean we're having a a forum about regionalization, so we can have a discussion.

Yeah.

All right.

If it's not a mystery, then why not define uh what the meeting's about other than a blanket statement regionalization meeting.

Well, all right, I'll I'll give I'll say my my two cents is because there was a time where there were some discussions that that I was part of with Middletown to see if this was something that we want to go forward in or go forward with, and when it was brought up to the council, people were taken a taken aback or surprised that there were quote unquote secret meetings going on.

So if we I want to have these discussions with Middletown, I want to have these questions with Newport.

So I figured if we're gonna do it, here we are, open forum.

Public's invited, everyone can talk, everyone give their opinion.

That's that that's my go-to behind it.

And also I think it's an it's an important subject to be to be talked about.

I don't think it's a one and done situation.

There's a lot of there's a lot of factors, a lot of things have changed.

And I mean, again, speaking for myself, there's too much to gain to have this, you know, for having this conversation.

You know, at the end of the day, is it gonna pass?

Maybe, maybe not.

I don't know yet.

You know, we we have to decide amongst ourselves, and then we'll get together with Middletown and see what goes.

And then ultimately it's gonna be the voting block of Newport and Middletown that will decide that.

But again, I'm not gonna like just it's too good of an opportunity to let pass by Mr.

Chair.

Having been on council as long as I have, I have voted for the new Pell School.

I voted for the Rogers Bond for a new school.

I voted for a renovation of Thompson.

I voted for every single school budget for the last 30 years.

And what I've seen in the last five to ten years is a diminution of student population.

Unfortunately, I have heard of the complaints that we don't have enough staff in certain areas.

I've heard the complaints about being able to muster for an AP class.

My reasons for continuing this, and and I can tell you when Pell School combined, I went head to head with Joe Eva, and it was constant, and she finally convinced me that was the right thing to do.

And if you don't think I didn't get the phone calls, particularly from the third ward, I did, and the second and the first, and people didn't want to combine the schools, they didn't want their kids located in the first ward for whatever reasons, and what we've been able to do with the buildings, they don't remain empty once the students are gone, but we can repurpose them for other things, perhaps affordable housing of some sort.

In Newport's case, it amounted to a reimbursement of a couple million dollars.

And to do the education the way we want to do it and to make it available to all students to offer the opportunity for every kid, not just those that seem to get along from stable families and and know what their work is required and have the parents behind them.

Yes, we do have some problems in the Newport system, but I still believe that the kids really deserve this kind of opportunity to see their faces when they came into this school, it was unbelievable.

And I think we need to do that for all the kids, including the kids at Thompson.

Um I'm really upset about the fact that we have people leaving Newport, taking the houses that we have, and they're only here maybe three months a year.

We're losing families.

If we combine the student population, and Middletown is basically having the same type of economy, and they haven't progressed as far as we have with trying to rein it in, but we really need to show that we can do this.

At one time, Rogers High School was noted throughout the state.

They had the best teams, they had the uh honor students, they had all sorts of accolade for our uh students that went to uh Rogers or Thompson, or even some of the elementary schools.

We've got to do something that makes the city of Newport affordable, affordable for families, and if it takes us combining some of the students, then we ought to think about it.

And it we ought to offer them the kinds of opportunities they're gonna need and the career skills they will need for the future.

I think this is a um proposal that we could do that and guide the future of our students and increase uh the numbers of families in Newport.

But right now, I think we're bleeding from all sides.

Thank you.

Um I have, of course, been in favor of regionalization, and I was back in 2022.

The fact of the matter is we don't have enough students in the school to make the opportunities, the educational opportunities available.

I mean, as Jim said, we would be five million dollars a year behind.

And that just doesn't make any sense.

We don't have the kids that we used to have.

And this used to, and Rogers used to be a regional school several years ago.

And um, and you know, every things change, and the demographics in Middletown, frankly, are becoming very close to the demographics in in Newport.

Um, you know, say, well, it's all only about the money.

Damn right, it's about the money.

Because as Jim said, money is the lifeblood of education.

And would we be here if it weren't for Ride giving us an offer?

Probably not, because then how would we afford to do that?

So, you know, I have to say that, you know, Stephanie says, well, we have to change the system.

Well, let's change the system.

Mrs.

Cullen.

Oh, um, I just wanted to correct one thing about the money.

Yes, we are being given a carrot, and it's a good one, and it's the best carrot we've had so far.

But I just wanted to do a little timeline um of where we have been regarding talking about regionalization.

It started in 1993 with Governor Sunderland, um, the 21st century commission, and they at that time thought Aquitnik Island should be one school district.

So this is not something that just happened overnight, and it wasn't because of finances as much as critical mass.

And back then there were a lot of kids, but it still would have been compared to some of our mainland districts, small.

The reason you want to have critical mass and economies of scale is because you want to give the kids the quality they deserve, and kids don't come in one size fits all.

We have a broad range of of ability, of background, um, and to meet those needs to meet the students' needs, we need to have people, adults, experts, staff, that costs money.

We need to have programs that are going to get them where they need to be, either ramped up or heading for the stars, you know.

We we need to we need to do a lot of things that we can't do as a as a shrinking district.

They said build it and they will come.

Well, we've lost about 50 kids at Rogers since this building opened.

And that number is just gonna keep going down.

We have projections that tell us that we're going to be down to, and Colleen can fill in the blanks here, but it's dropping like a rock, the projection.

So and it makes it doesn't take uh uh rocket science to understand that our our housing stock costs a lot of money.

They can't you can buy a ranch for a million, right?

And people that are buying these houses, either um it's a second or third home for them, so they have equity, and they don't have kids in the school-age kids.

Um, and if they did, the people that I've met and talked to, those most of those kids are going to go to a private school because of our it's a catch-22.

Um, as Stephanie said, our our we just have to look at our report card that came out on Friday, and we do have some serious um academic issues.

Um, so and we have behavioral issues.

So there's a lot that we have to work on.

Bringing two small districts together at this moment would be about 1,750 kids total.

That's tiny still when you think about it.

1,750 kids.

Not a lot.

No, no, no, no.

Oh, I I apologize.

I am I apologize.

3,500 kids, 1750 and 1750.

We're about even right now with Middletown, right?

Yeah, I'm apologize.

Um so it's still a 3500 is still a very small district when you look at um the the mainland and and what kids are doing in other schools.

We have some, you know, real need in this district, and I'm all about getting the kids to um be prepared for the real world, making sure that they are getting the education they deserve, and we're not we're not doing that right now.

So I really hope that we can move forward, as Stephanie said, we have to change a lot of things, and change is not easy.

But if we don't take this bite of this apple this time around, since 1993, shame on us.

I just want to make a quick comment, and then we'll go to Dr.

Bowers and go to you, Stephanie.

Um I just want to follow up on something that Ed Lynn had said, and and and and Beth as well.

Uh Rogers High School, I believe the senior class is 155 kids.

The eighth grade class coming in has about 116.

So we are at, I think 586 kids are going to be down almost 40 kids next year.

So the the demographics are changing and it's happening right in front of us.

This is this is not a use the word mystery again, but it's not a mystery.

You can just look at the numbers.

Um now I'll go over to uh to uh Dr.

Flowers and then we'll go over stuff.

Okay.

Go ahead.

My turn.

I've just been joting down different notes and uh yeah, the numbers are down, as Mrs.

Napolitano mentioned, the student populations are down not just in the state of Rhode Island but many other places, you see headlines on a lot of the um professional documents that come in as saying where are the children?

They know they're around somewhere.

Uh Newport is unique.

Middletown is probably to a great degree, too.

Uh in population, and the fact that our governing uh setup is little more than a tad different from Middletowns.

As jotted down some notes, and we talk about the reimbursement, and that that I think was the um the key point why a lot of this discussion arose again was a sizable reimbursement if it's a regionalization takes place.

It's the amount is nothing to sneeze at, it would be great.

Where the reimbursement money goes, if it's to pay the bills, great.

Then you have other funds left to establish a lot of our programs.

If it's going to go towards establishing programs, however, it would work fine.

But once that reimbursement goes, then we look at what happens later on.

Now, the people who have been uh looking at these issues may have some answers which I'm not looking for at this moment, really.

But say we have that one school committee, obviously made up of folks from both uh Middletown and Newport, and you know, to which governing body does that school committee answer to Middletown or Newport, or is it a joint decision making there?

Again, I'm not looking for an answer right now.

Uh if you look at the policies online for really all of the uh school systems in the state, uh you'll see the policy manual or the listing of the policies somewhere.

And there are goals and the philosophy and the mission statements and all of that.

So I think we have to really look at both communities operating at least with similar goals, with similar philosophies, similar um aims.

The curricular approach, that has to be looked at also if we're going to do this, if we're going to combine the students, because this seems to be some of the evolution here.

But when we look at uh advertising from the non public sector, and they talk essentially about all of the areas that are offered to their students.

And you say, gee, we have that, we have that, we have that.

And then they say the low pupil teacher ratio.

My heavens, if we have below the rip in a classroom, we say, oh, we're gonna have to close that classroom down.

Just saying, that's all.

Maybe we could get more AP classes going.

But you're going to do it for two or three or half a dozen students.

Maybe the private sector would do that, but we have to say, is it going to be practical again with the dollar sign, money-wise?

I mean, these are just some of the issues, so many of these things that come into play.

And if everything that we're talking about goes back to what is best for the students, what's best for the the children?

We assume that youngsters who come from a stable family, uh all high achievers.

We might assume that those who have some difficult homes might be struggling for the rest of their lives to achieve, and that's not true either.

We know that.

We know that there's such a mix.

More input from the trenches.

I know this is just the beginning, council and school committee talking together.

That's great.

That's great.

This is something we should celebrate.

But we have to look at what's going on here, what's going on with the middle tools, middle town schools, and and how we can do this so it's really going to benefit everyone.

Not only, and I'm not putting that down, but not just getting a great reimbursement.

And it's just so many questions here that like I say, I would not want to uh ask anyone for the answers tonight.

We talk about a number of other regions and the regionalization um uh setups throughout the state.

And just sometimes accidentally in conversation, some people say, Oh, it's not the greatest thing.

It took a long while for for everyone to get used to that whole um practice, the whole issue because neighboring communities sometimes just they're just different.

That's all.

It's just different.

I mean, we can look at Newport and say when Bill was built, and we have some people down near the ocean drive.

My child has to go all the way up there, you know.

Or the people up at the in the north end to go all right tonight.

We had to come all the way down here for a meeting.

You know, and it's it's it's changing that mindset.

That is the whole thing.

I mean, at this point, I I see the pluses and minuses on both sides, and then maybe some of the equals somewhere in between.

But these are just some thoughts that I think people would may want to chew on a bit.

Thank you, Dr.

Flowers.

Um, Ms.

Winslow.

Thank you.

Um two things.

One on equity, it does not just happen.

Definitely not in an us versus them situation.

Umport has done some work on this topic, this idea, the movement.

Uh we're still failing.

Middletown, I don't really have any idea what they've done.

Um, you need more than money to change that.

You need more than one school committee.

You need training, you need staff, new staff.

You need new mindsets, you need intense self-reflection and learning.

It goes on.

Um, on the money, consistent, predictable funding is what we need in order to plan and programs and opportunity.

That is from, you know, it's not just this guessing game we have every year now from the state, from the feds now, from the city, from the town of Middletown.

We need to know, okay, we're committing to 2% increase every year.

You guys can now know what your budget's gonna be next year.

You can plan for those classes.

So it's not just you know, getting X amount of dollars here and there, we need consistency on that.

And that's a big reason why Newport is struggling this year.

We never know what we're gonna get.

Um, but really, that's all I want to say on that.

My question is, when can we convene the academic integration advisory committee?

I didn't hear what you said.

I didn't What are we gonna convene the academic advisory committee?

Um, can I and I just say, you know, I I see this um administrative regionalization as just a first step as a baby step.

And I think that it would it's a good way to go about it rather than just entrenching us into the you know into the the weeds right away.

Um I don't understand the us versus them.

I don't understand.

I don't understand what that means.

Also, Stephanie just said we need more money.

We need more teachers, we need more staff, we need predictable funding.

That's exactly what this is gonna bring.

Mr.

Cher.

Smite um I do have some questions that bring up Yeah, I have a uh a statement and questions uh to speak to on Councillor Pendic's behalf.

Yeah, I have a uh a statement and questions uh to speak to on counselor pendic's behalf.

Um, but I do have a couple of questions of my own.

Have we received an official offer letter from Ride?

Do we have something on their letter head as to to what this offer entails and and who has actually seen that?

It's Title 16 of our Rhode Island State Law, and it outlines exactly what we're doing and the legislation from 2022.

I spoke with the operations manager Mario Carreno last week, and he said, Beth, the legislation that squeaked to failure, Middletown overwhelmingly passed, and we missed it by under 400 votes, is exactly the same.

You just changed the dates.

So we have a lot of this framework in place.

As far as the academic integration committee goes, um, unfortunately, that was unvetted.

And um, I see our city solicitors here tonight.

In that in that resolution, it talked about Middletown being part of that being part of that body.

They were not given a heads up.

So basically that resolution was improperly put forth.

Um that's an answer to my question.

No, no, may I finish?

So um, as far as letterhead, we can get, I think maybe Jim might have something from Mario.

He sent us something in the thing, but I just wanted to say one more thing about the academic integration committee.

Um, it is necessary.

Penny and I had a meeting today, and we had uh uh quite a long discussion about it.

It is definitely necessary, but as is a formal um body for body, the Newport School Committee, City Council, Middletown, school committee, town council, and either that can create the framework to move this forward, the structure forward.

Now it can be done in parallel as an advisory, and I'm all about that.

We want the parent to be the parents to be engaged.

We want the teachers to talk about it.

That's all part of the process.

It's not one or one thing or the other, it's both.

I'd like to go back to my initial question.

Stephanie, I think I think I emailed that to you.

I I do not have that.

I was wondering Title 16 education, rally general law 16-7-40.

No, I emailed it to you.

And that's on Ride Ride letterhead that came to that came to the school committee and the Newport City Council.

This is what we're not ride sent us.

This is the state, this is the law that was passed that that would reference the reimbursement.

Okay, okay.

It's all there.

Um, and where is there a plan of action?

I I haven't seen anything from school committee or or even other counselors that that is an actual plan of action of of what this will entail.

I I get that this is a a start to the process, but but what is the plan of action?

I mean, typically when when you launch into something of this magnitude with millions of dollars, and we are talking about the the futures of the the educations of the students of two different communities, and there isn't a plan of action of of what this is gonna look like in the next year, let alone the next five to ten years.

So I don't know if there is something like that that is in the works, because I I don't know who on council has seen it, but I haven't seen it, and I know a few other counselors that have it.

Just to just a quick question.

Hold on one second.

This is what AI produced.

It's a it's a it you can you can prompt it and say, how do we do this?

And this is if you I'll send this to you.

Mike got this.

If you look at this, it gives you step by step, phase in, phase in, phase in.

If you take the time to do a little work, you'll see that it's doable if we if we look for answers.

We are basing our students' future.

No, I'm just saying this is a framework.

No, this is a framework.

This is a framework.

This is a framework, Dr.

Smythe.

So it's you asked for a plan.

Right.

This is why we're here tonight to start the plan.

And this is a framework that it can be done.

You it's not it's nothing to joke about.

It is a step by step.

You do this, then you do this, then you do this.

That's what we need.

I think that's what you're asking for.

It's not that's not an official plan of action, but it's a framework that we can take forward.

That's why we're here tonight to move forward.

But but that's hold on one second.

So I just want to go to Council Smythe.

We can't come up with a plan because we are only half of the issue.

We need to get together with Middletown and get together and find okay, what is the best course of action?

So that hasn't been done yet, and that's why it's important for us to get together now so we say, hey, let's go forward.

Let's get together with Middletown.

Let's get the superintendents together.

Let's get the the education people together.

Because I'm not I'm not on the education first.

Right, right.

You know what I mean?

So I'm not gonna say, hey, this because of what's best for Newport might not be best for Middletown, so we need to come together as two separate as two separate groups coming together as one, and then we get that's how the plan gets built.

Well, um, I'm wondering why Newport isn't creating a plan of action and Middletown isn't creating a plan of action, and then you come together and you negotiate what that plan would be to benefit both communities.

I mean, I'm not I'm not hearing facts about how is this going to decrease absenteeism?

How is this going to increase test scores?

How is this going to enable post-high school success for students if they if they decide to go to a trade school or or two-year school or four-year college?

I'm not hearing how that's going to benefit them or or how it's going to benefit the community overall.

I mean, we're talking about reimbursement rates, but but what is that what is that exact dollar value that we're gonna get back?

And where's that money gonna go to?

Who what what's what's gonna happen to that money that's gonna benefit our students?

Those are great questions, but you know what?

What we're doing now is not working.

Exactly.

And I and I agree.

So let's get with Middletown, and so I'm not we can't come up with a plan here and be like, hey, this plan is gonna work.

Let's go for it.

You have to have something.

There's got to be something to to base these conversations on.

I mean, like I said, this this is.

No, the appeal is gonna is gonna go down.

But but at least having a uh some type of plan of of hey, this is how regionalization is gonna help.

I mean, where there's not there hasn't been a whole lot of of factual information, and I and I know that this is why this failed the last time because that's all that I heard from people within the community is that they weren't supplied with enough information to be able to make an educated decision on their students' behalf to be able to make an educated decision at the ballot.

What is the ballot question going to look like?

And and let's add are we doing a special election in a year that we actually have an election and and we're gonna put that on the the taxpayers' dollars to be able to make that happen.

We we don't have a lot of a lot of answers to things, and so you know, I I agree with what counselor Carlin said and and what Steph Winslow said that what is the purpose?

I mean, I I kind of expected that that this workshop would have some form of presentation of of what the actual facts are.

I mean, where where is ride in all this?

Why don't we have a ride rep at this meeting?

There just seems to be just a lot of unknowns, a lot of questions, and and I I've asked all of my questions.

If I may, can I can I speak to what Councillor Pinnock would like me to read on the I'm gonna have uh council Napolitana want to jump in there first?

So I want to know what happened to the resolution that you were going to populate with Middletown residents and Newport residents for the schools.

We it within 90 days, we haven't heard boo about it.

We've been struggling to try and figure out what could you give us an update on the the resolution that you passed?

Oh of course, like I'd like to know why it hasn't been populated either.

We've been asking about it since March.

Asking who asking counsel, asking asking chair, asking we've we've received applications according to the rules of council, it's the chair's office that appoints people to the boards and commissions, and certain boards, certain commissions require interviews to happen.

So I'd like to know why we haven't had any interviews and why we haven't populated at least the Newport portion of this commission.

I mean, we we shouldn't have to need another municipality's approval to populate Newport's portion of the commission.

We should have at least been able to put our own people in place back in the springtime.

So I don't have an answer for you because according to the rules of council, I'm not the one that appoints the commissions.

Well, the how to go about doing that.

Because the red the resolution specifically stated Middletown was involved in it.

They have not wanted to be involved until we figured out what we want to do with regionalization.

But we we don't need that.

I don't know.

I think that we have to go back to that and and sort of look at the it was brought up at one point to rewrite the resolution and it was vehemently denied.

So let's go back and rewrite it.

More than happy to do it.

I mean, we have applications that have been submitted, so I don't understand why we haven't at least been able to have the interviews.

No, if I might uh and this is a philosophical point for me, uh, because I care deeply about the integrity of the Newport City Council and the way we conduct our business and our rights.

Uh Councilor Smythe is entirely correct.

We do not need to rely on any community beside Newport, the council itself to determine when and how we will appoint folks uh to the academic advisory committee.

We've been waiting for months.

I have asked, Councilor Smythe has asked, Councillor Pinak has asked, Councillor Kamzavorov has asked.

All four of us voted for the academic advisory committee resolution.

We have asked the person by whom the council works, through whom the council works, the city manager and the city administration, what has happened to the appointment process?

Why have we not done such?

I repeat, Councillor Smythe is exactly correct.

Thank you for making those points.

And it's really, Mr.

Chairman, uh a dropped ball.

What was the what was the point of having a committee without Middletown on it?

And the and the resolution stated Middletown.

I remember that vividly.

I've I and uh we don't we're not regionalizing with ourselves.

Right.

I mean it doesn't make any sense to have a committee that uh doesn't bring the other side.

Well, well, we have to work on our side too.

I mean, you're you're bringing two municipalities together.

You have to take two of of their plans of action and bring them together to negotiate how to move forward with this.

So so there's no reason why we can't populate Newport's portion of things, and in the hopes that Middletown decides to fall fall in line with it and do the same thing.

And then you bring both of the communities together to have those conversations.

I mean, the point was to be able to engage the parents, the teachers, your stakeholders that are involved in the process, and to be able to have the community engagement, receive feedback from the community, educate the community on what this would entail, and to provide data as to how this is going to benefit both communities.

So there's no reason why Newport can't put their portion in place.

But I'd like can I can I speak to to Councillor Penix?

Because unfortunately, she couldn't be here tonight.

She had a conflict, so she sent me an email, and so I'm gonna read her statement and ask her questions.

Um I'm concerned that the discussion on regionalizing Newport and Middletown administration is administration only.

Middletown School Committee has already voted unanimously against a resolution supporting it, and Newport voters rejected it a few years ago.

Our community hasn't had meaningful input, and our academic integration advisory committee is still in early development.

We have held zero interviews, although a couple of us have tried to get that ball rolling.

Any discussion about regionalization needs to be transparent, inclusive, and centered on equity because efficiency should never override the voices of students, families, and educators.

She further has stated we've started developing an academic integration advisory committee to bring student family and teacher voices into these discussions.

How will this committee or similar mechanisms be included in the regionalization conversation that currently seems administration only?

Given that Middletown School Committee unanimously voted against a resolution discussing regionalization.

How is their input being respected and incorporated into these discussions?

Are we at risk of pursuing a model without full buy-in from the communities?

It will impact regionalizing administration may affect students' access to programs, supports, and equitable resources.

How are we assessing these potential impacts, particularly for Newport students who rely on targeted interventions?

And what evidence shows that regionalizing administration will improve student outcomes, efficiency, or equity?

How are we balancing administrative goals with lived experiences and needs of students, families, and educators?

Thank you.

All right.

So we'll take a take some time if anyone from the public wants to come up and have any comments or questions.

Just a minute.

Give me one.

Go ahead.

So I'm sitting here and I'm thinking, you know, I I did a little research when I looked at looked at Vermont, looked at New Hampshire, a lot of regionalization up there.

Rhode Island's had some regionalization.

And I'm going to tell you that I'm going to guess that all the regionalization that's been done in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in Vermont and New Hampshire, and those places have very small districts, as you can imagine, so they come together.

I have to imagine that every single one of those things were done for finances.

It was a financial decision.

And everything after that, the benefits followed from that, but I cannot imagine that any one of those districts came together with the first thing up was the programs and the kids.

The first thing up was going to be the finances.

Rhode Island was finances in Bristol.

I I just so to sit here and say to go through all the other kinds of things and to try to answer the questions that you want to answer.

I think the bottom line, as people have brought up tonight, it's it's a it's a money thing.

And I don't want to skirt away from that because, like I said, if you looked at all those other places, you went to any of those districts and asked them, how did you get together?

Why are you here?

It would have been we had to do it because it was financial, and then other things happened after that.

But I don't want to say to anybody that the finance are not the finances because they are.

So I want to build upon that.

That is absolutely correct.

And I have been saying for the past three years, funding formula is unsustainable, that the EU have a shrinking population.

I was I grew up, I was born, raised, went through the school system.

I know what the school system was like many years ago when we had large populations and large families, many families living in our communities.

That has changed.

Everything changes.

And we have seen it coming, we know it's coming, we have the enrollment projections for now and for the future, and they're not increasing.

They're declining.

The funding formula that the state has in place is detrimental to communities like us, and it will continue.

We'll get less state aid as things go forward.

That is the money piece of it.

The academic pieces of it, I sit here and wonder, because every school superintendent gets faced with either a growing population in which right now we have to shift because this circumstance happened to that circumstance happened.

And guess what?

The schools do it and the teachers do it, and we get it done.

COVID is a classic example.

Newport schools were ready.

We had our laptops.

No one's saying it was a pleasant experience, but we got it done.

We are now faced with declining enrollment.

We all have the same standards.

I don't know how many times I have to say that.

Every school in the state of Rhode Island must teach to the grade level standards.

It's nothing different.

We also have the same populations eventually across this island.

I've lived it, I've seen it, I've worked in the other districts.

It starts usually down in the Newport area, and then it goes across the island.

We started with our ML population, we had it growing, and it continued, and guess what?

Right next door, their population is growing as well.

Same thing is happening in Portsmouth.

So what happens here usually carries across the island?

It's not any different.

We're not any different.

We have wonderful kids.

We have great kids in the Newport school system, so does Middletown.

Our families all grew up with one another.

We know our parents, our grandparents, we know our cousins, everyone on this island knows each other.

This becomes an adult issue when everyone wants to get into the nitty-gritty about okay, how are we going to do X, how are we going to do Y?

You have two superintendents that can sit down and figure it out, share a plan, get community input, get teacher input.

Will it mean most likely reducing staff?

Yes, jobs may be on the line.

That's what happens when you have a shrinking enrollment.

We don't like to say this.

We're not a business, but unfortunately, when you come to operations, you have to look at the number of people you have, the roles they have.

Do they have to shift what they're doing in order to make today's education work in our community?

The whole system, you are correct, Ms.

Winslow, needs to change.

And people need to have a mind shift about what they think public education is these days.

We have students that go to work first and come to school.

We have students that come to school and then go to work.

We have students in internships.

We have students that don't speak English in this building.

And we somehow figure it out and make it work.

Is it the best at all times?

No, it's not.

But that's what we do in public education.

We're like the Statue of Liberty.

We take all children, all families, and we do our best to make sure they can have a better life and prepare for the future.

I'm asking all the adults in this room to please put students first.

Put students and families in our communities first here in Newport and in Middletown.

You want something to happen?

Charge the superintendents on both sides.

Can't just be Newport, has to be in Middletown.

Both of us sit down, work something out, get feedback from our parents, our teachers, find out what's going on.

But be aware it will have impact on jobs in the future.

We need a mind shift.

We can't sustain the funding formula we have now, and we need to have a consistent funding system.

What other industry at 40 to 80 million dollars a year finds out two days before its new fiscal year what their budget is going to be?

It's insane.

You would never operate any organization like that.

Yet in public schools, we're at the mercy of what our communities, and I don't mean it in a negative way.

I know we can only afford so much, but we have to work together to have predictable funding for our students and for our schools.

So Dr.

Power hit it on the head.

When you look at most of the places around the country in different states, they came together because of finances.

Shrinking enrollments, and they couldn't afford to continue the public education services they were providing their students then or for the future.

Thank you.

You said that some teachers would lose their jobs, but if we keep this unsustainable way of going, we're gonna teach are gonna lose their jobs, right?

I mean they are right now.

I have I have teachers on layoff right now.

Fortunately, I believe most of them have gotten other jobs in other places, but yes, it will continue in both communities.

Very well said, Superintendent Jermaine.

Thank you.

We want to uh yeah.

Olivia and Aigle in Newport.

Um I'm a little disappointed because I didn't want to come here.

First of all, I thought that Middletown was gonna be here too.

So I was excited to hear a conversation about the practicality of how would we come together?

Exactly what does that look like?

What does it mean?

What are the strengths of one system over the other system?

What are the facilities that one group has that the other one doesn't?

One town has the other doesn't.

And I didn't hear that.

All I heard was the same argument that's been going on for years.

The same position.

And I'd like to hear what the practicalities are.

I agree with Steph.

What's the plan?

I how do you come together?

Not just the two superintendents sitting down, but you have to put a group of people together, a working group that is qualified and expertise in this area to have these conversations instead of talking about how you can't have the conversation.

We can't get information, and we can't make decisions as a community if we don't have conversations and information.

So I agree with almost everything everyone said up here, but I thought we were gonna get down to it tonight and get some information.

But um the two superintendents are the experts.

No, I get that.

They beyond them.

Beyond them.

Colleen is leaving.

And I'm a little bit.

She's disappointed in this community's.

But you're not you did you hear her say that every school has to teach the same standard?

Yes, I get that.

But I also don't what I've heard in the community is people are really worried about their position.

But instead, I was hoping there was gonna be a lot of information imparted to this.

This is just one step.

Olivia, this is just one step.

This is just I thought we would be seeing it.

It's not, it's not that.

That's gonna happen next.

And I I just want to be clear.

The draft would come from superintendents, but you definitely need teacher parents community input.

Yeah.

We are we are going there.

Yeah.

Okay.

Brian.

I think I just bleeded my lots of notes.

But uh Brian Rochelle, uh 214 Carroll Avenue, Newport.

Um I was not surprised.

Uh I'm I was pleased to see us maybe finally getting something started.

I wasn't surprised.

Um, I know there's the question about well, where's the plan?

Where's the plan?

Again, there needs to be a first step.

I can't walk until I crawl.

And this is you're starting to crawl right now.

This is it.

This is critical.

I've got a daughter that just graduated Rogers High School.

I have one that's currently in this building.

I'm concerned.

I'm concerned for you know them and and hopefully another generation here in this school.

My grandmother went to Rogers on Broadway, my mom went to this school, I went to this school, my daughters are in school.

And and I we hope to be able to keep that.

But we gotta stop bickering.

This is the first step.

I'll raise my hand.

I will help whatever I can do.

But this is where you now have that opportunity to say, let's if it's gotta be one group from Newport for now, fine.

Fine.

We come up with a plan to to Mr.

Carlin's point.

You know, we we don't have anything.

Maybe we can come up with something that's palatable and even enticing to Middletown.

Uh I I don't know what else to say.

I I feel bad because I had a lot of notes, but to the um superintendent's point.

She mentioned something about uh I'll use my own word, uh evol the um evolution of the what Newport looks like as far as schooling goes.

Again, my grandmother went to Rogers on Broadway.

My mother was here, and then when my mother after she left, it evolved again.

We had so many students who had double sessions.

So that was something to your point.

We had to make it work, and then all of a sudden that went away.

And when when I graduated, I was told in 1989 that was the smallest class they've had in years.

At 276.

My daughter graduated this year, supposedly with 160, and 127 walked across the stage.

You've all heard the words tonight.

It's not sustainable.

That's I and if we lose classes, to me.

And all of you, and thank you very much for what she had the drive.

So she did a lot of that on her own, but not every kid has that drive.

So, you know, it takes this group to encourage the teachers and the families to get behind those kids to push those kids.

But you're talking about academic credit uh or or scorecards or whatever it was that you might have just gotten.

I'm not imagining that that was terribly high.

But you're gonna get even worse when you you start losing AP classes because to me, for my daughter anyway, that was what made it an even playing ground uh feel for her.

She took 11 AP classes, and I believe I truly believe it.

If it was not for those classes to challenge her, she would not be in the school that she's in right now.

She'd be in college, sure.

And I'm not saying colleges for everybody.

You guys do fantastic job with the the NACTEC program.

Those kids get off and they do some wonderful things.

But we have to be able to keep all of that.

You talk equity, you gotta be able to keep those higher driven kids that want to go an amazing four-year college.

They gotta be able to continue to do that.

We can't we can't lose those AP classes.

So again, my apologies.

I had more to say, but I will help any way I can.

Brian, and also let's not forget that the NACTAC program is a regional program.

Absolutely.

And so is the one in Middletown.

Oh, that was another point that's very important to note here.

So is theater hockey.

How many?

I'll ask anyone here.

How many combined sports teams with new with Rogers kids and Middletown kids are there?

There are five.

Sorry to cut you off.

And five already.

They're over there.

We've got Middletown students over in the library with our drama class.

Right.

So we're combined already there.

These are just steps.

This is a great first step.

Please, please, please keep it going.

Thank you.

Thanks, Brian.

Good evening, Penelope Hunt, 15 Dartmouth Street, uh Rogers class in 99 and current parent of a third grader and a kindergartner.

I just want to echo the sentiment that I am finding this meeting very challenging without a proposal in front of us.

It's been a theme again and again with regionalization.

I'm as disappointed as as I have been over the various iterations of this proposal that you know there's not an effective champion for this cause.

You know, I would, I'll be honest, I would like to cheer for this.

Unfortunately, and I I'm not comfortable accepting that it will all just happen later.

And I think that um with regard to the academic advisory committee, uh it's a missed opportunity in my opinion.

I understand that there were some uh political butting heads over it, but I think um for myself and others that applied to be on the committee, it was an opportunity to have a conversation that I do think is necessary.

We cannot just have this be the bodies of elected officials and and staff moving this forward.

And we, you know, a good example is we now have the fifth grade uh working group, and it it's it's a bit messy, but you know, we're getting somewhere and we're we're betting all these questions and getting them out there, and you know, you can't no one person can do it alone, and we just don't have a group that is coalesced enough, even within Newport.

Never mind across both communities, although I definitely feel that it was just another iteration of the political ping pong to say that we can't do this committee because you know we don't have Middletown on board.

Somebody has to pick up the baton and run with it.

And that per the it just does not exist either on the elected side or on the staff side, and uh that just continues to disappoint.

And I wish I could be that person, but uh that hasn't happened yet either for a variety of reasons.

So I just wanted to comment on my perspective with regard to the affordability of the districts.

I mean, I do think that Newport is a unique community.

We fall in a um different place than many of the communities throughout the state with regard to the state funding formula.

Uh as you all know, the primary drivers of the funding formula are student demographics, but then also your property tax base.

And Newport is a little, you know, different where yes, the state formula penalizes us because we have a significantly valued property tax base.

So the challenge to us, to anybody who's in an elected seat, particularly on the council, is to have find the political will to tax that base as needed.

So you know, in the absence of a viable plan to pursue for regionalization, I am not shy about as a parent or just as a community member about talking about how we tax our community.

I was a member of the uh the ad hoc, whatever you guys know, the residential property tax bifurcation committee, and you know, the intention of that committee was to provide some protection and some recognition of the uh different circumstances with over which our residential base is divided between our full-time residence and part-time residency or other uses.

But what what ultimately has come of that program is that we all have benefited from basically $2,000 off our property tax bill every year.

And while I still believe in the structure of this bifurcated system, we have room to grow our tax base.

And I know conversations about property tax, the extremes, you know, folks who don't believe who believe in no not growing property tax and then folks who believe in tax to fund, it's a it's a difficult age-old conversation.

I'm certainly in the tax to fund here.

So I just want to say that I don't think that Newport can't afford to sustain a district.

I think that we may be in a more expensive district than we would be if we merged, but we can afford to do it if we need to.

Sorry.

Um, I guess I could end with two other observations.

One is why we can't over this period of time where we've had this missed opportunity to actually have a committee on this issue.

Why can't oh, I'm sorry, I need to go back to the taxation thing.

I also will say though, that having observed a number of meetings between the school administration and the council.

I do believe that the administration should bring forth a more robust and better presentation to merit to justify the asks that are being put forth there.

So I'm not asking the council to invest a belief in the school system without a better presentation and set of information.

That aside, my question that I would end with is just why has nobody even said the elephant in the room, it's not even really an elephant, it's like so far gone.

But nobody's even talked at all recently about a proposal that actually would combine the school populations in some way.

Everybody's saying, well, we can't do it without them, or we don't know.

I mean, the information is publicly available, at least to people who are in either an elected position or on a municipal staff.

It's harder for those of us as parents or doing other things to find those things, but the information's out there.

Propose it.

Like it just feels like you know, the fact that that's so politically hot rod is just or whatever the word lightning rod, you know, is is challenging, and I think just needs to be called out that we can't even find the the will to even mention it.

Never mind, explore it or propose it for the ballot.

Thank you.

I just have to say one thing about that.

This is this is a first step, and it's a multi multi-phase process, and there will be full regionalization when the process is complete.

We talked about that a little bit today.

We talked about how Bristol kids stay in their elementary schools and then they merge them in the middle in the high school.

We will be doing that, but we have other opportunities here because we have such a robust career tech program.

And we talked about this a little bit today.

We're bringing we're hopefully going to bring the fifth graders back to Pell, freeing up space, freeing up space.

It's strategically the implementation is has to be done strategically.

And as far as not having a plan tonight.

There, this is as Brian said, we have to.

This is a first step.

We have to do this in increments.

And in order, everybody was very upset in March when they threw the fireball at at everybody and said, You're meeting in public in private, so we can't talk about this anymore.

Well, now we're in public.

That was the that was the reason we had this meeting, I believe, tonight was to publicly have both bodies on stage saying, Do we want to take the next step in public?

So we will be, I think, taking a vote tonight.

We're not taking a vote tonight.

We should be taking a vote tonight.

But um, the next step, the next step is um the next step is to have the councils meet together, Middletown and Newport.

That's gonna happen next week.

So these are steps.

And if you want if you want to boil the ocean and you want a perfect plan, it isn't going to happen.

So I don't understand why everybody is insisting on a plan, a plan, a plan.

You can't have a plan unless you have a first step.

Okay, go ahead.

Uh Liz Barron, three Ladyard Street.

Um the the thought of not having a plan means I assume that we are talking about combining administration for the pure purpose of finance, which of course, you know, has its pros of saving money somehow, which is confusing as to Steph's point if it's really not like in the capacity of combining buildings.

Um, but I think that that can actually cause some harm.

Like I don't think that that would even keep the status quo.

If we're not combining our school population, if we're not looking at combined buildings and actually integrating our students yet, we're giving up.

I don't understand how that's part of the plan when that's never discussed.

I feel like Lynn said perfectly straight that like we're talking finances and administration.

Title 16 of the state law is about co regionalization equals combination.

So for each grade that is combined, there's a percentage given.

Uh you know, it's it's it's legal stuff, you but it's it's online.

Google it.

Title 16, Chapter 7, it lays it out.

We will be combining grades eventually.

Yeah, if we can agree on that, I think that's amazing.

We would like to do that.

So it's a multi-phase, it's a multi-phase process.

It doesn't happen overnight.

You have to take the first steps.

And the first steps are voting.

The public has to vote.

And the public voting on between now and whenever that our student population.

What are we voting on when between voted against the case?

Beth, let me jump in.

So this is why we're here tonight.

There's and yes, there is no exact, I don't have a plan saying, hey, this is exactly what we're doing because we don't know yet.

We need to have the conversation with Middletown to be like, I mean, do I want full regulation?

Absolutely.

One of the uh first conversations we had with the Middletown was to do that, and then they came back with the idea of well, maybe we can just do the administrative.

So we're okay.

Well, that's an idea.

Let's look at that.

And not once have I mentioned a certain type of regionalization.

All I'm talking about is having the discussion with Newport and Middletown to see what is the best way to go about it.

Do we want full reason?

Is it if step one is full regionalization?

Okay, then let's what's that?

What does that entail?

What's that conversation?

If if full size regio agree that hey, we can't get to that now, but that's what we want to get to.

What's the next step from there?

Well, that that's why it's it.

That's why there is no this is our plan, this is what we're doing because Middletown might be like, you know what, through that.

We don't want that plan and walk away.

And then we'll like, all right, well, that was that, and we have nothing uh nothing to discuss after that.

Mr.

Chair, may I?

Go ahead.

What usually happens, Liz is when those have regionalized regionalized is administration, is usually the first place they start.

And then I think you overheard a comment about the elementaries.

A lot of times the elementary families are nervous about combining, depending upon the area, the location, etc.

So usually what happens when you're doing a multi-phase approach is administration starts, then there's a year of planning, getting everything together.

You speak to the elementary parents who, especially with the little ones, the kindergarten and uh pre-Ks.

Do they want to be in the same community?

Do they want to be in the familiar setting of the elementary school that is already in place in those communities?

Then for the middle and high school level, that's where the rubber hits the road.

And it's usually at those levels.

What are we going to offer?

What kind of programs can we offer at that point in time?

And where would we like to start combining the middle and the high schools?

Um, here over at Rogers, you heard, and I know you're aware, we have multiple CTE programs that we have, and it's a regional program.

Middletown has the same.

So they offer some of our students already go to Middletown.

Quite a few of Middletown students come to Newport.

And then from there, we look at the programs and what we'd like to develop and look at.

I think right now we're looking at dentistry over here at Rogers.

But we're looking at different programs as we go forward and we hear industries.

The dentist industry actually came to us, met with um Director Young and I and had a conversation about that.

And then we look at what the community needs are, but that's the usual typical way it happens.

It doesn't mean it has to happen that way, but that's usually what happens in the phasing in.

Just to just to clarify, I did say that yes, uh right now it'd be regional um administrative, but that they would be baby steps toward full regionalization.

Yeah, I guess that's that's the challenge.

I mean, that's why we voted it down last time because it was purely administrative without a feasible plan moving forward.

And now without with these smaller buildings being built, like that was the prime time before building Rogers to build a high school that could support both communities.

Um yeah, and I I just as we again, like if it's only administration, if it's only for finances, you're continuing many of you up there to sell this idea that there's so many opportunities available.

There's AP classes, how could we let this go?

We have to jump on this, but if if we're not combining our populations, I I'm really curious how you see those opportunities presenting themselves, how how they could actually come to fruition if we're still all in our separate buildings and we've just lost half of our administration to share.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, counsel.

Thank you.

Uh I want to comment on something because it's it's really bothering me, it's disturbing me.

You heard me talk about the integrity of the council that goes for the integrity of the school committee and what it resolves to do as well.

Uh we're talking about, or we were talking earlier, and councillor Smythe brought it up uh regarding the uh academic advisory committee.

Uh I am now reading from the minutes of the regular city council meeting of August 13th of this year.

The issue that we are discussing now.

Uh is in part because of a resolution that councillor Napolitano brought up regarding regionalization.

There was much discussion on that resolution.

And uh these quite accurate and well recorded minutes.

Note that Councillor Carms of Aravang moved to amend Councillor Napolitano's resolution by adding the deadline of September 30th, 2025 for the Newport City Council to make appointments to the academic advisory commission, seconded by seconded by Councillor Smythe and voted upon unanimously by the council.

We've done none of that.

Thank you.

It just came to me now when you were talking about that, looking at um I got some information from City Hall about something unrelated, but there was a whole list of commissions or committees, and that was one of them.

So I don't know if you're getting any applicants.

I really don't know.

But I just want to mention a couple of things here that um I think someone else is waiting here in the wings, but I believe um Chairman Holder said what we're doing now is not working.

I presume you mean in the educational area or the um dynamics with the council and school committee, although it's uh big difference from what it used to be decades ago, believe me.

Um I think you might want to say some of what we're doing is not working, and some of what we are doing is working pretty well, to which I I want to carry it further and say if any kind of progress is going to be made, and if the two communities are ever going to at least reach consensus, which means neither side agrees with everything, they're going to have to look at the successes in your community, in say all right in the schools, and not just in the classroom, not only those test scores, but looking at everything from the governance from the um the the financial area uh well buildings, I mean you know what's how what has gotten us to where we are now, Middletown in the same way, and look at the challenges.

Seventeen years ago, when I first decided to run, I wrote to the principals of the schools.

We had a lot more school buildings then, and I sent a courtesy to the uh letter to the then superintendent, and I said, I would really like to sit down with you folks to find out what are the challenges that you deal with in your schools and by extension the whole system on a daily basis, and what are the successes that you're proud of or should be proud of.

That's one of our problems, is we don't brag enough, truthfully.

You see little things from other parts of the country and some of these educational communications.

You say, for heaven's sakes, we've done this for 50 years here, but we have to learn to highlight our successes and let people know what challenges are.

In Middletown also, and then find out where are our strong points, where are their strong points.

Can not me, can we literally are we able to work together to reach some kind of consensus?

So I think to say what we're doing is not working is not fair to people, as the gentleman who spoke about his daughter, who was in you know, a top student, and a lot of others there.

One fellow I had in class many years ago, is on the faculty at Rogers High School now, and there's a few others too that I've taught.

I'll be honest, I I never really had an idea what this kid was going to do.

This young fellow was going to do.

Wow, everyone thinks he's the greatest thing.

So I mean that's anecdotal.

But we we have to we have to open our eyes and say, this is what's working, don't get rid of it, and maybe share that some of that with the neighboring community, and vice versa.

This is something I wanted to say.

And and uh a lot of it is not just in the classroom, but it can start with finance committees and policy and everything else too.

And the relationship with the governing bodies, the uh council and school committee meetings, because school committees, that is the but all of us here should have that same end game in mind.

Um, Alana Hearn, 96 Mary Street.

Um I am pro-regionalization.

I think most parents I know are in favor of combining our student bodies.

Um I think we share the same concerns that Liz has already mentioned that simply combining administrations, there's no guarantee that the student bodies are being combined.

I don't know how you would guarantee that based on what's being presented right now.

I would like there to be a guarantee that the student bodies will be combined.

Because I think the fear is that if we are simply streamlining the administrations, that you're setting up two communities in a fight over resources.

And I think that's a really dangerous first step.

Because there's a risk that it will only be the step, and there won't be a secondary step.

But my question is why are we rushing?

Why are we forcing an April special election?

Why can't we be reasonable, put it on a November ballot, and allow everybody time to talk between now and November?

Anyone?

No date.

So let's start there so we can have conversations so we can create the academic advisory committee that you've all promised, change the writing, whatever you need to do.

Let's have conversations.

Let's come together, let's be allies.

Otherwise, you're gonna force us to oppose you, and we don't want to do that.

We really don't.

Anyone else?

Uh yes.

I don't understand um what you brought up, Steph, about this group and what we're talking about.

This work is is it a working academic advisory committee?

Yeah.

How quickly can you get that up and running?

Because if you started this conversation in March, or you were discussed it in March, what are we eight, nine months later, and still nothing?

Uh I'm not the one that appoints it.

Right.

Charlie, Charlie and I have had a very deep conversation about commission last January, or was it February?

January.

Yeah.

Well, it looks like it's still not fixed.

So what how quickly can you fix this particular problem so that we can move forward and the community can get that information.

Oh, again, the resolution called for Middletown to have their uh appointees on a commission as well, and they have decided not to do so at this point.

That that that has been suggested, yes.

Mr.

Chairman, please offer so if I might.

Uh I hate to repeat myself as solicitor B and says if if we were in a courtroom, the judge would say, You already made that point.

Uh however, uh Chris, you're on that one.

However, I think it's important to reiterate to what we just talked about, what we're discussing in the last 30 seconds to a minute.

Uh Councilor Kamzavaravan amended the resolution by a seven to nothing vote.

We said, as a council, we will get our appointees in place by September 30th, and we have done nothing.

Uh my call in 19 Bay side.

Uh 60 years ago in California, most of the school districts went through regionalization processes.

I'm the product of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

It's it's well understood in California how to regionalize school districts.

I'm really concerned here that we're all operating in a gigantic knowledge vacuum, making things up as we go along.

That was in evidence to me in April of this year when I first heard about academic integration, and I asked myself as a former project manager on big DoD programs managing complex projects where I had to integrate s systems together.

I asked myself, I wonder what a plan to regionalize a small Rhode Island school district made up of a handful of schools might look like, knowing that that regionalization is not like an atomic bomb that goes off instantaneously.

It goes on over several years in a very methodical methodical planned manner.

And I I formulated a very lengthy prompt just outlining the circumstances here.

And I said, help educate me on what that hypothetical plan for regionalization might look like.

15 minutes later, it generates a 10-page list month by month by month on how this might look like.

And guess what?

At about month 12, it calls for an academic integration function.

It doesn't call for ahead of an election.

It says after the election, to our superintendent's point, there's a consolidation of the administrative and financial functions.

Then there's a focus on the joint governance function.

Then the joint governance function is relying on expertise to evaluate the program across the entire new universe.

Then it's done very, very methodically with public input every step of the way.

So going forward, I think it's a gigantic mistake for you to shoehorn this academic integration function right up front.

There is a spot for it post-election within a couple months of that new unified school district, but not at this point.

Just as corporations, the other the final point that I would make is I think you're all in urgent need of some real specialized uh expertise to help guide both this community and Middletown through that regionalization process, just as for-profit corporations look at one another for various reasons to consolidate.

Do they just sit down, board of directors and board of directors, and say, let's go make this happen?

The answer is no.

They'll hire an investment banker company, a Goldman Sachs, a Morgan, a group of experts, of lawyers, of accountants, human resource people.

The superintendent said that the HR side is going to be very challenging.

Well, guess what Google Gemini said after um making sure that the the it said the key ingredients were strong community support and strong focus on your collective bargaining agreements.

Yes.

Yes.

So again, I would really urge to find expertise somewhere.

I don't know where it is, but that expertise is needed sooner than later.

Thanks.

Hi, uh, my name's Mary Ellen Atkins.

I live at uh 24 Lucasav.

Um I'm a parent of three Newport public school children.

Um I'm also on the Pell PTO.

I'm a public educator myself.

And um I'm also a proud graduate of Rogers High School.

I love what you did to the place.

Um so thank you, school committee and uh city council for this beautiful building.

Um I applied to the academic advisory board whenever that was, and I was really excited to serve on it.

And I actually showed up here tonight just to be a good student and like get to know what is happening in the community.

So if I was picked for that board, then I would know what is going on in the community.

And I'm I just am wanted to come up and just say, you know, please, city council, do something about it.

You know, there's a lot of mummy mafia over here that would love to um participate in this process.

Thank you.

Mummy mafia.

Good evening, uh Josh Ammon to Thurston Avenue.

Um, this has been like actually a lot more uh educational than I thought it was uh the first half.

Uh and I guess the conclusion that I've kind of come to is that right now we're in a catch 20, is that nobody wants to vote for this, or at least nobody um I know or I talk to we know kind of a little more about the plan.

Um, but nobody feels either comfortable or able or legally, you know, allowed to come up with that plan until we vote.

I don't know what the solution to that is because I think um, you know, like a lot of people said I'm for regionalization in general.

I'm absolutely for free money um all the time.

Um, but you know, if it's like hey, vote for it, and then like this comes out like if that's the the process, I guess that is counterintuitive to me.

I'd like to know a little bit more information.

The same way that like, you know, if you're running for office, you you know, talk about your priorities for you know, your party has a platform or one of those things.

That's known before you know the vote.

Um, and so I think I don't know what we need to know more.

I like haven't thought enough about it.

Um, but I think that's that's where uh uh I'm stuck right now.

Is I get that a some of that information isn't there yet.

I don't know how to get there, but I'm not ready to vote for something until I get some more information.

So I wish I had a solution.

I don't really have a question.

Um that's kind of like what I've um so thank you very much.

I appreciate this.

No, this was um probably not fun a lot of moments, um, but thank you.

I did learn a lot about regional.

Again, and I think that's that's the mistake that's happened in the past where when it came to a vote, there wasn't all that information.

There wasn't an exact plan.

And Mr.

Chair.

Oh, I just actually have a question for uh city council because I agree with Mr.

Cullen's point back at that August meeting, and he said, you know, if this were a private company and we were trying to merge or you know, or there's an acquisition going on immediately, there would be a team put in place to oversee it.

We'd have a serious project manager, we'd have a consultant come in, do the work.

Superintendents don't have time to figure everything out.

I'm not saying you can't, I'm saying you don't have time to do all of that by yourself.

And the community does need help.

And I believe that there was 250,000 set aside in the city budget to bring on that consultant, not to tell us like last time how these things work, but actually run something like an academic integration committee.

How we're gonna do this with community with some school committee with administration with teachers, right?

So is that still a possibility?

That's my question to the council.

There was money in the budget to hire a consultant to lead a working group that would come up with a plan for voters to sink their teeth into, right?

And then we could get behind it.

We have an idea of how this could work.

Yeah.

There is a study or yeah.

A facilitator, I do think, yes, we need an almost a mediator, but a project manager, a consultant.

Last time we had a consultant.

We had a consultant who was from, I think, Ohio.

We need Rhode Island is a quirky place.

I'm an eighth generation Rhode Islander, it's a quirky quirky place.

We need somebody that is not from Newport, not from Aquidneck Island, but is well versed in our policies, our laws, our economics, our economy.

I suggested somebody from Rhode Island um public expenditure council, RIPEC.

They've done several studies um in the past on regionalization in Aquidneck Island.

Um I would I would go there first because they they they tick all the boxes.

Go ahead.

Okay, I was just actually Joe Hearn, for those of you who don't know me, Alana's husband.

I'm in my uh uh fifth year on the Pell PTO.

I think I've got another six there and probably 12 more on PTOs at Thompson and um Rogers, uh advocate for public education, proud of my girls.

Um, and we're users of these goods, and we're going to be for a long time.

Um so uh the conversation about resource allocation is a fear for us.

I was going to bring up the same point that Steph just made about we have had um consultants involved.

I mean, we've sat in rooms with hundreds of people to talk about this academic or excuse me, the administrative version of regionalization.

Uh I just wanted to offer and posit that this academic integration committee could have been an area for new ideas, could have been an area for um uh like um uh exciting both sides of the community.

I don't agree with Bob that everything's always regionalized for money.

Sometimes these regionalized uh regionalization conversations happen because um populations change and small communities realize that they uh could do better by for their students by regionalization.

This is the this is the goal for us.

This is what we want for our kids.

Um we don't want to stay in an allocation uh argument forever.

I think it's hard for us to come into a room after years of conversation and consult Chat GBT like we're just um pramming for an exam.

This plan could be better, and outside voices are probably desperately needed voices outside of just the school committee and the town council.

This city has had several misses on behalf of budget public education for a period of 30 years, not for a period of five.

Um so uh I'm just imploring you again to involve the community as early as possible.

Uh just two councils could end up um in its own border war and and ruin the opportunity.

Thanks.

Mr.

Chair?

Yes.

Um I'd like to just read a couple of the resolves from the academic integration advisory commission.

So the first resolve that the Newport City Council immediately calls upon the Newport School Committee, the Middletown Town Council, and the Middle Town School Committee to support the formation of an academic integration advisory committee to advise on ways Newport and Middletown can collaborate to improve fair access and student outcome.

I want to just point out the word support.

It does not say approve.

We do not need the approval of the school committee, Middletown Town Council or Middletown School Committee to put this commission into place.

Then it cuts to resolve that within 90 days of this formation, the academic integration advisory committee shall present a request for necessary resources and a proposed action plan outlining strategies to advance educational integration and equity across Newport and Middletown's public schools.

Upon approval, the committee shall prepare a comprehensive report detailing recommendations for collaboration and a roadmap for implementation.

That's where a good portion of that money that was budgeted for was going to go towards the experts involved to pull together that report.

So I I just wanted to make those clarifications because it's come up a couple of times.

Based upon that and how you interpret it, we don't need Middletown's buy-in to put forth new ports portion of this committee.

Can I just say why would we spend 250,000 on something if we're not even sure that Middletown is going to be a part of it?

That was just to have it on the budget because that was, I guess, what typically goes into consultants.

Why wouldn't we want to have some type of data to support this?

Now that doesn't mean to say that that this committee would use up the whole 250,000.

That's just to have money to bring some consultants to the table to be able to have the data to support Mr.

Chair.

Yeah, this is this is how it's gonna work.

We have the data.

We have the data.

We have lots of data, too much data.

We need we need to move on getting a committee form that is not an advisory.

I'm all for advisory.

I'm all for it.

But it has to be done in tandem.

It's an advisory.

We have to formulate a structured committee, like the like the school building committee, for example.

There is a there's a framework.

You have to have an architect, you have to have a lawyer.

Yeah, they they they they delineate what that committee is to be.

Right now, as they said, the mo the mom mafia, which I think is pretty funny, um, is great, and that's good.

That's part of the solution, but it isn't the solution.

The solution is in tandem, using them as advisory, getting their input.

As Mike said, it may be a year into the process, but it is very important to have all voices at the table.

But that advisory is not is not the structured committee that we need to really move this forward.

I I'd like to read just one more resolve on this resolution, and that's that this committee shall include educational experts from both communities, including superintendents and their advisors on curriculum and academic success, representatives from PTOs, public school educators as recommended by their respective bargaining units, a designee from each school committee policy committee, representatives from community-based educational support pro programs, members from each communities learn 365 teams, and other experts in educational integration.

I mean, what what other experts would would you need to have at the table?

And have they been contacted?

I mean, I I know that you have 20 people that have signed up.

How many of those are experts?

Well, that's what we have to do.

The council has to go through those applications and conduct interviews to see.

The council has received all the applications.

You were emailed.

Yeah.

How many have how many councils have gone back to the about any app, I I actually sent you and Lisa an email and I said, what are we supposed to do with this information?

Do you want us to select people and give you our recommendation?

Or are we supposed to have interviews?

I didn't get a response on that.

I mean, I'm happy to go through I've gone through those applications.

I'm happy to give you uh a list of of who I think we either should interview or appoint.

But but this goes back to that we don't have exactly a set process for how our boards and commissions are appointed.

And and council just just voted down.

I I know, but but I'm just saying that this that's part of the process.

And why this hasn't been appointed?

So but maybe we need to just revisit connecting with counsel again and saying, or or right now say send me the individuals that you would like to see appointed to this commission.

I mean it's the same as uh so with that resolution, right?

I think this is probably a good time to resubmit that resolution.

You should probably change change some mortgage on it, but have it so we can meet.

I hope we we agree that we go and meet with middle town so that each community will have its academic advisory commission resolution and agree on it so we can get both sides together.

I think that that's be the next the next step.

That I believe was included in the resolution that um councillor Napolitano put forth on regionalization.

I believe that was one of the amendments too.

I'm saying I'm saying we talked with Middletown three to do that, so they're gonna do it as well because right now they haven't done and have no desire to, or at the time didn't have any desire.

So we're whereas that resolution on um the resolve says the support of Middletown that you weren't supporting.

So that's why I'm thinking chabar own, then we get together and get to that way.

That that's where we I think we need to um I'm hoping that city council we can we can agree that that's the next step, go forward and talk with Middletown.

Okay, not any other further.

Yeah, but uh we got well we gotta meet with gotta see when people are available.

Uh it there's a there is no deadline again.

We're going back to what uh some other people in the audience said, what is the rush?

You know, so I can't put a timeline on it.

I'm not uh why why are we here tonight?

Why are we here tonight?

We're gonna try to meet with Middletown as soon as possible once we can get our schedules coordinated, hopefully the next couple weeks.

Especially this time of year.

Not even this Christmas yet.

So hopefully that in the next I'm hoping to meet with Middletown if we can get everyone together in the next couple weeks together.

Yes, yep.

Uh well, tomorrow's a holiday, so dear, yeah.

All right, well, thank you over all right, thank you, everybody.