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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Newport-Middletown School Regionalization Workshop (Jan 13, 2026)

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, January 13, 2026

BodyNewport, Rhode Island

SessionMeeting Portal

DateTuesday, January 13, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:59:24

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Start with a roll call, please.

0:03

David Carlin.

0:05

Lynn Underwood Segley.

0:06

Here.

0:07

Charlie Holder.

0:08

Here.

0:08

Side camps for G Marina Politano.

0:11

Here.

0:11

Ellen Pinnock.

0:13

Here.

0:13

Stephanie Smythe.

0:14

Here.

0:14

There's a quorum present, Mr.

0:16

Chair.

0:16

Thank you.

0:42

Thank you, one of these owners.

1:43

I was gonna read it in the meeting.

1:46

It is now the agenda.

1:52

What?

1:53

So the Newport City Council, we are uh meeting here today with a joint uh joint meeting talking about school regionalization with the town of Middletown.

2:02

Um so uh I make a motion to uh begin the meeting.

2:05

I have a second.

2:07

Uh motion and second.

2:08

All those in favor say aye.

2:09

Aye.

2:10

Okay, thank you, Charlie.

2:12

Uh joint meeting uh council uh meeting workshop with the city council Newport.

2:18

Motion to begin the meeting workshop.

2:21

All in favor?

2:22

Aye.

2:23

Okay.

2:25

So I just want to uh welcome everyone tonight.

2:28

Uh thank you to the uh Atlantic Resort uh for having us here again uh for our second workshop of uh of the joint regionalization or re joint workshop regional uh on school regionalization.

2:41

So um we had a good uh start last uh last month um December 8th, and we decided that we want to keep the talks going and keep the motive uh momentum going.

2:52

And we are very happy to have uh members of the Rhode Island uh Department of Education with us tonight as well, uh so we can answer some questions on that and then talk about what the status is uh where we are currently with uh both the city of Newport and the town of the okay.

3:08

Yeah, I just I just echo Charlie's uh comments.

3:11

Um pretty good meeting last time.

3:12

There was a will to continue discussions on uh uh if there's a path forward on regionalization or not.

3:19

Um you know, lists of questions have come out um that uh in a lot of times we can we can answer the questions the best we can, but some of the questions really the the professionals that ride could do probably much better job, and you probably have a lot more confidence in them hearing it come from them because you can hear it come from us and have heard it come from us in the past.

3:38

So sometimes it's better to have the folks in the room.

3:41

So Mario, I don't know if you want to introduce uh the folks you're with or and then it's up to you.

3:55

I gotta try that.

4:00

Uh good evening, members of the city and town council.

4:03

Uh my name is Drew Eccleson, very proud to be the deputy commissioner at the Rhode Island Department of Education.

4:09

I'm here with some amazing colleagues representing different functions within the Rhode Island Department of Education.

4:15

Uh specifically Dr.

4:16

Mario Mario Carrano, uh the chief uh operation operating officer for Ride.

4:22

He also leads, as you know, the school building authority work, our director of finance, uh Brandon Bull, and our chief legal counsel, Anthony Catone.

4:31

Uh so we really appreciate uh the questions that were posed to us in advance of the meeting.

4:38

It was really helpful to have some insight uh to the things that were important to you as uh respective leaders within your communities.

4:47

I I just wanted to lead um with saying that our presence here is is certainly and clearly at your invitation.

4:54

We take no stance at all.

4:55

We've we feel like this is a very much a local matter about whether or not uh the town should should think in the city should think about regionalization.

5:03

But it is very important to our commissioner that we provide support.

5:06

And so we are here to provide technical assistance.

5:09

We we sort of are here this evening to do that, and we'll maintain that effort and that interest uh for as long as you all want.

5:15

Um so just know that we stand ready to support.

5:18

Uh some of these are very technical, particularly legal questions.

5:21

And so also as we sort of move forward, your respective LEA legal counsels might want to work with our chief legal counsel, uh, and we're happy to uh provide any support we can on that front.

5:31

My job uh sort of just to kick us off is just to like lay out some themes uh from the questions that we propose uh that you all propose to us, um, and then my colleagues who are sort of much more content experts in some of these areas will be available to answer any specific questions that you might have.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Education█████████████████████████████████████████████67%

Public Engagement███████11%

Procedural████6%

Budget Equity Analysis████6%

Legislation██3%

Racial Equity█2%

Organizational Structure█2%

Labor Relations█2%

Transportation Safety█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Newport-Middletown Joint Meeting Workshop: School Regionalization (January 13, 2026)

This joint workshop between the Newport City Council and the Middletown Town Council convened on January 13, 2026, to continue discussions on school regionalization with the assistance of four representatives from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE). The meeting focused on clarifying legal pathways, financial incentives, governance structures, and the feasibility of both administrative and full integration models, alongside updates on the formation of an Academic Integration Advisory Committee (AIAC). RIDE emphasized that while state law provides a framework, the specific structure and decisions regarding integration remain at the discretion of the local communities.

Consent Calendar

No routine consent items were presented; the meeting proceeded directly to the workshop agenda item.

Public Comments & Testimony

Teresa (Middletown): Expressed concern regarding the lack of clear exit provisions in the event of a failed regionalization; asked whether reimbursement would be forfeited if the arrangement dissolved. Also raised concerns about potential majoritarian control by the community with larger enrollment and confirmed the necessity of passing legislation to modify agreements.
Penelope Hunt (Newport): Questioned the feasibility of reassigning school construction debt obligations to a joint authority once students attend schools across district lines, highlighting the current separation of debt between the two municipalities.
Don Moran (Middletown): Stated that past regional districts like Bristol-Warren successfully modified their agreements via legislation. Noted that disagreements and legal disputes over reimbursement rates (citing a Warren lawsuit won in Superior Court) are a reality in regionalization and require mechanisms for resolution.
Art Weber (Middletown): Stated strong opposition to continuing the process at this time; argued that without the participation of the Middletown School Committee (who declined to participate), the current agreement creates an imbalance of benefits and a pause is necessary.

Discussion Items

RIDE Legal and Governance Clarifications: Deputy Commissioner Drew Eccleson and Chief Legal Counsel Anthony Catone clarified that the term "administrative regionalization" does not exist in general law; any structure is permissible under Title 16 Chapter 3, including full integration. They confirmed that the existing 2022 special legislation is currently moot because the referendum was not approved, necessitating new legislation for formal adoption, though general laws allow for local agreements. Catone clarified that while a regional board could theoretically have taxing authority if the General Assembly delegated it, it is politically unlikely and novel for school districts.
Financial Incentives and Reimbursement: Finance Director Brandon Bull explained that school housing aid payments to municipalities are guaranteed (since 1960) but are calculated based on debt service. He distinguished this from optional "regionalization bonuses" ($400,000 in Year 1 and $200,000 in Year 2) and transportation aid (50% of interstate busing costs), which are subject to General Assembly appropriation. Bull confirmed that holding off on submitting housing aid forms does not forfeit future eligibility, but delaying prevents capturing immediate bonuses and state aid incentives.
Legislative Pathways and Timeline: Council members discussed the necessity of drafting new legislation. Sean (City Manager) outlined a tentative timeline targeting legislation introduction by March 1, 2026, with a goal of a November 2026 ballot question. This requires an aggressive eight-week engagement for the AIAC consultant, who would begin work in February to inform the legislation.
Academic Integration Advisory Committee (AIAC): Newport officials reported that over 20 applicants were received for the AIAC, with interviews scheduled. The proposed committee (12 members) would produce a comprehensive report by May 31, 2026, detailing opportunities for integration and governance. A consultant selection process is underway, with Firm A (a national firm with Rhode Island experience) identified as the preferred candidate due to its ability to meet the tight timeline and lower cost ($250k-$300k vs $400k-$600k for Firm B).
Collective Bargaining and Teacher Compensation: RIDE legal counsel confirmed that existing collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) remain valid until expiration. Upon expiration, the regional district would negotiate a single, unified contract, eliminating the possibility of different bargaining units for similar positions across district lines.
Community Concerns on Trust and Equity: Council members discussed concerns regarding trust, citing a recent traffic rerouting dispute as an indicator of the need for strong accountability. There was a consensus expressed by several speakers that the voters must be fully educated on the specifics before balloting to ensure trust-building.

Key Outcomes

Affirmation to Proceed: The Newport City Council voted unanimously (all those present said "aye") to move forward with regionalization discussions and the development of new legislation. The Middletown Town Council expressed agreement to continue the process, despite the non-participation of the local School Committee at this stage.
Consultant Selection: The councils agreed to pursue the selection of "Firm A" (pending final confirmation) to lead the AIAC study, with Newport contributing $250,000 from capital funds and potential cost-sharing with Middletown.
Legislative Strategy: Both bodies agreed to work with state legislators on January 24 to refine the legislative vehicle. They acknowledged that while general laws allow for local agreements, formalizing the process with state incentives likely requires new specific legislation to be introduced and passed by the General Assembly.
Next Steps: The councils will schedule further meetings once the AIAC is formed and as the legislative drafting process advances. A meeting to discuss regionalization with the respective School Committees is planned to re-engage them, acknowledging that the Middletown Committee's participation remains uncertain pending answers to specific technical questions.

Meeting Transcript

Start with a roll call, please. David Carlin. Lynn Underwood Segley. Here. Charlie Holder. Here. Side camps for G Marina Politano. Here. Ellen Pinnock. Here. Stephanie Smythe. Here. There's a quorum present, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Thank you, one of these owners. I was gonna read it in the meeting. It is now the agenda. What? So the Newport City Council, we are uh meeting here today with a joint uh joint meeting talking about school regionalization with the town of Middletown. Um so uh I make a motion to uh begin the meeting. I have a second. Uh motion and second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Okay, thank you, Charlie. Uh joint meeting uh council uh meeting workshop with the city council Newport. Motion to begin the meeting workshop. All in favor? Aye. Okay. So I just want to uh welcome everyone tonight. Uh thank you to the uh Atlantic Resort uh for having us here again uh for our second workshop of uh of the joint regionalization or re joint workshop regional uh on school regionalization. So um we had a good uh start last uh last month um December 8th, and we decided that we want to keep the talks going and keep the motive uh momentum going. And we are very happy to have uh members of the Rhode Island uh Department of Education with us tonight as well, uh so we can answer some questions on that and then talk about what the status is uh where we are currently with uh both the city of Newport and the town of the okay. Yeah, I just I just echo Charlie's uh comments. Um pretty good meeting last time. There was a will to continue discussions on uh uh if there's a path forward on regionalization or not. Um you know, lists of questions have come out um that uh in a lot of times we can we can answer the questions the best we can, but some of the questions really the the professionals that ride could do probably much better job, and you probably have a lot more confidence in them hearing it come from them because you can hear it come from us and have heard it come from us in the past. So sometimes it's better to have the folks in the room. So Mario, I don't know if you want to introduce uh the folks you're with or and then it's up to you. I gotta try that. Uh good evening, members of the city and town council. Uh my name is Drew Eccleson, very proud to be the deputy commissioner at the Rhode Island Department of Education. I'm here with some amazing colleagues representing different functions within the Rhode Island Department of Education. Uh specifically Dr. Mario Mario Carrano, uh the chief uh operation operating officer for Ride. He also leads, as you know, the school building authority work, our director of finance, uh Brandon Bull, and our chief legal counsel, Anthony Catone. Uh so we really appreciate uh the questions that were posed to us in advance of the meeting. It was really helpful to have some insight uh to the things that were important to you as uh respective leaders within your communities.

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