North Kingstown Town Council Joint Meeting with School Committee – Pre-Budget Consultation – December 19, 2022
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North Kingstown Town Council Joint Meeting with School Committee – Pre-Budget Consultation – December 19, 2022
The North Kingstown Town Council held a joint meeting with the School Committee on Monday, December 19, 2022, at 6:30 PM in the Town Hall Council Chambers, as required by RIGL 16-2-21. The meeting focused on pre-budget consultation, with the council and school committee discussing financial planning, state education aid, and collaboration. Public comment had no speakers, and the council also scheduled a future joint meeting with the legislative delegation.
Joint Meeting with School Committee (Pre-Budget Consultation)
- Town Manager Ralph Mollis opened by praising recent communication with the school department and urged continued collaboration. He identified three priorities:
- State education aid: Work together to secure maximum aid, arguing that well-performing school systems should not be punished.
- Taxpayer consideration: Asked the school committee to keep taxpayers in mind when formulating the budget. Specifically, he requested that the budget use the full state aid figure allocated by the governor or General Assembly (rather than discounting it as conservative) to avoid overtaxing residents.
- Budget ceiling perception: Stressed that the 4% cap is a ceiling, not a target, and that the 0% floor is not a starting point. He asked that the committee not feel compelled to request a 4% increase simply because it is allowed, but instead find a responsible middle ground.
- Interim Superintendent Judith Paolucci introduced herself and acknowledged the challenges of starting mid-year. She expressed a fiscally conservative approach and emphasized:
- Budget process: Noted that state aid figures will not be available until January, and she has not had enough time to produce a projected budget. She intends to share budget progress transparently with the council.
- Transparency: Announced plans to restore the town's real-time access to the school district's financial system (Munis) by creating an additional user, reverting to previous practice without changing the existing Memorandum of Agreement.
- Building needs: Described a complex situation with three overlapping capital projects (a $13.5 million bond project, ventilation projects, and a state SBA stage two application). She has reconstituted the building committee, which will meet to align priorities, maximize state reimbursement (currently 35% with potential bonuses), and ensure proper accounting of funds. She will request a postponement of the stage two application to better coordinate with the town.
- Council Member Matthew B. McCoy asked about the tax base; Town Manager Mollis responded that preliminary data suggests growth, with firmer numbers expected in January.
- Council Member Lawrence C. Mandel welcomed the superintendent and noted her plans for transparency, which he said addressed past concerns from the audit committee.
- Council President Gregory A. Mancini expressed confidence in the town manager and encouraged continued communication. He asked about anticipated operational increases (health care, wages). Superintendent Paolucci responded that health care is projected at 3% (shared with the town), but teacher contract negotiations just began, so wage increases are unknown. She noted that utility costs are being analyzed and that the current fiscal year is ending in a good position due to unfilled vacancies.
- Council Member Dr. Kimberly Ann Page asked about future building needs. The superintendent outlined her plan to reorganize the building committee, review the facilities master plan, and ensure state incentives are maximized (e.g., 5% bonuses for consolidation, energy efficiency).
Key Outcomes
- The council and school committee agreed to hold a joint meeting with the legislative delegation on Monday, January 23, 2023, to discuss legislative priorities. Suggestions for topics are requested by January 9, 2023.
- Town Manager Mollis invited the school committee to use the Town Hall Council Chambers for their meetings, offering to coordinate scheduling.
- No formal votes were taken during this joint session; the meeting was primarily informational and consultative.
Other Business
- The council briefly addressed a streaming technology issue (provider Granicus) and took a five-minute recess to attempt a fix.
- Public comment had no speakers.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Let's call this meeting to order of Monday, December 19th, uh 2022, uh pursuant toward Island General Laws 42 46 6C notice of this meeting as we'll post to the Secretary of State's website and ask the uh everyone here to join me with a salute to the flag. Thank you. Congratulations to the flag. So welcome. Uh we're here tonight. Um we'll get it with our regular meeting at some point, but we're going to start off with a uh special business, uh statutory required joint meeting with the school committee. Um before I get started, I do want to say that I know that uh Erin Earle, Chairwoman of the school committee is on her way. She had uh uh automobile challenges and she'll be here momentarily. Um also uh uh counselor Katie Anderson is uh sick home with the flu. And uh it's just a good reminder that we should all get our flu shot. So if you haven't done so, please do. And we certainly wish Katie a speedy recovery. Um with that, um what I'd like to do is uh maybe turn the meeting over to Mr. Case for some introductions initially, and then um and then maybe I would turn it over to uh the town manager for some introductory comments, and then uh you know, whatever the superintendent or whoever is going to speak on behalf of the school committee. So just one introductions at the school committee. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, because really first time before this body. I mean, it's not a lot of people here, but we are on uh T on streaming, and I think that the uh I think we should do that. So my name is Robert Case, I'm the vice chair of the school committee. Um we also have with us uh Tom Brioty, uh who is also a newly elected member of the um school committee. We have Jen Lima, who is also sitting next to him as uh member of the school committee. Um the chairwoman uh Erin Earl is uh on her way. Um I guess I'll just introduce the acting superintendent, uh Judith Paolucci. Thank you. As we know, just welcome everybody. I'm glad you're here, and we were look forward to working collaboratively with you to make sure that you know our students get the best schools. Um and we want you to know, you know, whatever the council can do, we will try to do. Having said that, I am going to turn over to Ralph, and then maybe uh he can turn it over to your interim superintendent. How's that? So in the past, um I've always made a few remarks, a few brief remarks, so I'll do that. But then this is your meeting by state law. So um I also just wanted to welcome the school committee and school department. Um want to let you know that over these past couple of weeks we've had a great relationship with uh Superintendent Judy Pelucci. Uh we've got the opportunity to meet on financial matters, on public safety matters. Um we also had a great relationship with Mike Waterman as well. Uh so I don't want to say that you know we didn't have before, but it really has been um we've really opened up the doors, and I just want to thank the superintendent for this. The communication has been second to none. I think we're talking about a lot of important things, and just know that that as you're going through these few months, we're here for you in any way. But at the same time, um I know you'll be there for us too if we need any assistance. So uh I look forward to having that relationship. Um I also wanted to say to the school committee, a few of some of the new members that in the past the um combined meeting has the first couple of years was very, very productive. It was a opportunity for the school department to outline its goals, to talk about where it's been, to talk about scores. Uh the last few years I think we may have taken that for granted. Of course, a lot of that had to do with COVID. Uh once you went into that deep hole, it was tougher for us to get out. Um, of course, this is new for a few of you, but I think this in the future will be a great opportunity for us to talk about um our goals, your goals, your accomplishments, and you know, all the things we do in this great school system. So hopefully this meeting uh today is the is a productive one, but in the future is even more productive. Um I just want to make a few recommendations and then turn it over to you and the council for your joint meeting. Um first, and I know I'll be speaking to the choir when I say I think priority number one has to be for us to work together to ensure that we get maximum education aid from the state.
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