Thursday, 28 August 2008

By ANDREW MARTIN

Although there were minor disagreements, the Charlestown Town Council and the Ad Hoc Withdrawal Update Committee made headway on how the town should proceed as part of the Chariho Regional School District.

The workshop meeting on Monday came exactly two months after the committee met to discuss its report on Charlestown's options for withdrawing from Chariho. And since the document was made public before going to the council, acting council President James M. Mageau cancelled the scheduled workshop between the two boards.

That contention continued when Monday's meeting began, though the arguing was kept to a minimum. While Chairman Giancarlo Cicchetti, who also sits on the School Committee, was discussing his committee’s findings, Mageau interrupted to explain why he did not want to talk about withdrawal just yet.

"The charge you were given was to prepare an option for withdrawal if it was necessary and we won't know until we find out the results of the referendum," Mageau said. He was referring to the vote this November for a three-part $25 million bond for construction and repairs at the Chariho Regional School District's Switch Road Campus.

Mageau said he did not want to confuse Charlestown voters by discussing withdrawal when the council clearly supports the bond.

Cicchetti responded by saying that the committee has never said it is against the bond but that its members are focused on a long-term solution. The bond would only solve some problems for the short-term, he said.

"Even if [the bond] does pass on all three points, there are enough known issues in the district that in five to ten years we can expect another referendum before voters," Cicchetti said. The main issue he referred to was Hopkinton's consistent and steadfast push for tax equalization in how the towns pay for the district.

Cicchetti then said the committee does agree with Mageau's stance. "We don't want this to be a distraction from voters being able to address the bond. We believe what we're talking about is a decadal problem," Cicchetti said.

"I think we could keep report on the front burner and if we need it, we could turn to it," Mageau said.

Fellow councilor Katharine H. Waterman agreed. She said that the town will have no other choice than to move on if the bond does not pass.

Although councilor Harriet A. Allen also supports the bond, she believes the town should look into partial withdrawal from the district. She explained that the high school could remain as it is now while the younger students would return to their respective towns.

Some committee members expressed similar thoughts, Cicchetti said. There were two problems that made partial withdrawal infeasible, though. The first issue is the difficulty of negotiating an agreement between the three towns in regards to dissembling the middle school. And even if some terms were agreed upon, he added, the issue of tax equalization would not go away since all three towns are invested in the high school.

What everyone in attendance could agree on, however, was the importance of educating Hopkinton voters about the bond. The most emphatic voice on this issue was School Committee member Andrew Polouski, who said he “has seen it all” in his time with the district.

"The people in Hopkinton must be educated in how lucky they are to have two other towns share the educational expenses of our children," Polouski said. "I think you have to give people in Hopkinton one last chance, but you have to educate them."

Mageau concurred. But he wanted to inform voters of how much each town pays after they receive state aid. Those numbers prove that Hopkinton’s case for tax equalization is not that strong.
Per the district’s 2009 budget estimates, Charlestown ends up paying $12.3 million after state aid while Hopkinton pays $11.9 million after state aid. And Richmond’s contribution after state aid is $12.1 million.

The next step for the committee will be to fine-tune the report's conclusion to reflect the possibility of the bond passing. According to council candidate and committee member Richard H. Hosp, the conclusion had been written before it was known a vote on the bond would actually occur. The committee will meet in September to begin working on changes.

Committee's proposed withdrawal plans

As for the committee’s plan to withdraw from Chariho, the proposal outlined why leaving the district is the town’s best option. There were several issues raised including Hopkinton voters feeling the current funding formula is unfair and how that argument has gone on for decades. No building plans have passed in the district since 1986, when the towns built a new middle school.

The report then stated the following, which the committee saw as its best option for the town:

“This committee concludes that withdrawing from the Chariho District and building schools for preK-12 in Charlestown is the best long-term solution for the town. This option provides an affordable high quality education and removes the threat and possibility of tax equalization. Building a preK-12 district is substantially cheaper for the town than is tax equalization.”

In accordance with Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) requirements, Newport Collaborative Architects, Inc. provided the committee with a rendering for a grade 5 through 12 facility.

A proposed timeline had a vote in 2009 to create the district with construction beginning in 2010.

Students would then be able to attend the school in 2011 or 2012. No definite locations have been named for the building, but the report states that there are several viable options.

An estimated $46.9-$49.9 million bond, dependent on building an auditorium, would cover the cost of the school. The bond would add 10 to 12 percent, or $3.3 million, to the town budget for 20 years starting in 2012.

The timeline is based on the idea of “one vote, one plan,” meaning a vote on withdrawal and funding would fall on the same ballot.

The committee also recommended an alternate plan should voters and officials not want to build a new high school in Charlestown. The town could completely withdraw from Chariho and then build preK through grade 8 facilities. The students in grades 9 through 12 would then be sent via a tuition system to a nearby high school, such as in Westerly.

This option would require less bond money and offers the possibility of a district with Westerly. But it also relinquishes local control from Charlestown and it does not provide a clear and predictable funding formula. As such, the committee retains that its plan of a full preK-12 district is the best option.