Presidents Speech at the RI Board of Education regarding the RISE Mayoral Academy: The RISE Mayoral Academy is on your agenda this evening and I urge you to decline the charter based on 5 simple facts: 1. There are NO schools within the sending communities that are failing schools. 2. The City/Town Councils or school committees from the sending communities of Burrillville, North Smithfield, and Woonsocket all have unanimously voted their opposition to the Mayoral Academy. Thus, the affected communities have spoken. There are three members on the Board of Education who are, or have been, members of School Committees. Certainly, you in particular should respect the local position on this and vote to reject this proposal 3. Woonsocket already has the highest teacher to student ratio in the state, and a reduction of budget to support a competing school system will only strip much needed resources from an already distressed school department. 4. Woonsocket’s Budget Commission determined in early 2014 that the Woonsocket taxpayer has the highest tax burden in the state. 5. Finally, an analysis done by that Budget Commission indicates that the RISE Mayoral Academy will leave the city an unfunded budget shortfall of between 2 and 3.2 million dollars over the next 4 years. Extrapolating that studey, North Smithfield and Burrillville will be forced to contribute 1 million each for the next 4 years. Based on financial impact alone, I urge the Council to reject this proposal. Although the Mayor of Woonsocket was elected on a platform that included all day Kindergarten., she has no mandate from the people for a Mayoral Academy. Certainly with the revelation of the anticipated cost of this charter it would be hard to envision tax payer support in a community already taxed to the maximum. The actions of the elected bodies of North Smithfield and Burrillville are better indicators of popular sentiment for their communities. It is instructive that the Mayors own appointed school committee in Woonsocket unanimously rejected the Mayoral Academy. These facts, alone, demand that you deny the application. Doing so is fiscally responsible and is in the best interest of public education. Please, vote down this charter.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 23:22:28 +0000
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