hard deadlines

Portsmouth School Committee chair Dick Carpender and Supt. Susan Lusi face the Town Council.

With a large and vocal contingent of Prudence Islanders sharing their concerns about the closing of their school, the Portsmouth Town Council tonight, by a 5-2 vote, failed to approve the $35M school budget as presented, instead asking the School Committee to meet urgently for further deliberations. The school committee could take no action last night (although everyone was present except the vacationing Mike Buddemeyer) since the session had not been appropriately advertised, Chair Dick Carpender reminded the Council and the public.

There were at least two dozen people from Prudence, and they argued to the Council that closing their island's one-room schoolhouse and ferrying children to school in Bristol would have far-reaching impacts on the community, present great hardship for parents, and adversely affect their children.

Resident Pat Rossi summed up the impacts. "If you pass this budget, you are sending children off the island for 180 days a year. [The anticipated savings of] $44K hardly seems worth the anxiety." Prudence Island, she added, does not absorb a lot of resources from the town. "We have two paved roads, we don't even have a policeman seven days a week. What we do expect is to provide our elementary students an education on Prudence Island."

Parent Jenn Young, with a child getting ready for kindergarten, voiced a common concern among parents. "I'm being told by the town the only way to properly educate my child is to put her on a boat and [if the ferries stop running] have her stay in the home of a stranger. We're essentially 6 hours away from her."

Superintendent Sue Lusi reminded the parents and Council of the larger context. "We have parents here in Portsmouth who work in Boston or elsewhere."

Council President Peter McIntyre, who managed the meeting last night with considerable diplomacy, made very clear that the Council was not in a position to dictate a solution. "It's a School Committee decision," he said. "They are working with us on the dollars and cents."

Bob Marshall, a Prudence resident who has been working on alternatives, described the work their group has done to convert the school to a charter or mayoral academy, but noted that it was virtually impossible for the process to be completed in time for September. "We have to submit an application by December, the RI Dept. of Education will review whether has merit, and if allowed to go forward, it goes to the Board of Regents for final approval." He said the group had already set up a foundation and would be ready for December.

Several members of the Council seemed to lean toward the position that an additional year might be enough time, and the question began to turn to just how much it would cost to keep the school open.

"What we're down to is that we have to save $44K," said Marshall. Lusi confirmed that number as the difference between the salary of the current step-10 teacher on the Island and the lower-tenured teacher who would be bumped if the school closed.

Resident Patrick Rossi expressed grave concern about emergency plans should ferries stop running. "When the ferry's not running, that's a 100-ton vessel that's 100 feet long." If something happened at school, he said, parents would almost certainly do anything to get to their child. "Most parents just have 20-foot boats," he said, citing the risk. "It's an immoral thing; it's not dollars and cents."

At this point, Tailgunner Gleason delivered her assessment of the proposal. "It sounds like institutional neglect, if you ask me."

Allan Bearse, a Prudence resident long involved in the process tried to bring some balance to the discussion. "I didn't want to leave you with the impression that we haven't worked with school committee," he said, noting that there had been a committee actively exploring options and working on cost reductions. "We're down to that $44K after all this effort. Dr. Lusi has helped with mayoral academy, She offered more help than we walked in the office asking for. The school department, before Dr. Lusi was not looking long range. You're moving in the right direction, we're trying to move in the right direction."

School Committee Chair Dick Carpender described the decision to close the school as "The most difficult vote I made in all my years of public service," and while he noted that the schools are still facing a potential gap in excess of $300K for next year (in addition to a $300K increase in Special Education) he promised to put the issue back on the agenda at the next meeting.

Councilor Dennis Canario asked if there was anything the Council could do. Saying that $44K was "not a lot of money," he came out definitively saying, "I will not support the school department budget the way it stands unless it includes Prudence Island being open."

"We simply cannot close the school," said Gleason. "You're trying to take your headache and move it across the street. I said things are going to have to be a little bit different."

Carpender reminded Gleason that the decision was "not in the Council's purview," and objected to her language. "You accused us of institutional neglect."

"That's my personal opinion," said Gleason.

"Don't sit there and tell us," said Carpender. "We'll work together."

"The school cannot be closed," Gleason retorted.

"One at a time," McIntyre cut in, trying to restore order. "Through the chair."

Carpender floated the notion of moving the $58K the schools pay for the building warrants over to the Town's debt service account. After extracting a promise from Carpender that he would then bring a recommendation to keep Prudence open to the school committee, Canario made that motion, seconded by Jim Seveney.

"If they can't find the money to keep Prudence Island open, we need to do something as a Council, said Canario. Noting that the next scheduled school committee meeting was not for another three weeks, "If this Council waits, if at that meeting, they say we don't have the funds, then we've allowed that school to close."

"I see it as the responsibility of the school department to find that $44K," said McIntyre.

"We are all in this together," said Seveney. "Why don't we start with that. It's the town's responsibility." He then brought up a proposal, floated in prior meetings, to shut down the lifeguard program at Sandy Point and operate it as a "swim at your own risk" beach like McCorrie Point or Island Park. "We could eliminate the lifeguard. That comes out well below educating our kids safely and effectively." Town Admin Bob Driscoll reminded the Council that the Town Solicitor had been investigating legal issues around that and might be available to comment.

School Finance Director Chris Tague and Town Finance Director Dave Faucher were in side conversation and McIntyre suggested sharing it with the group.

"We're trying to come up with different solution," said Lusi. "The School Committee did vote, even though offer had been rejected, to appropriate $60K to the town. That money sits with School Committee having voted to appropriate it but with town not having voted to accept it."

McIntyre asked Faucher, who expressed concern that while it might solve the immediate shortfall on the school side, that ultimately, given the budget realities for the Town, it would still impact the Town fund balance. Jim Seveney tried to point out that the town had added back over $1M to the fund balance, putting them "10 years ahead of the plan" promised the rating agencies, but Gleason was having none of it.

"I disagree that we're 10 years ahead of time," said Gleason, adding that the school department should be able to find places to cut. "Any business always a list of just-in-case scenarios. I don't think it's our responsibility." Citing a proposal by Huck Little not to replace a retiring vice-principal, she said, "Mr. Little came up with one idea that would save $100K. I can come up with 10 more ideas but it's not my job. I'm disgusted."

McIntyre reminded the Council that there were areas the school committee could not currently discuss, like ongoing contract negotiations.

"I totally understand," said Gleason. "All this stuff is going on behind the scenes."

Seveney shot back. "You're implying someone is breaking the open meetings law?"

The motion to move the $58K to debt service failed 5-2 along party lines.

[Ed. note: I'll digitize this bit from the tape when it airs. Good stuff.]

Then, as if the meeting wasn't effed-up enough already, PCC, Inc. president Larry Fitzmorris took the podium to reassert his group's perspective on the fund balance and the need for consolidation in the finance and IT groups across the town and schools.

"Do[es the Town] have an IT group?" Seveney asked.

"That's one of the problems," replied Driscoll.

Seveney cited the Berkshire Report which analyzed school performance. "I don't remember it saying that administration was overstaffed. We paid a lot for that report, maybe we should refer to it."

But Gleason voiced concern about the impartiality of the Berkshire consultants. "I believe they were thoroughly influenced."

Town Admin Bob Driscoll explained that they were actively exploring options for consolidating and tried to put the best face on the situation with state funding. "They've already given us zero," he said. "You can't get any worse."

"You are an optimist," said Lusi.

Hamilton moved the question on the school budget and it failed by what I believe was a 5-2 vote with McIntyre and Hamilton in favor. But it was late and the process was not entirely clear, so take that record with a grain of salt. That it failed, there is no question. Before the Council took a brief break Carpender promised to take up the budget with the School Committee.

By this point, it was almost 10pm and the Council took a 5-minute recess before reconvening to get an opinion from Town Solicitor D'Andrea on Sandy Point. Based on his research, he said, the Town must provide lifeguards at a town-owned beach, and the times were controlled by state regulations.

"We've got the longest coastline in the state," said Seveney, "And that's the only place we lifeguard it." Several members of the Council urged D'Andrea to further research the town's options for possibly reducing lifeguard costs without incurring additional liability or Fire Department overtime.

By this point, there were only a handful of residents in the chamber, and Seveney spoke directly to reporter Jim Johnson of the Daily News. "I don't want the headline tomorrow to read 'Jim Seveney wants to close Sandy Point beach' and say we're sending dump trucks to pick up the sand.'"

Editorial note: I'm too tired to even comment on Tailgunner Gleason's allegations. But I will note that, true to her namesake, she once again promised a list of things while at the same time refusing to produce it. She knows a way for the schools to save $1,00,000 but will not tell the Council or the public. Make of that what you will.