Community forum mostly draws supporters, few dissenting voices
SOUTH KINGSTOWN â The School Building Committee held a community forum on Wednesday night to present its proposed facilities plan and take comments one final time before the special election.Â
On Tuesday, South Kingstown residents will finally answer the $85 million question of whether to stay at Columbia Street or relocate the high school to Curtis Corner. And while many community members have already cast their vote via mail or emergency ballot, itâs still anyoneâs guess as to which way the vote will go when the polls close.Â
For months, the school facilities plan has been hotly debated among community members, and as the special election date draws nearer and nearer, tensions seem to only be on the rise.Â
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SOUTH KINGSTOWN â The School Committee adopted its budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Tuesday, which if approved by the council, will mean appropriation increases of 1.89 percent.Â
According to Chief Financial Officer Raquel Pellerin, the overall budget increase of 2.8 percent will amount to a little more than $1.5 million in spending from one year to the next. Pellerin said this yearâs municipal appropriation request of $57,053,074 was largely driven by contractual increases, and is about a million dollars more than last yearâs request.
As Superintendent Linda Savastano pointed out, the majority of school funding comes from the town, though much smaller revenue sources like state aid and grant programs will also help cover the districtâs $67,079,680 budget. That number, she said, is directly tied to fiscal and educational goals.Â
SOUTH KINGSTOWN â If the school facilities project continued to advance forward, the districtâs architectural firm may likely be left behind.Â
On Tuesday, the South Kingstown School Committee voted to begin the process of sending out a request for proposal for a new architect firm. The facilities project, which includes plans to relocate the high school to Curtis Corner, place an addition on Broad Rock and make improvements at all four elementary schools, will first need to gain approval from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) and the votes of South Kingstown.Â
And while thereâs a wide array of opinion over whether or not the district should move forward with these plans, there have been a number of voices that have spoken out against continuing with the current architectural firm.Â
SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Plans for the school facilities project have been years in the making, though not everyone is convinced the town is moving in the right direction.