Rhode Island's Economic Recovery Depends on Quality Education

Current budget projections forecast a combined budget deficit in the order of 9.4 million dollars by the fiscal 2016 budget year of Education revenues compared to expenditures. Even if they all raise their taxes to the maximum allowed by state law, on Aquidneck Island, the only way that these deficits can be offset is with the continuation of the cutting of much needed programs for your students.

These projected cuts will be on top of the past historical cuts. 

Your local education officials have done an excellent  job of working with the continuing worsening situation, but there is a critical mass needed of students in order to offer classes, which in a lot of cases, are not available in each town. 

The steady decreasing of students available and also budget dollars has forced the continuing elimination of education and sport programs and teachers for these programs. One potential solution could be the combinations of schools in the county. A serious look a school regionalization is warranted by your local representatives. 

Your local representatives have worked very hard to develop studies to evaluate the potential savings, funded by a donor, and also determined the quality of education, funded by all three towns and cities on the island, possible with a local high school regionalization. While projected savings can always be contested, what cannot be contested is that the continuing cutting of budgets are effecting the quality of education in the county and will continue to do so.  

The next step in the process is to discuss what towns would be interested and perhaps the potential design of a regional school district and what governance structure would be necessary to encourage a commitment by all of the towns and cities in the county. 

A very important meeting of all councils in the county to discuss the potential of county wide regionalization will be on Monday night, August 29th at Middletown Town Hall, in the Council Chambers.  

Please encourage your local representatives to attend, and also attend the meeting yourself, and ask them to be open minded about the possibility of the county wide regionalization of the local schools, especially on the high school level.

Please become actively involved in the design of your education system now for your county students and also become proactive to address the forecasted funding shortfalls to not only protect, but enhance the education level for future students in the county. 

Rhode Islands economic future and path to recovery will rely on the quality of our education systems, you and your representatives hold the unprecedented opportunity to design the education system for our next generation, please seize the moment.  

Chris Semonelli