Adventures in Town Government
The union’s response to the Woonsocket school committee’s approved cuts — which, as Monique suggests, it hopes the judiciary will obviate — was predictable and probably wouldn’t have merited mention except for the closing words of Woonsocket Teachers Guild President Richard Dipardo: “They’ve cut all sports but track, all extra-curricular activities,” Dipardo said. “It’s just…
Come on. You’ve got to laugh at the irony: … a pitched zoning battle — ostensibly over a single sign — has horrified more than two dozen merchants and property owners who have invested their savings and their futures in this country crossroads [at Tiverton Four Corners]. … The hearing — over whether a tenant…
For those who need a bright light in the lazy days of a tardy summer, here are the cuts approved by the Woonsocket School Committee last night (PDF, including other documentation): All sports except track & field: $155,903 Athletic supplies: $12,750 Athletic uniforms: $9,350 Choral, class advisors 8 through 12, RI Honor Society, band, drama…
Almost an hour late, I finally made it to the Woonsocket School Committee meeting — I’ll confess that the I-Way change got me — and just caught the tail end of the consent agenda. That’s quite a difference from Tiverton, where tardiness of five minutes is apt to see the first page or more of…
The Tiverton School Committee is discussing whether to grant a leave of absence to an elementary school art teacher, and it’s a strange circumstance. Apparently, the custom is to discuss such matters vaguely, so Superintendent Bill Rearick is offering details only inasmuch as is necessary to rebut reluctance from the school committee, but some details…
It would be the work of a lifetime of academic study to unravel the thread, but I’ve been increasingly impressed (in a bad way) with the intricacies of Rhode Island’s structural corruption. It’s as if certain principles of the culture filter throughout local society to create an organic network whose instinctual task is to create…
Last night, Matt Allen made the point that Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s perpetual reelection makes his antics most profoundly an indictment of the voters who keep sending him back to Washington. The same is true of most corruption at the state and local levels, and I’m not sure, therefore, whether the proper route to reform is…
Andrew and Matt spoke of “speech in debate” and political corruption in Rhode Island Matt Allen Show, as well as Andrew’s posts (1 and 2) on town taxation. Stream by clicking here, or download it.
As a threatening cudgel to wave during negotiations and town meetings — allowing school committees to declare that they’ll just take what they “need” and unions contriving to force them to do so — the Caruolo Act is still an insidious force in Rhode Island politics. But with the move being denied in West Warwick,…
Think about this, from amidst the continuing saga of the West Warwick school budget: After one resident learned that it costs about $15,000 to educate each child in West Warwick, she suggested that the town simply send its students to private Catholic schools. [Town Council Member Angelo] Padula quickly agreed, saying, “If we sent 200…