Warwick
It was open-mic night at Gorton Jr. High in Warwick last night. The School Committee gave the public a chance to voice their opinion regarding the proposed closing of John Greene school. Several of the issues generated by a meeting earlier in the week were brought up last night. Of particular interest was the appearance…
There will be two public comment sessions regarding the potential closing of an elementary school in Warwick: both will be at Gorton Jr. High and are tonight from 6 to 9 PM and tomorrow from 3-6 PM. I discussed the initial presentation of the consolidation advisory committee last week (and the Warwick Beacon had a…
Faced with a shrinking revenues (ie; state aid), dropping enrollment and increasing costs, the Warwick School Department has proposed, for the second straight year, that part of the solution lay in closing an elementary school (the School Committee already renegotiated the teacher contract–though the amount of savings could have been more). Last year, two schools…
Amidst all of the bad news, there are some encouraging things happening in our state. As reported in the ProJo, Cumberland Mayor Dan McKee recently announced that he is going ahead with his Mayoral Academy. McKee said if his proposal wins approval by the Rhode Island Department of Education and secures $700,000 in state financing,…
A few years ago, the dream of owning a home and planning for a comfortable retirement wasn’t just a promise–it was guaranteed. A growing economy was fueling a new “ownership society”. We were told to invest, take a chance, buy a home, and don’t worry about the risk it will all work out. What happened?…
To no one’s surprise, the Warwick City Council passed contract extensions with the City’s fire, police and municipal workers on Friday. The extended contracts, which will run through June 30, 2012, were approved on votes of 7 to 2, with council members Joseph J. Solomon and Steve Merolla dissenting. Council members who favored the new…
Russel J. Moore at the Warwick Beacon has an updated story on the pending Warwick union contracts: The concessions from unions were originally reported in newspapers, and on televisions newscasts and on radio stations to save taxpayers just over $9.7 million. But the actual concessions from the city bargaining units (police, fire, and municipal workers)…
For perspective (which ever way that you, dear reader, wish to take it), here is a quick comparison of the re-negotiated Warwick contracts. Warwick Mayor Avedesian and his administration re-negotiated the fire, police and municipal contracts (pending City Council approval this Friday) and extended them to 2012. (In September 2008), the Warwick School Committee and…
Citing various rules, laws and those pesky “open meeting” requirements, the Warwick City Council moved to consider the tentative agreements between the City and the members of the municipal, police and fire unions at a later date so that the public would have a chance to review. The Finance Committee will hold a hearing on…
Here’s a snapshot analysis of the tentative agreement between the City of Warwick and the fire, police and municipal unions, based on info from various sources. The Good: Pay cuts: Pay cuts of 5% for police, 3.5% for firefighters, 3% for municipal employees for the duration of this fiscal year. No raises in FY 2010;…
