Woonsocket

What It Means to Settle in Woonsocket

By Justin Katz | August 5, 2009 |

It may be that news coverage of municipal issues falls into a cycle of confusion leading to disinterest leading to ignorance leading to confusion. Yesterday, John Hill and Richard Dujardin reported an event in Woonsocket as follows: The City Council on Monday night gave its unanimous approval to a proposed out-of-court settlement that could stave…

Really? The State Can only Provide One Kind of Relief for Local Budget Woes?

By Monique Chartier | August 3, 2009 |

Woonsocket’s Caruolo lawsuit kicks off today. (Side note: you were correct the first time, Your Honor: a performance audit must be conducted). In the meantime, the attorney for the plaintiff – i.e., the school committee – has identified the cause of Woonsocket’s school budget shortfall. when the real problem isn’t the city’s or the school…

Health… of the Nation, of the State, and of the Town

By Justin Katz | July 23, 2009 |

On last night’s Matt Allen Show, Monique and Matt covered the travesty that is healthcare “reform,” the travesty that is underage exotic dancers in Rhode Island, and the travesty that is the Caruolo lawsuit in Woonsocket. (If I may interject: perhaps there’s a solution to be found, among these three issues, if the government requires…

The Travesty of the School System

By Justin Katz | July 22, 2009 |

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…

Two Conflicting Laws, One Reality: the Caruolo Line is Drawn

By Monique Chartier | July 21, 2009 |

The Woonsocket City Council confronted two starkly conflicting fiscal developments at last night’s meeting. The first was the news that come November, a company would be relocating out of Woonsocket and taking with it the wages and taxes of two hundred and fifty jobs. The second was a verbal report from the City Solicitor, Robert…

Woonsocket School Committee in the First Person Plural

By Monique Chartier | July 16, 2009 |

[Following are paraphrased comments by School Committee members as they debated and then unanimously voted last night for an adjustment to the school budget that consisted of forty furlough days per teacher and the elimination of most student activities.] What’s needed is a fair funding formula by the state. We need to say that Woonsocket’s…

Gutting the District in Woonsocket

By Justin Katz | July 16, 2009 |

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…

So This Is Woonsocket

By Justin Katz | July 15, 2009 |

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 Funding Formula: Meanwhile, in Woonsocket…

By Carroll Andrew Morse | June 10, 2009 |

In response to recent postings on the education “funding formula”, commenter “John” offers this forthright reporting and analysis on the situation with regards to the City of Woonsocket… The Woonsocket school representatives that testified in favor of a formula (a bad formula) today in the Senate Finance Committee hearing were ridiculed and insulted. The committee…

The Revolution Continues in Woonsocket

By Justin Katz | May 20, 2009 |

Various considerations may intervene, but I’m going to try to make it to tonight’s meeting of the new Woonsocket Taxpayer Coalition at 6:30 p.m., on the second floor above the Vose True Value on Cumberland Hill Rd. Representative John Loughlin was at the initial meeting, and he tells me that it’s an exciting thing to…