SAVE NORTH KINGSTOWN
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56% of Registered NK Voters are Independent
MEGAN REILLY FOR
NORTH KINGSTOWN SCHOOL COMMITTEE
A Necessary Post
Many of you have asked me a very thoughtful question regarding the upcoming vote on school committee members: Who could you see yourself working with effectively if elected?
The truth is, for over 3 years, I have very actively participated in the democratic process of being involved in town and school matters. I have attended and spoken at countless meetings, emailed our local elected officials, requested in-person meetings with these officials, and have done just about as much research as one can possibly do to find answers out to questions that have gone unanswered.
When my social media posts and comments were censored, I started my own pages.
When my questions about the issues (such as the bonds) weren’t answered or facts were omitted, I held meetings to share information with the public. Those meetings were open to everyone in town, but not one elected official ever attended.
When my emails went unanswered time after time, I filed public records requests for information that should have already been made public.
When there was an opportunity to run for 2 different SC vacancies, I submitted my name both times, and in spite of all of the letters of support from residents (over 115 in one instance), the TC members felt it necessary to state: “this isn’t a popularity contest…voters will have the chance to cast their votes in November. Tonight, it’s the Town Council’s turn.” As if your letters were sent because I was running for homecoming queen and not for a very serious position.
When I ask questions, I am vilified. Questioning our elected officials and asking for explanations has now become not only unacceptable, but apparently those who ask questions and offer alternatives will become Public Enemy Number One.
When I decided to run, it was in great part due to the fact that my voice (which represents many of your own voices) was constantly being ignored and I wanted to allow voters to have another option.
I have done my part to work across the aisle and discuss the issues face to face, but it is not a 2-way street. In fact, one sitting SC member and candidate has made numerous disparaging and false statements about me on town social media pages for over a year now, having never spoken a word to me (or responded to emails I sent to the entire SC). Another sitting member and candidate has responded time and again reminding me that “we disagree on” this or that subject...pretty much every single time. That same member penned a letter to the editor entitled: “I am proud to be an activist for NK” (see letter below). I don’t believe that activism has a place on a school committee. Given just this small sampling of my experiences with these incumbents, I would be a fool to expect their behavior to change should we all be elected to the Committee. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
And so, it should come as no surprise that I would endorse Independent candidates for SC Pam Pinheiro, Sheri Kennedy and Justin Kinnes. Strangers to me until recently (although I did run into Pam at various meetings), their willingness to share their ideas with me and listen to my ideas has been refreshing, to say the least. While we have differing perspectives on the issues, we are respectful when we disagree, we listen to each other, and I can say with confidence that each of us wants what is best for the district and the residents in our town. We are also independent thinkers who do our own research on the issues to come to our own conclusions. And we are willing to listen to opposing viewpoints, provided they are based on facts. For all of these reasons, we have chosen to run our own campaigns, in our own way. We have no backing from a larger organization and have chosen to run and campaign due to our commitment to this community.
In the end, you may not agree with my viewpoints on a few/some/all of the school-related issues and your vote is your voice. However, before you cast your vote, please take the time to consider the overall dynamic and composition of a committee that for 4 years has been very lopsided. What has a lack of balance done for our Town?
Of course, I have always encouraged each voter to get to know candidates on a case by case basis (versus a letter next to their name). However, in doing so, please don’t overlook what is and has been taking place during the last 2-4 years’ worth of SC meetings and ask yourself: Is this is the direction you want the district to continue to head in for the next 2-4 years?
I have attached the Mission statement of the school district, the Vision statement and the school committee Member Code of Conduct/Ethics, all of which can be found on the NKSD’s website.
As a private citizen, I have spoken up and offered suggestions about many issues and concerns. My convictions have not changed now that I am running for school committee (SC). Instead, I must now adhere to the guidelines of the authority I would have should I be elected. In other words, I must narrow my focus to budget, policy, and hiring and oversight of the superintendent, with my top priority always being providing a quality education to every single student.
To be clear, this does not mean that I am suddenly changing my viewpoints to pander to voters and get more votes. I have never hidden my opinions on matters and they are out there in writing and on recorded video for all to see. As a parent/taxpayer/educator, I still hold those same values and convictions.
However, as a candidate, I must speak to the “job description” of the JOB for which I am asking you (the voter) to hire me. If I am elected, it is the role of each SC member to stay in our lane as a committee and not overstep the boundaries of said job description.
The role of the SC seems to have morphed into something bigger than it should be over the years, which has made for an unfortunate situation. Even many in our community who may not follow school proceedings closely are unaware of the exact role of the members. Therefore, I also hope to help educate residents on the specific parameters of the SC so as to temper expectations.
Please continue to reach out with any questions.
The District needs a restructuring. I have been calling for that for a few years now.
𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 - 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐲
Dr. Duva clearly agreed as he suggested the elimination of the COO position (which I have been publicly requesting for more than 2 years) and a reconfiguration of the NKSD’s Central Administration.
𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞
This discussion was started during the 9/12 school committee meeting, but not till about 10:30pm, as—yet again—the agenda was packed and the meeting lasted 5 hours and 23 minutes. Not much was accomplished on this very important topic as the general consensus was that such a discussion should not be held so late at night in such a rushed fashion.
𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭
What was discussed on this topic was that Ms. Lima believed that too many people reported back to Dr. Duva, our Superintendent. On that, he pushed back; after all, it is standard practice for all Department heads to eventually answer to him since he is the Head of our District. According to the RI School Superintendents Association (RISSA), the following should be included in a superintendent's model contract:
"The Superintendent of Schools is the chief executive of the School Committee. In harmony with the policies of the Board of Education, state law, and state board of education regulations, the Superintendent has executive authority over the school system and the responsibility for its supervision." And "The Superintendent shall have the administrative authority, subject to law, and any legally binding contracts of the School District, to organize, reorganize and arrange the administrative and supervisory staff in such a way as in his/her judgement best serves the School District."
Ms. Lima suggested he look to Barrington as an example. Here is where a lack of a background in education combined with haphazard micromanagement becomes problematic. She cherry-picked one school district to hold up as an example but never considered the recommendations of RISSA and even her own school committee Policy BD (discussed later in this post).
Over the summer, to reinforce my own recommendations on restructuring, I made calls and inquiries to almost a dozen school districts in our state to inquire about their central administration chain of command. All of the aforementioned information, along with my background in education and institutional knowledge of our public school systems, reinforce my view that Dr. Duva should be heard and his experience and suggestions should not be undermined.
𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐨
The members of this school committee have made a number of administrative personnel decisions over the last couple of years that have made little sense to the public. Recall how they chased away an extremely qualified interim superintendent back in January of 2023 after only 2 months on the job (see article below). In June of this year, they voted not to renew the contract of our former Director of Facilities (Bob Corrente), against the recommendation of Superintendent Duva. Along with many other residents, I believe this was a huge mistake. Mr. Corrente was so qualified that when he was let go, he had multiple job offers and obtained new employment almost immediately. Dr. Duva must abide by what the SC votes on, and unfortunately these current school committee members believe they know better than a seasoned, educational professional with almost 3 decades of experience working in various roles of our public schools. In fact, they are ignoring their own policy BD which states:
"Superintendent as Executive Officer for the School Committee.
The administration of the School System in all of its aspects shall be delegated to the Superintendent, who shall carry out the administrative functions in accord with the policies adopted by the School Committee. The execution of all decisions made by the School Committee concerning the internal operation of the School System shall be delegated to the Superintendent."
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫
It is my opinion that if the composition of the school committee doesn’t change this November, those with no background in education or desire to defer to people who do have that experience will micromanage this district into deterioration. The same people who hired Dr. Duva and told us all what a wonderful choice he was to lead our district are the ones who refuse to let him do the job for which he was hired…because they think they know better than he does. Of those 5 members, one is not up for re-election this cycle and will remain on the Committee and 3 are incumbents running for re-election.
On the other hand, I have been encouraged by the decisions Dr. Duva has made on behalf of our district and look forward to working with him and his new team should I be elected to sit on the school committee.
𝐑𝐈 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭:
https://www.rissaonline.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1999323&type=d&pREC_ID=2093860
𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞
https://www.independentri.com/news/article_da821884-9095-11ed-944c-b33209f7f58a.html
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