By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Prompted by concerns about jobs as well as the frequent bickering that has taken place among School Committee members, over 150 people packed last night’s School Committee meeting at the School Administration building.

The crowd, which consisted largely of teachers and other school department staff, stayed for most of the nearly three-hour meeting, although no one spoke during the public input session. Several people interviewed said they had come in response to recent comments reportedly made by some school officials about the possibility of the school department running out of cash by mid-April. However, this matter was not directly addressed by either the School Superintendent or School Committee members on Tuesday night.
There was plenty of general discussion on the school department’s budget shortfall — now at approximately $5.2 million — as well as some of the heated arguing that has marked the School Committee since the year began. Schools Supt. Hans Dellith, in noting that the committee had voted against taking a Caruolo action at its Jan. 20 meeting, told the board that there are “no frills left to cut” in the budget. He requested that board members tell him “what law, contract or mandate you want me to violate on your
behalf…I’m waiting for direction.”
However, Committeeman Joseph Knight threw that responsibility back at the school chief, maintaining that he is legally required under state law to come up with ways to balance the budget. “Have you considered schooling to minimum standards?” he asked Dellith. When Dellith replied that there were contracts and educational mandates to consider, Knight shot back, “Then you have no recommendations?”

Despite the wrangling, the School Committee did agree to meet in a special executive session on Tuesday, Feb. 24 to discuss the budget deficit. The committee also voted to establish an ad-hoc committee to meet with the mayor, city council, and state auditor general on the school budget. Named to the committee were School Committee Chairman David Coughlin, and Committee members James Chellel and Joanne Bonollo, along with Dellith and school business manager Thomas Conlon.

While many of the discussions were divisive, the School Committee agreed to establish sub-committees on Finance, Emergency Management and Labor. Members also agreed with a request by Committeeman Raymond Noonan to send a letter to the mayor and city council asking that a consolidation of services be studied.

The committee also approved a request that School Committee meetings be moved back to the library/media center at Jenks Junior High School and that a student representative to the committee be appointed from the Jacqueline M. Walsh High School.

Additionally, the committee approved Dellith’s recommendation that approximately 77 teachers be notified that they could be laid off in the coming school year. Dellith noted that it is his hope that most or all can be hired back, but said that the notification must be made by March 1 according to state law.

Making a public statement, Committeewoman Nicole Nordquist criticized Coughlin for some recent actions as chairman, including sending a letter to members of the state legislature that was presented as being “on behalf of the School Committee” without her prior knowledge and for allegedly asking her to “interview over coffee” for a sub-committee position. She also faulted Knight, in his role as clerk, for holding on to a letter that had been addressed to the entire committee. for .

In pointed comments, Committeewomen Joanne Bonollo and Amy Breault Zolt also remarked about the conduct of some of their fellow committee members, urging a greater sense of professionalism and courtesy and a spirit of cooperation. “We are in a budget crisis. There is no reason to antagonize the people who are in here,” said Bonollo, drawing applause from the audience.

On a lighter note, Dellith called attention to the improved performance of the city’s schools in the recent NECAP tests and thanked the teachers for their efforts. “We have done so much with so little,” the superintendent said, which also drew loud applause from the crowd.
-30-