The following letter from Supt. Susan Lusi also appears in today's Newport Daily News.

The budget referendum for the Portsmouth Schools is Tuesday, October 5th. This referendum asks taxpayers to increase their investment in the Portsmouth Schools by $71.44 per year for the average $350,000 home. This increased investment will provide a 1.5% budget increase over last year. As it stands now, the school budget for this year is less than it was last.

Since no one ever wants to pay more in taxes, it is natural for Portsmouth voters to ask why they would want to do this. These are my answers:

The Portsmouth Schools have and continue to be an enormous source of pride for our community. The schools have drawn many families here from other parts of Aquidneck Island and beyond, keeping our community vital. Our schools and students are also a central piece of our community’s identity. Attend one Friday night football game packed with people cheering for our team and band to see the pride our community takes in its students and their accomplishments! Dramatic productions and academic award ceremonies play to a full house. Portsmouth prides itself on producing students who are scholars, athletes, and artists who can compete in the world.

If the referendum is unsuccessful, our school system will change fundamentally. We will be unable to restore a full year of art and music at the elementary level, eroding our strong and vital arts programs. We will be unable to fund the full complement of athletics and student activities that we all believe are crucial opportunities for our students — giving them opportunities to excel both on and off the field. And, our system will be on weaker financial footing as we look ahead to additional cuts at the state and federal levels in coming years. A weakened financial foundation threatens our academic and other programs in the future, and our system will change for the worse.

The Portsmouth Schools provide tremendous “bang for the buck.” Portsmouth’s student achievement continues to increase, and our students are taking on greater academic challenges. State test (NECAP) scores have improved with statistically significant gains in all areas over the past few years. This past year, Portsmouth High School (PHS) had the second largest gain in the state in 11th grade math and scored third highest in the state overall, and Hathaway School had the second largest increase in 4th grade science scores in Rhode Island. The rigor of our academic programs has also increased. Beginning in 2006, we:

• eliminated basic level classes at Portsmouth High School that were not preparing our students either for NECAPs or today’s economy;
• implemented co-teaching at all levels, giving all students access to the regular curriculum;
• increased Advanced Placement (AP) offerings at PHS; and
• changed the curriculum at Portsmouth Middle School, enabling 8th graders to complete Algebra I and a full year of foreign language.

The number of AP tests taken by PHS students increased by 34% since 2006, even as the high school’s student population decreased by 7%. Two-thirds of the students taking these tests scored well enough to make them eligible for college credit.

Throughout the period of these achievement gains, Portsmouth has ranked in the bottom third of per pupil expenditures in our state; and in a recent ranking of high schools in GOLocalProv, PHS was ranked 50th of 52 high schools on per pupil expenditures. We run an efficient system.

As is always the case in political times, the rumor mill is churning. One persistent rumor is that the School Department has “found the money,” so the referendum is unnecessary. I tell you emphatically that this is not the case. Race to the Top funds, of which we will get few, can only be used for the designated purposes of the grant — not to balance our budget. The resources purportedly coming from the JOBS bill will probably be non-existent, as the State is contemplating using it to balance its own budget. The small reserves we may have by the end of this fiscal year need to be dedicated to future revenue gaps created by declining state and federal aid. Using any reserves in this way is outlined in the district’s 5-year fiscal plan, available on our website.

Our school system does well by its students and its taxpayers, as evidenced by its high achieving, low-cost status; but we are at a break point. Please preserve our community’s jewel by voting on Tuesday, October 5th, and by choosing Option 2 to support our schools.

Susan F. Lusi, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools, Portsmouth