Portsmouth school committee vice-chair Jon Harris (l), Tom Vadney, Chair Cynthia Perrotti (r).

About half the 20 or so attendees at last night's organizational meeting of the school committee were PCC regulars who watched as Cynthia Perrotti was voted in as chair, Jonathan Harris vice-chair, and Marilyn King as clerk. New members Dave Croston and Tom Vadney also joined the committee for its first official session.

It was odd to see so many members of the Town Council. I could understand the presence of Democrat Mike Buddemeyer, who just made the jump from the school committee to the Council, but why were three of the PCC-affiliated Town Councilors — Joe Robicheau, Paul Kesson, and Liz Pedro — at the meeting?

The organizational part of the meeting began in standard fashion. Newly elected member Dave Croston nominated former chair and ranking member of the Democratic majority, Sylvia Wedge for the Chair. Sylvia declined, and in turn nominated Croston.

Then, crickets.

Yes, that's right. Fellow Democrats Marilyn King and Angela Volpicelli did not even second the nomination. It became clear, at that moment, just how things were going.

Cynthia Perrotti was elected chair on a 5-2 vote (Wedge and Croston), with Harris elected vice-chair 7-0, and King by a 6-1 margin, with Croston in the minority.

Oh, but it gets better.

King wanted to make a statement. "I want to take a moment to explain why I voted as I did. The recent election told me who the citizens want," she said, and she felt the best leader was Perrotti. In addition, King said, someone had approached her suggesting a vote for a different committee member, and she felt, in her words, "Intimidated, threatened, or bullied."

Volpicelli chimed in. "I was also approached," she said. "Everyone has the right to vote for who they want without being pressured."

King and Volpicelli have spent two years on the school committee, listening to what could only be characterized as strenuous input from a range of community members on highly contentious issues, and they're complaining about someone suggesting who they might vote for as chair? Intimidated? Really?

Just an observation: King may say she got the message from the voters, but perhaps she also heard a little something at Republican headquarters on election night. Just sayin'.

Perrotti delivered her first Chair's report, promising that, "My focus is going to be on academics, and challenging all students to perform." While she supported the Basic Education Plan (BEP), she was "disturbed" by the recent RI Dept. of Education (RIDE) proposal for a multi-tiered diploma system, and stressed the importance of "continuous improvement" and that student achievment "must be the primary reference point for all decision making."

"There is much to be done to provide quality education within budgetary constraints," she continued. "We need to explore moving from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution." She singled out the technology warrant for scrutiny. "We need to move textbooks from warrants to the operating budget." And she said that the strategic plan, created by a team of nearly 100 residents and students, should be revised.

There were a few business items on the agenda. Dr. Lusi, in the superintendent's report, announced that the Portsmouth Middle School had received a $42K grant from the Champlin Foundation for a music-computer lab, which should be up and running by January.

The committee formally voted on Jonathan Harris's proposed "joint health care commission," a collaborative effort with the Town Council to examine health care costs, including, Harris noted, participation in the state pool. Committee member Tom Vadney stated for the record that the meetings will be covered under the state's Open Meetings act.

The final agenda item was the October student enrollment report, and Dr. Lusi noted that at 2,773, it came in exactly as the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) projected, albeit not exactly matching within each grade level.

Perrotti used the agenda item as a jumping off point, and made the point that student population had declined by 8.6% over the past five years. She offered a chart, which she held up for the TV camera, showing what appeared to be a dramatic drop.

I raised my hand. "Could you please describe the Y axis of that chart?"

"It goes from 3,000 to 2,000," said Perrotti.

"So it does not go to zero?" I asked.

"No."

Let me explain why that is significant. When you show a set of data points on a chart which does not have a zero base, the apparent magnitude of the upward or downward tilt of lines is exaggerated. If you draw a chart starting showing a decline of about 250 students on an intial population of 3,000, you get very different slopes depending on the scale of your Y axis. Compare the two images below.

click image to embiggen

Even the chart on the left doesn't look look quite like the one Perrotti showed; I've sent her a note asking for a copy pursuant to RI General Law (RIGL) 38-1-1.1.

Earlier in the meeting, one of the first official acts of the incoming school committee was to adopt the "Code of Basic Management Principles and Ethical School Standards," which is codified in RIGL 16-2-9.1. Subsection (a)(5) of that law states that members of the committee shall, "Make public relevant institutional information in order to promote communication and understanding between the school system and the community."

Presenting a chart which — however unintentionally — exaggerates the decline in student population, in my opinion, fails to meet the test of promoting understanding. I would recommend to Ms. Perrotti the work of information designer Edward Tufte, whose books offer very clear guidance on visually accurate representations of data.

Disclaimer: In this recent election, I was a candidate for Portsmouth School Committee.

Update: School Committee Chair Cynthia Perrotti sent the following chart in response to my request.

click image to view as a PDF.

I think the exaggerated slope of this chart compared to one drawn with a zero base speaks for itself. Using 2,750 as the origin for the Y axis defies logical explanation.

The Portsmouth Concerned Citizens (PCC) received an award from the RI Public, Education, and Government (PEG) public access authority for an interview with Portsmouth school committee member Cynthia Perrotti, according to a statement in today's Rhode Island Statewide Coalition (RISC) newsletter.

The release bylined by Larry Fitzmorris and slugged "PCC Newswire" which seems pretty grandiose to me, but hey, whatever. Take a look:

PCC Newswire – November 18, 2010 (Larry Fitzmorris) – The Portsmouth Concerned Citizens cable access program “Inside Portsmouth” has received a Special Recognition award in the category for Talk and or Variety Programs. The program submitted was the session we recorded with School Committee member Cynthia Perrotti on the Portsmouth School Budget referendum.
— RISC Newsletter

The release goes on to identify the producer of the segment as recently elected school committee member Tom Vadney, and identifies other members of the production staff as "other" PCC members, including newly elected Council vice-president Judi Staven. The article continues, "We have also had a long list of members join our on air program panels."

I will admit that I missed this little gem on Channel 18, but will be requesting the opportunity to view this tape. I'll be most interested to see what Ms. Perrotti had to say to the PCC about the referendum.

Outgoing school committee chair Dick Carpender chats with parent Chris Carceller.

Tonight was the final meeting for the three outgoing members of the Portsmouth school committee: Mike Buddemeyer, Dick Carpender, and Marge Levesque, and they received a standing ovation from the attendees and were presented with memorial town plaques.

Supt. Susan Lusi thanked the three departing members. "They contributed countless hours to students and district, and represented the Portsmouth School Department well in every aspect." She singled out Carpender for his "leadership, level thinking, and courtesy in every instance." She praised Levesque for being a "consistent and powerful advocate for all students and their learning needs." And finance and facilities chair Buddemeyer she complimented for his "strong leadership, pragmatism and intelligence."

Then each of the departing members said a few words.

Carpender described his time on the committee as "a long and exciting and rewarding journey." While acknowledging that the last several years held many challenges, he complimented Dr. Lusi and the administration. "You and your cabinet have been good stewards of the system," he said.

Carpender offered congratulations to the incoming committee. "You'll find that the rewards are significant," he said, especially "The opportunity to see our students grow, to move forward and participate in graduation, homecoming, honor societies, winning awards — it's a great, rewarding feeling that you had some small part in that accomplishment."

Marge Levesque took the opportunity to thank the people of Portsmouth for electing her to her three tours of duty on the committee and thanked her fellow members and the administration and staff of the schools for all their efforts.

Mike Buddemeyer thanked the voters for giving him the opportunity to serve, and wished the incoming school committee the best of luck going forward. "The committee needs to keep their eye on the challenge ahead of them, delivering the best education possible for our kids."

Hi...

As you may have heard by now, the voters of Portsmouth have chosen a new school committee, with Republicans Cynthia Perrotti, Jonathan Harris, and Thomas Vadney the leaders, followed by Democrat Dave Croston (Full results: http://www.ri.gov/election/results/2010/general_election/portsmouth/). I congratulate them, and wish them well as they guide our schools through the challenges of the next four years. The time for politics is over; now, the focus can return to our schools, our kids, and their success.

To all of you who helped me in this campaign: thank you. I am honored by your trust, and I shall continue to do what I can to pay that forward. Portsmouth is our home, the work goes on, and tomorrow, we move forward from here.

I am deeply grateful for the support of so many people. Thank you, all.

Best,

-j

By a 5-1 vote (with Dennis Canario absent, and Tailgunner Gleason the lone "no") the Portsmouth Town Council tonight approved the school committee's deficit reduction plan, including the use of one-time revenues to increase the bottom line by $380K and preserve student programs for this year.

The key question, which both Keith Hamilton and Council President Peter McIntyre asked the town solicitor, Andre D'Andrea, to weigh in on was the legality of the change. Once he answered in the affirmative, several on the Council seemed reassured.

Tailgunner had to ask a few questions and PCC, Inc. President Larry Fitzmorris was in the audience, pointing out to people nearby something in their referendum flier, but in the end, he did not raise his hand, and the vote proceeded.

I personally thanked the members of the Council for their votes, especially Huck Little, Jeff Plumb, and Peter McIntyre. Tonight, they did the right thing, and I thank them. And Hamilton and Jim Seveney, of course.

It is not much: The vote allows the schools to proceed to use up all their fund balance, drain the Medicaid account, ARRA funds, and sports gate receipts, but it preserves sports and a little more arts for this year. Next year, there will be a $980K hole to dig out of.

But for tonight, it is enough. Thanks to the Council for the courage to do the right thing.

Responding to the referendum vote that affirmed the budget set by the Council, at tonight's Portsmouth School Committee meeting, the administration delivered a set of expenditure reductions and use of one-time revenues to balance the budget for the 2010-11 school year. And for a while, it looked like they just might have found a solution: by expending all Medicaid funds, emptying the fund balance, using one-time ARRA money, and taking the gate receipts from football and basketball, it seemed that the committee might make it through this year (although it would mean starting next year with a $982,000 structural deficit.)

There was only one problem: the PCC said they can't use the funds.

You heard that right. Those funds that the PCC said the school committee "discovered," and which they used as evidence that the referendum was unnecessary?

The position taken this evening by Larry Fitzmorris, President of the PCC, was that adding those funds would be illegal.

Follow me down the rabbit hole, if you will.

The first action the school committee took this evening was to formally adopt the budget approved by the Council and affirmed by Portsmouth voters at the referendum. Update: To be very clear, the vote to accept the budget was unanimous, 7-0. Since that budget produced a deficit, the committee, as required by law, then considered a deficit reduction plan.

"When you see this plan," said school committee chair Dick Carpender, "There is going to be the utilization of one-time money." He warned that some people would jump to conclusions: "They're going to jump up and say see, they had the money all the time. But although this gets us through this year," said Carpender, "This has a tremendous impact on next year." What Carpender was trying to make clear is that this was not found money; this money was budgeted in successive years to address the loss of ARRA funding and the impending state funding formula cut.

But in order to maintain programs this year, the committee considered using the entire Medicaid balance ($140K), the entire fund balance ($116K) and the entire 2010 ARRA one-time funds ($124K), for a total of $380K of of one-time monies. That's a far cry from the $700,000 that the PCC "bag of rocks" flier asserted that the schools had "discovered."

School finance director Mark Dunham also outlined expenditure cuts: a $15K reduction to supplies, $50K for one less school bus, cuts to art and music, middle school and JV sports, and $290K in "contractual adjustments." Taken together, the added revenues and reduced expenditures would balance the budget. Carpender added to the mix the idea of using the gate receipts, which are earmarked for athletics, to preserve the PMS and JV sports programs.

Supt. Lusi warned the committee that this was cutting things very close. "I just want to respectfully submit that additional costs can come down the pike," she said."If the goal is to empty out every last plus, when the minuses come along they will become increasingly difficult, if not impossible to manage."

By a 6-1 vote, with Cynthia Perrotti the lone "no," the deficit plan was approved.

The next item was the legally required notification to the Town Council and the RI Auditor General of their deficit reduction plan. And that's where PCC, Inc. President Larry Fitzmorris objected. His position was that the use of one-time money was illegal.

"The town council sets your budget," said Fitzmorris. "You guys don't get to set the operational budget."

Carpender asked about the PCC position in the runup to the referendum. "If the argument was, 'you have the money,' and now, you're going to stand up there and tell me we can't do that, why did you spend the last three weeks telling everyone in the world we could do that?" Carpender pressed him. "Is it your suggestion that we cannot go to the Council and they cannot change it?"

"Absolutely you cannot," said Fitzmorris.

Carpernder indicated one of the PCC's fliers. "In all these advertisements, where you said, they have the money, now you're saying we can't do this?"

"You're breaking the law," said Fitzmorris.

If I understand his argument, Fitzmorris was saying that because the Town Council sets the bottom line budget for the schools, and because that budget had been positively affirmed by the referendum, the addition of one-time revenues which would exceed the approved number was unlawful. And since the schools are required to have a balanced budget, it appeared that the only way to balance the budget would be through cuts to get to the bottom line.

Supt. Lusi asked. "Are you saying that the revenue, that you and other people said we had, now cannot be used?"

"No," said Fitzmorris.

"Then walk me through the steps," said Lusi.

"We all recognize that this fiscal year is very difficult," said Fitzmorris. "The school committee does not operate in a vacuum. The municipal departments lost $1.4M from revenue. We are in a financial crisis. This year has been a real bad year. If the school department wishes to do so, the school committee can manage its cost structures. Labor and health care are rising a bit faster than your revenue is, that's the core problem," said Fitzmorris. "If the administration wishes to solve the instabilities, you have an opportunity to do that."

Did he answer the question?

I didn't think so. Lusi tried again.

"Respectfully, the argumemnt was put forward that the school department had revenues," said Lusi. "I read the results of the budget referendum as saying no more taxes, and that it was felt that we should use the money at our disposal. Clearly, from your perspective, I got it wrong again."

"I didn't say you can't use the one-time revenue," said Fitzmorris.

But he didn't say how they could, either.

The school committee voted, 6-0, to proceed with the deficit reduction notification. Cynthia Perrotti abstained, saying "I don't understand."

I'm not going to bother putting a disclosure on this post. You know I'm running for the school committee, you know I supported the referendum. And while I was disappointed with the result, and very concerned about what the use of one-time revenue would mean for the budget next year, I could understand people making the argument. Use the one-time funds now, get through the year. And if that's what the people of Portsmouth want, then the school committee and administration need to respond.

And they did. They came back with the best plan possible under the circumstances. It wasn't pretty. Any budget with a million-dollar structural deficit going into the next year is pretty awful.

But to go through all that, and then have the PCC stand up and say, no, wait, you can't use that money either. You need to cut the full $765K.

That's just not right. I do not believe that's what the people of Portsmouth thought they were voting for when they chose Option 1.

Update: Added a line emphasizing that the vote to accept the Town Council/referendum budget was unanimous, 7-0.

Portsmouth School Committee candidates from David Wolfenden Productions on Vimeo.

The video from the Portsmouth School Committee forum held by the Newport Daily News on Thursday night was posted to Vimeo this afternoon, followed by the Town Council candidates.

Portsmouth Town Council candidates from David Wolfenden Productions on Vimeo.

Editorial note: I've embedded these videos directly from Vimeo where they are hosted; they are not marked with any restrictions against embedding (indeed, you can go to the video URL and download it.) You can also view these videos on the Newport Daily News video page, where they are also embedded from Vimeo.

Full disclosure: Obviously, I'm in the School Committee video, and I hope you'll watch it, particularly to hear how all the candidates answer the question about Tuesday's referendum which begins at about the 12-minute mark. I was very glad to make it to the forum; I've had a bad respiratory infection, and I spent Wednesday getting a chest X-ray and blood work which determined it was "probably" not pneumonia, but I've been pretty much out of action all week. Sorry to have missed all the fun at Homecoming today.

Today's Newport Daily News contained a letter to the editor in which Portsmouth residents John and Eloise Stalk argued against the upcoming school budget referendum, supporting their position with what, in my opinion, was dog-whistle rhetoric and inflated numbers. I was just considering whether to respond when an e-mail from Supt. Susan Lusi moved on the district listserv. Worth reading in its entirety.

Dear Members of the Portsmouth Community:

The editorial published in today’s Daily News entitled, It’s Time for Portsmouth Voters to Draw Line on School Spending is so full of incorrect information that I feel compelled to respond. I address some of the most glaring inaccuracies below:

Assertion: The budget referendum is “to vote on whether to increase the fiscal 2011 budget by $765,301 above the 4.5 percent increase approved by the Town Council.”

Fact:

• The original budget request of the School Committee was for a 4.5% increase in the Town appropriation ($1,263,345).
• The School Department actually received an increase of $129,532 from the Town (0.5%).
• If the referendum passes, the School Department will receive a total increase in Town appropriations of $894,833 (including the $129,532 referenced above) for a total increase in Town appropriations for the schools of 3.2%.
• Because of declines in revenue from the state and other sources, the School Department’s total budget will increase by 1.5% if the referendum passes.
• As it stands now, our total budget for this year is less than it was for last year.

Assertion:“The school budget now stands at $39 million with a $517,000 surplus from 2010 budget.”

Fact:

• I think the authors must be referring to the balance sheet showing fund balance from the School Department’s FY 2009 audit. I have attached this page from the audit with some notations.
• As noted, of the $516,965 of unreserved fund balance at that time, $200,000 was expended in FY 2010 and $200,000 is budgeted for FY 2011, leaving a balance of $116,965.
• We do anticipate having additional fund balance at the close of the FY2010 audit, which we will have in January. Again, we would earmark $200,000 for the next fiscal year and the district’s 5-year plan shows using any remaining fund balances to mitigate coming reductions in State Aid due to the new funding formula and to federal aid due to the end of the stimulus package.

Assertion: The increase was demanded without any consideration of increasing the co-pay for health insurance or modifying pay increases.

Fact: We are in negotiations with our teachers which include negotiating salary and benefit packages.

Assertion: “Teachers receive longevity and cost-of-living increases every year without fail and can make up to $10,000 per month in salary.”

Fact:

• No, no, and no.

• Teachers start receiving longevity at 20 years of service in Portsmouth. Longevity provides an additional $1,200 per year for years 20-24; $1,250 for years 25-29, and $1,300 per year for years 30 and above. Longevity payments have been frozen at these amounts since the 2007-2008 school year.
• In 2009-2010 no teacher received a cost-of-living increase; in 2008-2009 only teachers on Step 10 (about half the bargaining unit) received a COLA. Other teachers have received their step increases, but no COLAs; the steps have been frozen since 2008-2009.
• Portsmouth teachers cannot make up to $10,000 per month in salary. Given that teachers work 10 months per year, this would be a salary of $100,000. Our top step is $71,577. Even with additional payments such as longevity, coaching, etc., our teachers do not approach $100,000 per year in salary.

Assertion: “The School Department budget has increased more than 78 percent since 2004.”

Fact:

• This is grossly inaccurate.
• The School Department’s approved operating budget in 2004 was $26,170,614; our operating budget for this year, if the referendum passes, will be $35,527,720. This is an increase of 35.8%. I have not done the calculations around increased cost of living, etc., over this period, but the editorial overstates our increases by more than 100%.
• If you are wondering about our restricted funds, they totaled $1,628,508 in 2004 and $1,415,288 this year – a reduction of 13%.

I recognize that people have differing opinions regarding the referendum, but I would hope that people would form those opinions based on accurate information.

Sincerely,

Susan F. Lusi, Ph.D
Superintendent
Portsmouth School Department

Editorial note: One correction to Dr. Lusi: This was not an "editorial," but a "letter to the editor." It might seem like semantics, but not everything on the editorial page is an editorial, and it's worth being precise.

Portsmouth school finance director Mark Dunham explains restricted funds.

There were just 6 people in attendance at the Portsmouth School Finance subcommittee meeting tonight, and despite the somewhat theatrical buildup given in the Newport Daily News (who didn't bother to send a reporter) there were no secret pots of money discovered, no moment where a school committee member leaped up and said, "Aha! It was Colonel Mustard, in the Conservatory, with the Candlestick."

Rather, it was a prosaic but instructional two hour meeting in which Finance Director Mark Dunham walked through spreadsheets describing each of the restricted accounts (Federal Title I, Title II, Title IV, IDEA, state Article 18), while Asst. Supt. Colleen Jermain, and Supt. Susan Lusi provided any necessary backup on the nature of the fund and the and its restrictions.

Finance subcommittee chair Mike Buddemeyer explained why he wanted everything in so much detail. "I only want to do this once," he said.

At the end of the meeting, the subcommittee voted to direct the administration to produce the same reports on a quarterly basis for the school committtee's review. I would urge anyone who still has questions to watch the tape on Channel 18.

Full disclosure: I am a candidate for Portsmouth School Committee.

John McDaid (D), candidate for Portsmouth school committee with former Hathaway principal Dr. Christina Martin. Photo by Andrew Katzman.

Dr. Christina Martin, recently retired principal of Hathaway Elementary school, announced her support for John McDaid in the Portsmouth School Committee race. The ten-year veteran of Portsmouth's schools issued the following statement:

"John McDaid is a perfect candidate for the Portsmouth School Committee. He is truly schooled in the strengths and challenges of the school department, the sort of in-service training that all school committee members need to make informed decisions."

"During the last four years I have seen John's commitment to the education of his son, Jack, a student at Hathaway, and to all Portsmouth students."

"He is a proven communicator who has covered Portsmouth on his local news blog, where I've often read his coverage of school committee and town council meetings."

"John is a knowledgeable and committed participant in the process of leading our schools into the future. He was a participant in the Future Search workshop -- held at Hathaway -- which developed a strategic vision for the schools. As an appointed member of the facilities committee, he came to Hathaway with the engineers and we toured every corner of the building as they were developing their recommendations."

"His service on the district technology committee shows his dedication to the improvement of our schools. He worked with many teachers -- not just at Hathaway -- to assist in implementing the district's new web site. And I worked with him directly on the search team for our technology integration specialist and found him to be a thoughtful and engaged participant."

"Elected officials are charged with making decisions that impact the lives of all of us, so they need to really know the nuts and bolts of the organizational life intimately. John brings a deep understanding of the challenges and an admired dedication to the schools — he will make a great school committee member."

"I am honored to receive this significant endorsement," McDaid said. "Dr. Martin has been a leader in Portsmouth education for a decade, and as principal of Hathway, her tireless efforts on behalf of our children have earned her the respect of students, parents, and the community."

John McDaid is running as an endorsed Democratic candidate, on a slate with David Croston, Andrew Kelly, and Marge Levesque.

Related links
John McDaid campaign Web site: http://johnmcdaid.com
See the announcement on Portsmouth Patch

Full disclosure: It's pretty clear that I'm in candidate mode from here to November. And yes, this one is from a press release.