Support our schools Monday night.

On Monday night, July 26, the Portsmouth Town Council will take the final vote on the 2011 budget, which would include (since the tentative approval would no longer stand without a 6/7 majority) a $1.2M cut to the schools. If you support the schools, please be there. The Council has already taken public input at the hearing, but it's important for them to see a continuing show of support.

Editorial note: In case you're wondering why there hasn't been any coverage for the past week, my apologies — I've been on vacation.

By a 3-1 margin, citizens at last night's budget hearing opposed the $1.2M cut to the school budget made by the Portsmouth Town Council, with a majority specifically calling for an override of the S3050 tax cap. For more than an hour, the Council heard from residents — and students — concerned about the effect the cuts would have on the schools and the community.

One resident, Loramae Silvia, put things in perspective. "I'm watching this through the eyes of my grandchildren. I want to see children coming up get the privileges my other grandchildren got," said Silvia. "For goodness sake, what kind of community is this? How come people here have money for everything except schools?" Silvia received loud, sustained applause from the vast majority of the 150 citizens in the middle school auditorium.

-no 30 -

Editorial note: Meeting that ran til nearly 11pm plus full workday ahead means I'll try to catch up on the rest of the story later.

If you're attending tonight's budget hearing, you may want to read through a couple of documents that were e-mailed around. Supt. Susan Lusi sent out a fact sheet on the FY 2011 budget request, and Save Our Schools distributed FAQs on Portsmouth schools. BTW, could it be purely coincidence that today is Bastille Day?

Support our schools.

The Portsmouth Town Council will be taking public input (finally!) tonight on the proposed 2011 budget, and its $1.2M cut to the school department. The meeting will be in the Portsmouth Middle School at 7pm, and you'll want to get there early. The folks from Save Our Schools will be outside with fliers, so please stop by and say hello.

I would like to encourage everyone who feels comfortable to plan on saying a few words. It is expected that the Council will limit public comments, so you might want to jot down a few notes and expect to only have two or three minutes to speak. It's really important that the Council hear from all the folks who would be affected by this decision.

The School Committee came in with a reasonable budget, a 2.5% increase, and they delivered it under the tax cap. It was funding cuts by the state that put us in this position, and the S3050 tax law explicitly allows towns to exceed the cap to make up for this kind of loss in revenue.

The Council can do the right thing tonight: they can vote to fund the schools and exceed the tax cap — they already did it once, in the provisional budget, but now it would take a supermajority, or 6 out of the 7 Councilors. We can let them know that we would support them if they the right thing.

Hope to see you tonight.

According to a listserv e-mail from Portsmouth Supt. Susan Lusi today, the district has learned that the quirk of the S3050 legislation under which the Town Council restored half of the money cut from the schools has been changed in the closing days of the general assembly session. The 4-to-3 vote on June 23 would have exceeded the cap by $570K in order to restore half of the $1.2M cut from the 2011 school budget.

Lusi said, "We learned earlier this week that the loophole in the Senate 3050 legislation that would have allowed our Town Council to override the budget cap with a simple, rather than a super, majority was closed in this last legislative session with the passage of H7893 sub A – a 79 page piece of legislation that cleaned up housekeeping items in numerous pieces of legislation. This means that a supermajority of the Town Council would need to approve exceeding the tax cap."

As originally passed, S3050 technically required a supermajority (for our Town Council, 6 out of 7 votes) in the first year, 2007. The text of the bill, H7893a, is online, but you'll need to scroll down to line 64-20 to find the amended passage. It now clearly includes all years in the requirement for a supermajority, voiding last month's simple majority vote. Unless the Council makes further changes, this would mean that the original $1.2M cut to level fund the schools would be back on the table.

Lusi reminding residents of the importance of following the budget process and outlined the key upcoming meetings.

Please keep the following dates on your calendars:

7/12 – School Committee meeting (tentative, we are still polling the Committee on this date);

7/14 – Public hearing on the budget, Portsmouth Middle School Little Theater, 7 PM;

7/19 – Special Council meeting to consider the public comment and decide on any budget changes (tentative, under consideration by the Council);

7/26 – Budget adoption by the Council.
— e-mail from Supt. Lusi

Update: An anonymous reader offered a technical correction which I'm passing along: Since the modification to S3050 took effect after the Council's vote, their action would have been legal under the existing statute and would not have been voided. However, since this was just a provisional budget, the point is moot; any vote to exceed the cap on the final budget will need a supermajority.

John McDaid has announced his candidacy for Portsmouth's School Committee. For the past four years, McDaid has covered Portsmouth news and politics at the hyperlocal site harddeadlines.com. Today, he has filed papers to run for school committee and has been endorsed by the Democratic Town Committee.

"I'm not a politician," said McDaid, "But with the challenges our schools are facing, the time is right to make the move from journalist to candidate, and I'm asking the voters of Portsmouth for their support."

"There are those trying to take advantage of the current economic climate to force harmful radical change," said McDaid. "I will stand up for the quality schools the people of Portsmouth want and our kids deserve. This is not just about budgets and numbers, this is about our vision for education in Portsmouth."

In addition to covering the schools, McDaid has been deeply involved. He serves as an appointed member of the Facilities Committee which oversaw the RGB report recommending major renovations. He was a participant in last year's Future Search workshop which developed a strategic plan for the schools. He is a volunteer on the district's information technology committee, where he helped the schools launch their redesigned web site. He also serves on the board of the Portsmouth Public Education Foundation (PPEF) which provides annual grants for innovative teaching projects.

"I'm all about transparency," said McDaid. "Everything I've written about the schools is out there on my web site at harddeadlines.com. I make no secret of the fact that I'm an unwavering advocate for our kids, and for open, participatory government. I believe an informed public is critical to the democratic process, and I'm happy to have been able to contribute to our town's conversation about the important issues facing us. If elected, I would use every tool available to make citizen involvement easier (what some call 'Government 2.0') by insuring everyone has access to good information and that the school committee can hear from all Portsmouth residents, not just the special interests who have the time to show up at every meeting."

McDaid brings a variety of skills from his background in academia and business. He was a pioneer in using computers in the classroom, and helped create one of the first hypertext writing programs in the country at New York University in 1987 during his doctoral work. He taught at the college level for seven years before moving into the private sector, where he has had experience as a software developer, project manager, and webmaster. He is also an award-winning professional science fiction writer. "You can google me to check my bona fides," said McDaid. "I'm the John McDaid who's not the Irish pop star."

McDaid has deep roots in Portsmouth. "I'm proud to be the third generation to live in Island Park, where my grandparents, the Kirkwoods, bought our house in 1925." His wife, Karen, is a teacher in Massachusetts, and his son, Jack, will be entering fifth grade at Portsmouth Middle School in September.

Resources
See all candidates on the Secretary of State Web site

Councilor Dennis Canario addresses school committee.

In a classy move, both of the Democratic Town Councilors who voted to exceed the cap and fund the schools came to the School Committee meeting last night, and while Jim Seveney watched, Dennis Canario went on record with the suggestion reported here yesterday, that citizens start the process for a town-wide budget vote.

After making clear that he was speaking only for himself and not the Council, Canario urged school supporters to consider the budget referendum. "Once the budget is passed on July 14," said Canario, "Anyone can start a petition, put this question on a referendum ballot and let the voters decide what to fund." It would only require about 1,400 signatures, he said, and it could take place in late summer or perhaps get rolled into the September primary. "We could get this done fairly quickly."

"I didn't know this existed," said Cynthia Perrotti, the school committee member appointed by the Town Council. Now I know it's possible that Ms. Perrotti might have missed the kerfuffle around the last Tent Meeting and the citizen movement (Led by Sal and Chris Carceller) that replaced the tent with all-day voting, but, seriously, this is in the Town Charter. Section 208 paragraph 7. Perrotti has read the Charter, hasn't she?

She also seemed a bit fuzzy on what a Caruolo action is. When chair Dick Carpender asked for the committee's assent to retain counsel for the sole purpose of understanding the "process and timelines," Perrotti moved to table.

Perrotti's description of a Caruolo action: "That's when you sue the town to get the money in the budget. Whatever the Town Council gives the School Committee, your philosophy is to not go with whatever number they give you but whatever the school committee wants." Again, I'll suggest some reading for Ms. Perrotti, RIGL 16-2-21.4, which clearly sets out the standard: "The school committee shall have the right to seek additional appropriations by bringing an action in the superior court for the county of Providence and shall be required to demonstrate that the school committee lacks the ability to adequately run the schools for that school year with a balanced budget within the previously authorized appropriation."

Carpender took pains to explain "I'm not saying that's what we're going to do," and added that he wanted to keep the "spirit of cooperation" with the Council in place. "I don't want to see this happen.," said Carpender, but stressed that the committee had an obligation. "If the town went to referendum and it failed, we would still need to do something. We can't just abdicate our responsibility. My hope is that everything works out."

Elected Republican school committee member Mike Buddemeyer agreed. "I too want to keep spirit of cooperation in place," he said, "But I have no problem directing Dr. Lusi to retain counsel for understanding proper procedures." Even visiting Town Councilor Dennis Canario didn't have a problem with this purely exploratory action, saying, "I don't take offense to hiring an attorney, what you're doing is protecting the hard work that you've done."

Still, Perrotti, joined by Angela Volpicelli and Marilyn King, voted to table, and when that failed, voted against the motion, which explicitly capped expenditures to under $5K.

You can imagine that PCC, Inc. President Larry Fitzmorris got up to attack the committee's actions. "Hiring Mr. Robinson, who is the acknowledged expert, sends a very clear signal to the council and the people of this town that you are preparing a Caruolo suit."

(You know what sends a real signal? Check out the PCC's letter to the Town Council this week arguing that the warrants the schools use for building maintenance and technology "are a violation of the State constitution." Since those warrants are going to be discussed at tonight's Town Council meeting, if you're a school supporter, you'll want to be there.)

One Portsmouth resident, Nancy Zitka, took the podium to provide some historical context. "I completely agree that it [Caruolo] would be a terrible thing, but it's prudent for the school committee to line up their ducks in a row," said Zitka, adding, "Had the PCC not requested that we cut $1.2M, the school committee would never have had to file a Caruolo action in the first place."

In other business, the school committee took no action on any of the cuts the Finance Subcommittee had investigated and brought to the joint session Monday night, pending indication from the Council about the bottom line they were going to be aiming for. Perrotti's motions to cut $350K, and then $142K both failed 4-3, with Perrotti, King, and Volpicelli in the minority.

The next meeting of the Town Council will be 7pm tonight at Town Hall, and funding for school building and technology warrants is almost certain to come up.

Save Our Schools organizers Dave Croston and Terri Cortvriend circulated this e-mail to supporters this morning:

Understanding the tedious nature of these meetings, there is a Town Council Meeting that will address the School Debt line-item this evening at 7:00 in the Town Council Chambers. The Council will first vote provisional budgets on all other Town Departments, concluding with School Debt (so a long night). Saying that, we expect the Town Council to cut the existing rolling warrants; here to for, two $350,000 warrants for technology and buildings. If the Town Council cuts the warrant line items, these expenses would fall to the School’s operating budget. For instance, text books are considered a capital item by our auditors and are carried in the debt warrant. This only exacerbates the already contentious debate on the school budget. This system has worked well for the Town for the last decade.

Please join me tonight to stand up for proper school funding and support for debt warrants that are critical to the proper and safe operation of our school system.— SOS e-mail

Disclaimer: It's clear I'm over the line into partisan territory here. No contest. I'm just getting tired of some folks on the school committee acting like they're extra members of the Town Council.

Portsmouth Town Councilor Dennis Canario, in an e-mail sent to supporters this morning, said that constituents had expressed support for his motion to exceed the cap in order to fund the schools, and he suggested passing along information about the budget referendum process:

After last night's meeting, I was flooded with folks who supported my efforts. I do have information that needs to be distributed as a result of inquires I have received.

Our residents do have a way to fight back! Please get the word out that they will have 14 days from the date of the adopted budget to obtain 10% of the registered voters signatures (approx 1400 signatures) to put the question on the ballot to approve the proper funding needed for the town. It is important that people know they have this avenue at their disposal.

Remember now, we are talking 10 bucks a month to save the town!
— Canario e-mail

For background, the budget referendum is the process put in place by Portsmouth voters in 2007 to replace the Tent Meeting. By collecting the appropriate number of signatures on a properly worded question, a group can require the town to schedule a special election to increase or decrease the tax levy. The process was instituted to address issues with the Tent Meeting: it provides universal access through regular polling equipment and all-day voting, and includes absentee ballots.

Reached for comment by e-mail, Canario added some additional thoughts:

"I would just add that it's not just the schools that is going to feel the brunt. Services the town provides will most likely be cut as well. It is going to be interesting now to see how the prevailing side will cut the budget without affecting crucial services.

People must understand that neither I nor anyone else wants to raise taxes (especially on an election year), but we have an obligation to ALL residents to provide sufficient and proper services without compromising health, safety, and basic education.

I made a pledge back in the Caruolo days that whatever the outcome of the independent audit, I would follow its recommendations. I am keeping my promise. Everyone who knows me knows I am a man of my word, and one who truly loves the town.

We are talking 10 dollars a month on the average home. That seems to be a small price to pay to keep Portsmouth the most wonderful place to live."

Full disclosure: Obviously, I think Dennis Canario did the right thing last night, and I thank him for his motion, and Jim Seveney for his vote. I am a supporter of the schools, and I would encourage anyone interested in becoming involved in this process to visit the Save Our Schools web site and the Save the Arts and Sports in Portsmouth on Facebook. I'll certainly post anything I hear.

Council (foreground) and School Committee in the PHS Gym.

The longest day of the year felt even longer tonight, as 200 Portsmouth citizens sweltered in the bleachers in the PHS gym watching the Town Council vote by a 5-2 margin to not exceed the state tax cap, effectively level funding the schools for next year. The split was along party lines, with Democrats Dennis Canario and Jim Seveney supporting the request to exceed the cap and fund the schools and "no" votes from Republicans Peter McIntyre, Huck Little, Keith Hamilton, and Jeff Plumb joined by Independent Karen Gleason.

It was a bitter, sweaty end to a meeting which had begun with some promise. School Committee chair Dick Carpender, in his opening statement, said that they had been able to identify $350K in possible cuts, done "in such a way as to not impact the basic education plan or affect athletics, music, art, or extracurriculars." Carpender noted that on top of the existing gap in the budget of $140K, this really amounted to a $492K cut to the budget.

And on the Town side, administrator Bob Driscoll reported that they had been able to shave an additional $207K. But all the effort on both sides had still failed to bring the total budget number below the S3050 tax cap. Even with the best efforts on both sides, the budget remained stubbornly $1M above the amount the town is allowed to levy in taxes next year.

There was some talk about the car tax, and about tax rates. Town administration recommended a scheme that would provide a $3K exemption on car value, but it was, in Driscoll's words, "a sideshow" since it still counted toward the total tax levied. The bottom line is that the Council would need a 6/7 majority vote, and the impact on taxpayers would be in the vicinity of $0.29/thousand, or about $100/year on an average $350K house.

Jeff Plumb suggested dipping into the town's reserve fund, which was met with concern from Finance Director Dave Faucher because of the possible impact on the town's bond rating. Karen Gleason suggested cuts that should be "fair across the board. The schools are 70% of the budget." She also suggested "furloughs for every employee," including the schools.

Dennis Canario tried rational arguement. "People move to Portsmouth because of the services and the community," he said. "If we want to keep the services, then taxes are going to have to increase marginally. The state dropped the ball."

But Plumb played the recession card, arguing that it would hurt people too much for taxes "to go above and beyond at this time."

Jim Seveney also tried reason. "Are you interested in the value that Town and school services bring to the community?"

But Pete McIntyre knew what the problem was. "School budgets continue to go up because of the laws," he said, blaming the requirements and regulations of the state.

Administrator Bob Driscoll put it bluntly: "The real question is how much do you want to spend for the services you want to provide."

Dennis Canario made a motion to exceed the cap "in order to preserve services," and with the explicit goal "to keep the number as low as possible." There was loud, sustained applause from the bleachers.

But the applause was short-lived as the motion failed by 5-2.

Gleason warned the Council. "I'm hearing that next year is going to be really difficult," she said without identifying the source of her information, and arguing that the school committee should go "roll up their sleeves once again."

Canario expressed some frustration. "If the School Committee came back with another 300 or 700 it isn't going to be enough. You're telling them to level fund, and it's going to affect sports and music."

The public will finally get their opportunity to speak, said McIntyre, at the July 14 final budget hearing.

Editorial note: It is one thing to have lived through the last Tent Meeting where people fed up with their taxes made arbitrary decisions based on their wallets. It is quite another to see a majority of the elected Town Council refuse to accept reality — the reality of state budget cuts that turned a reasonable school budget into something that exceeded the cap, the reality that there is a clause in the tax cap that provides relief in precisely these situations, the reality that a $1.2M cut to the schools is simply not sustainable. I might not agree with the PCC, but at least I can understand where they're coming from. They're not elected to serve the common good of the town. The Council is. And a majority of this Council, tonight, definitively gave the back of their hand to the future of Portsmouth. In some ways, this hurts worse than the Tent Meeting.