| | CITY OF EAST PROVIDENCE RHODE ISLAND JOURNAL OF JOINT SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2006 | |
The City Council and School Committee meet at City Hall on Wednesday, August 2, 2006. Mayor Larisa and Chairman Gouveia call the meeting to order at 8:12 a.m.
| Present: | Mayor Joseph S. Larisa, Jr. | ) | Council Members |
| | Councilman Patrick T. Caine | ) | |
| | Councilman Peter F. Midgley | ) | |
| | Councilman Bryan P. Silva | ) | |
| | Councilwoman Valerie A. Perry | ) | |
| | | | |
| | Antone M. Gouveia, Jr. | ) | School Committee |
| | Mildred Morris | ) | |
| | David A. Medeiros | ) | |
| | Robert Faria | ) | |
| | | | |
| | Jeanne M. Boyle | ) | Acting City Manager |
| | James McDonald | ) | Finance Director |
| | James Hilton | ) | School Dept. Finance Director |
| | Manuel Vinhateiro | ) | Superintendent |
| | Jacqueline Forbes | ) | Asst. Superintendent |
| | | | |
| Absent: | Susan Story | ) | School Committee |
Manuel F. Vinhateiro, Superintendent of Schools, passes out a handout entitled East Providence School Department Budget Workshop with the East Providence City Council FY 2006-2007 and reviews the handout page by page.
Mr. Vinhateiro thanks the East Providence Legislative Contingency on providing increased revenue to the School Department. The City will receive about $1.13 million more this upcoming year. The amount will be offset by increased expenditures including increased energy costs, benefit and salary increases, special education tuition and transportation costs, and debt service. Also, contributions to pension funds are continuing to rise.
The collaboration of the School Department and City on health benefits by contracting with a company to provide expertise so we can get the lowest cost possible on healthcare. Looking jointly for the best cost-savings for the community. Enrollment is declining and we have increased our efficiency while still providing quality programs for our students. We have reduced personnel by eliminating 64 full-time teaching positions since 2004. We’re ranked 24 out of 36 in per pupil expenditures Debt reduction to eliminate the deficit is our goal.
Chairman Gouveia states although we’ve become more efficient, we are very close to maxing out nearly every classroom. Several classes have about 24-25 students in them. It has mostly affected the elementary schools, but is beginning to affect the middle schools as well. Parents have been told their child cannot attend a school because the class is too full.
Councilman Caine states the focus is on healthcare issues and combining plans and having a consultant look at all our options to see what is the most cost effective for the City and School Department.
Councilwoman Perry discusses the importance of making sure students have valid residency and that consolidating services with the City and School could provide cost savings in the long run. Cooperation is the key.
Regarding valid residency, Mrs. Morris believes by having them register to vote could be another way of verifying residency.
Also discussed was the need to replace the High School’s heating system, which is over 50 years old. The cost would be approximately $1.6 million to replace it and it would have some environmental issues such as removal of the asbestos. The system broke down last year and does not run efficiently. Discussed the possibility of replacing it next summer. School Finance Director Hilton said that the State reimburses cities and towns approximately 50% for any energy saving measures. Mayor Larisa states that City Finance Director McDonald could figure a way to pay for it over 5 years as opposed to going out for bond on it.
Mayor Larisa states a lot of progress has been made and would like to continue this progress by having more meetings like this to keep communication open. Discusses special education class sizes and asks Mr. Vinhateiro to put together information so we can present it to the Governor about increasing the special education class size.
Discusses the signing of the contracts by Police, Fire and Department Heads to pay co-shares on their health insurance. The City side is doing what is fair and reasonable by agreeing to co-share. This needs to continue to be looked into on the School side even though the contract doesn’t expire until 2008. We’ve had great cooperation today and more still needs to be done.
Mr. Gouveia states they will formally request to the bargaining units to reopen talks. They haven’t agreed to reopen anything. Hopefully, there will be some movement with our negotiating teams even though the contract isn't up. There is no question the next contract will have a co-share of some kind. How much is the question. I applaud what the Council has done with Police, Fire, and Dept. Heads. We're going to do everything we can to get them on board with this. There are also other aspects of the teacher’s contract that could save money for taxpayers, such as minimum retirement age and step increases. The contract will be looked at thoroughly during the next negotiations.
Councilman Caine states this now gives you more leverage to get the bargaining units together to work on something since Police, Fire and Department Heads have agreed to it. It should help you going forward.
Mrs. Morris states the name calling during the budget sessions was terrible and hopes it will change in the future.
Councilman Midgley states that some people did make negative comments during those meetings. But these are people who are on fixed incomes and can’t afford any more tax increases. The agreement we have today is unprecedented. The Police, Fire and Department Heads have stepped up to the plate to help. They didn’t have to do this now, but they did. Times are changing.
Mr. Faria states it was a good thing for them to do by stepping up and doing this. It was the right thing to do. Hope the collective bargaining units will look at this now, it is a great opportunity for them to step up too. I’m very pleased we now are cooperating and working together on this. Hope we will continue to have more joint meetings like we did today to get things accomplished.
Mr. Gouveia states whether we can reopen the contract or not, we need to get relief for the taxpayers.
Mayor Larisa states it is doing what is right by being fair and reasonable. We would encourage you to keep trying to meet with the bargaining units and try to get co-sharing on healthcare and different co-pays on prescriptions even though a contract is in place until 2008. It is the right thing to do and can be accomplished. Police and Fire didn’t have to do it now, but they did.
We should meet again sometime in September for an update on what was discussed, the special education class size mandates, and a plan for replacing the High School heating system.
The meeting adjourns at 10:05 a.m.
Attest:
_________________________________
Dana L. Toy
City Clerk
Approved: August 15, 2006