MIDDLETOWN SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Regular Meeting 5:30 PM
MINUTES
1.1 Call to Order: Chair Gregory Huet called the School Committee meeting to order at 5:30 pm at Michael S. Pinto Conference Room, 26 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, Rhode Island 02842.
1.2 Determination of Quorum: School Committee Members – Chair Gregory Huet, Vice-Chair Wendy Heaney, Theresa Spengler, Tami Holden and Clerk William Nash
School Department – Superintendent Willliam Niemeyer, Assistant Superintendent and Director of Teaching and Learning Michelle Fonseca, Director of Student Services Lisa Birkett, Facilities Director Ed Collins, Director of Technology David Annese, MHS Principal Donna Sweet, GMS Principal Gerald Haas, Gaudet Learning Academy Principal Katy Gibbins
1.3 Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
1.5 Public Forum / Comment
Parent Ana Gomes and student Carlos Reyes presented a plaque to Superintendent Willliam Niemeyer to acknowledge and show appreciation for his dedication and leadership to cultivating strong, positive relationships and enhancing the belonging and engagement of multilingual students and families.
A letter from a Middletown High School student was received regarding opinion and input for the cell phone policy.
Captain Roenke and Installation Command Master Chief Michael Vira were presented with a certificate from the school committee recognizing April as the Month of the Military Child in Middletown Schools.
Some highlights of activities at Middletown High School: College Fair is planned for this week, Mrs. Lima brought some students for a visit at Blenheim Nursing Home during FIT block, the MHS Band received a score of Excellent at a band competition, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Infante-Green had a very successful visit with MLL students and food pantry at the high school.
The Student Representative set some goals for the upcoming months as she had many productive conversations with Administrators and hopes to continue with open dialogs with students and administrators with the School Committee.
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee approve the Consent Agenda. Unanimous vote.
5.1 Vouchers
5.2 Invoices
5.3 Minutes, re: Regular Meeting, March 20, 2025
Amended a correction on the Minutes of a deleted name, William Nash in Motion 5.3
5.4 Approval of homeschool instruction requests: 24-25-46, 24-25-47, 24-25-48
6.1 Consider and Vote on second and final reading of the Homeless Policy
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee approve the second and final reading of the Homeless Policy. Unanimous vote.
6.2 Consider and Vote on first and final reading of School Handbooks changes to reflect Cell Phone Policy
Tami Holden - noted that there are some discrepancies in the elementary handbooks and suggested that they be more uniform in their wording and where the cell phones are turned off and stored.
Bill Nash - wanted to thank the administration for their hard work they put into the cell phone policy and handbook changes. He noted that they took input from the students, “We did listen although we may not agree”. This policy will be reread every year.
Theresa Spengler - noted that although we had the policy already, it needed to be enforced. She was opposed to implementing it this week, she did agree with the policy. School is for teaching and need to focus on academics. Students will see improvements once the students adapt to the change. Acknowledgement to Mrs. Sweet and Mr. Haas for their work for the policy.
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee approve the first and final reading of School Handbooks changes to reflect Cell Phone Policy. Unanimous vote.
6.3 Consider and Vote on Name for Elementary School Suggestion: Valley Elementary
Superintendent Niemeyer - noted that the name is to keep in theme with the other two elementary schools Aquidneck and Forest Ave schools.
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee consider the name Valley Elementary for the new school. The name will be moved to the Town Council for approval. Unanimous vote.
6.4 Consider and Vote on Instructional Coach/Mentor Job Description
Superintendent Niemeyer - for support of non-typical students, Alternative Learning Plan who may proceed through the GED pathway.
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee approve the first and final reading of the Instructional Coach/Mentor Job Description. Unanimous vote.
6.5 Consider and Vote on Supervisory Aide Job Description
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee approve the first and final reading of the Instructional Coach/Mentor Job Description. Unanimous vote.
6.6 Consider and Vote on first and final reading of Food Services Account Policy
Superintendent Niemeyer - this is a required policy for unpaid balances to see that it is fairly and equitably addressed.
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee approve the first and final reading of the Food Services Account Policy. Unanimous vote.
6.7 Consider and Vote on Transportation Bid To Ocean State Transit
Brian Hyde - MPS entered a shared bid process with participating East Bay School Districts to maximize efficiency and cost savings. Three-year contract w/two individual option years at the sole discretion of the School Committee; Invited 64 bidders to participate; Five transportation vendors attended our pre-bid meeting on February 12th; Bids were publicly opened on March 14th. Two responsive and responsible bidders submitted bids by the required deadline
Ocean State Transit: $9,816,302.50
First Student: $10,486,080.20
Ocean State’s low bid was $669,777.70 less than First Student’s.
Wendy Heaney - Questioned if the amount is adjusted for the number of buses used. Brian Hyde confirmed that adjustments will be made.
Theresa Spengler - Questioned if the quote included buses for sports and extracurricular activities. Brian Hyde confirmed the quote included big and small yellow buses, Special Education buses, athletics, drivers and monitors. Concerns of safety issues of walking to school without proper sidewalks, bad weather.
Bill Nash - Wants to look at creative ways for efficiencies of bus routes. Try to get creative to have a Transportation Coordinator to take care of Bussing.
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee approve the first and final reading on the Transportation Bid. Unanimous vote.
6.8 Consider and Vote on the School Committee authorizing the superintendent of schools to allocate $2,925,453 of FY26 special revenue funds for FY26 anticipated expenditures
Brian Hyde - Met with impacted principals and directors and finalized FY26 staffing expectations. Special thanks to Michelle Fonseca, Gerry Haas and Donna Sweet for their leadership in this area. Continue to examine all our staff’s individual class sizes, caseloads and workplace responsibilities to be sure that our team is efficient, accountable and supported. Settling our three Union contracts is our immediate priority.
REV. SOURCE: 43201 State Grants & Categorical Funding (CTE)
AMOUNT: $ 98,871
USE: 51302,51401, 56101 (pd, stipends, supplies)
AMOUNT: $ 1,649,530
USE: 51110, 52301,52302 (salaries, fica, medicare)
AMOUNT: $ 87,400
USE: 51110, 52301,52302 (salaries, fica, medicare)
AMOUNT: $ 351,652
USE: 56101 (supplies)
AMOUNT: $ 300,000
USE: 57309 (technology)
AMOUNT: $ 430,000
USE: 55701 (food service)
AMOUNT: $ 8,000
USE: 55701 (food service)
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. That the School Committee authorizes the superintendent of schools to allocate $2,925,453 of FY26 special revenue funds for FY26 anticipated expenditures Unanimous vote.
Superintendent - Personnel
NEW HIRE EFFECTIVE March 31, 2025
Theresiam Quinn, Assistant Varsity Track Coach, MHS
APPOINTMENT EFFECTIVE March 26, 2025
Karolyn Bowley, BTB Summer Coordinator, FA
Shannon Dugan, BTB Summer Coordinator, AQ
Laurie Oliveira, BTB Summer Coordinator, GLA
Casey Bowman, BTB Summer Coordinator, GMS
Katie Mangano, BTB summer Coordinator, MHS
APPOINTMENT EFFECTIVE March 31, 2025
Jeffrey Pine, Maintenance and Grounds Supervisor, MPS
NEW HIRE EFFECTIVE April 7, 2025
Kevin Jemo, Custodian, FA
RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE April 4, 2025
Brittany Burgess, Grade 2 Teacher, FA
Gina Orszuklak, Part Time Teacher Assistant, AQ
RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE April 11, 2025
Marlene Brooks, Special Ed Teacher Assistant, AQ
APPOINTMENT EFFECTIVE April 14, 2025
Stephen Tetzloff, Skilled Maintenance, MPS
RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE April 16, 2025
Heather McCusker, Administration Assistant to the Special Ed Director, MPS
RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE April 17, 2025
Mary Susan Sullivan, Special Ed Teacher Assistant, GMS
NEW HIRE EFFECTIVE April 21, 2025
Matthew Kestler, Supervisory Aide, MHS
RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE June 27, 2025
Lisa Birkett, Director of Student Services, MPS
RESIGNATIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF RETIREMENT EFFECTIVE June 18, 2025
Phillip Statser
Nancy Barruetabena
Kim Saputo
Anne Coogan
Luis Oliveira
Ronald Dumais
Lisa Ferreira
George Shaffer
Enrollment Summary
AQE 305, FA 306, GLA 261, JHG 432, MHS 511, Transition 7, Special Ed Out of
District 46, Choice In (CTE) 12, Choice Out (CTE/GED) 71
Financial
Superintendent Niemeyer, Ed Collins and Brian Hyde met after consultation with NRG decided that it is in the best interest of MPS to: Enter into a 25-month Fixed All In product agreement for electricity, contract Price ($/kWh) of $0.1089. The estimated annual electricity cost will result in an annual increase of $13,884 or a $28,168 increase over the entire 25-month contract. This agreement locks in 60% of our utility costs for budget security.
Unexpected invoice from the town for the Business Office shared model. Will continue to work with the town for clarification and payment.
Curriculum
Michelle Fonseca, Assistant Superintendent worked together for the event. A MLL by the numbers postcard for the Commissioner's visit on Friday, April 4th. The visit was an excellent opportunity to showcase the work we have been dedicated to here in MPS.
Student Services
The search for peers for our integrated preschool program has begun! We are hoping the addition of a 5th day for Pre-K will help to make it more appealing to families. Our Extended School Year programming has been developed and we are currently working on staffing to support our students.
Technology
The IT team has been actively supporting a number of critical district initiatives. Most notably, from a technology perspective, the administration of the PSAT, SAT, and RICAS state assessments has gone smoothly with minimal IT issues reported.
Open enrollment is also off to a strong start. Our Registration Team is doing an exceptional job
processing an influx of new student registrations and working directly with families to ensure a
seamless experience.
Information
MIC3 - Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission FY24 Annual Report
Superintendent Niemeyer - stated the importance of this compact to be flexible and support students transferring from other school districts.
10.1 School Building Committee Continues to be on time and on budget. Groundbreaking will be tentatively scheduled for June 16 and will incorporate students. Next meeting will be April 30, 2025.
10.2 Middletown Prevention Coalition - March was a successful Wellness Month for Youth Mental Health. The committee was busy putting up purple ribbons to make the town aware of the initiative. A very successful Dodgeball tournament was held with teams consisting of students, faculty, SRO’s and committee members. Islanders Committed planning future events at the middle school and high school.
Next Regular Meeting: Thursday, May 15, 2025
ADJOURN FROM MEETING
MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney , 2) William Nash To adjourn from the School Committee Meeting at 6:44 p.m. Unanimous vote.
Respectfully submitted,
Gregory M. Huet
Middletown School Committee, Chairman