1.0 Opening Items

1.1 Call to Order: Chair Gregory Huet called the School Committee meeting to order at 4:00 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, Facilities Director Ed Collins, School Business Administrator David Alves, Director of Student Services Leslie Brow, Assistant Director of Student Services Jill Hague, MHS Principal Donna Sweet, Aquidneck Ave Principal Erica Bulk, Forest Ave. Principal Rebecca Silveira

Executive Session - 4:00PM

School Committee may seek to convene if warranted: Executive Session Under Jurisdiction of Rhode Island State Law, Chapter 46, 42-46-5 - (a) 1,2,5,8,9 (RI Open Meetings Law)

1. Receive legal advice regarding Personnel pursuant to provisions of RIGL, Sections 42-46-2, 42-46-4 and 42-46-5 (a)(2)

2. Collective Bargaining (Council 94) - review, discussion and/or potential action and/or vote in executive session and/or open session.

3. Collective bargaining (NEAM Teacher Assistants) - review, discussion and/or potential action and/or vote in executive session and/or open session.

4. City of Newport, RI Resolution of the Council Regarding Newport/Middletown Regionalized School District - review, discussion and/or potential action and/or vote in executive session and/or open session.

MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.  To seal the Minutes of the Executive Session pursuant to

 Section 42-46-7 RIGL.      Unanimous vote.

Return To Regular Session

The School committee reconvened to recess executive session and reconvene in open session at 5:30 p.m. MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.   Unanimous vote.

1.3 Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

1.4 Moment of Silence:  for a Community Member who passed away this week

1.5 Public Forum: No Comment

3. Correspondence:  None

4. Student Representative Report/Update:  No report for summer break

5. Consent Agenda:

MOTION: 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, July 17, 2025

Joint Building/School Committee Meeting, July 30, 2025

5.4 Approval of homeschool instruction requests:

25-26-11, 25-26-12, 25-26-13, 25-26-44,25-26-15, 25-26-16, 25-26-17, 25-26-18, 25-26-19, 25-26-20, 25-26-21, 25-26-22, 25-26-23, 25-26-24, 25-26-25, 25-26-26, 25-26-27, 25-26-28

5.5 Yearly review and minor modifications of Policies

5.6 Middletown High School Program of Studies

6. Action Items

6.1 Consider and Vote on Superintendents recommendation that Dan Thibeault become the new community member of the Building Committee

Comment by Superintendent Niemery:  Dan is a longtime Middletown resident with a construction background.

Comment by Clerk William Nash:  Dan is a good candidate for the position.

MOTION: Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash. Unanimous vote.

6.2 Consider and Vote on Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the 2025-2026 Middletown Student Health and Wellness Survey

Comment by Lori Verderosa, Middletown Prevention Coalition:  This survey has been given to the schools since 2012.  The data from the survey helps to determine the programs that will be available to the schools.   Grade 6 has been added to the survey, as it is a requirement for the grant. This will be given to school principals in September to have the students take the survey. A passive consent will be available for families to opt out.

MOTION: Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.    Unanimous vote.

6.3 Consider and Vote on Superintendent’s recommendation to approve yearly review of 25-26 School Policy Handbooks: Aquidneck Elementary Forest Ave Elementary Gaudet Learning Academy, Gaudet Middle School,  Middletown High School

MOTION: Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.  Unanimous vote.

6.4 Consider and Vote on Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the Memorandum of Agreement for Learn365 2025 MCOZ Summer Enrichment Camp

MOTION: Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.   Unanimous vote.

6.5 Consider and Vote on job description for School Based Food Pantry Staff Member for Island Oasis

MOTION: Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.    Unanimous vote.

6.6 Consider and Vote on job descriptions for, Content Coordinators - District, High School Content Coordinator, Middle School Content Coordinators, Elementary Content Leads

MOTION: Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.   Unanimous vote.

6.7 Consider and Vote on second and final reading of E-Sports Team job description

MOTION: Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.   Unanimous vote.

6.8 Consider and Vote to approve the 2026 School Committee Dates

MOTION: Wendy Heaney, 2) William Nash.  Unanimous vote.

6.9 Consider and Vote to support the City of Newport, Rhode Island Resolution of August 13, 2025 regarding renewed efforts to Regionalize Middletown and Newport School Districts.

Clerk William Nash disclosed a conflict of interest and recused himself from discussion and voting on this matter. The Recusal Form was sent to the Ethics Commission.

MOTION: 1) Wendy Heaney, 2) Tami Holden

The motion was put to vote and carried, 4–0 to not support the City of Newport, Rhode Island Resolution of August 13, 2025 regarding renewed efforts to Regionalize Middletown and Newport School Districts , with one recusal.

On behalf of the Middletown School Committee

1.The Middletown School Committee voted unanimously to NOT support the City of Newport Rhode Island’s Resolution of 13 August regarding the renewed initiative to pursue Regionalization of the Middletown and Newport School Districts.

2. As the Chair of the Middletown School Committee, it is my responsibility – along with my fellow School Committee Members – to establish policies that create a safe and healthy learning environment for our students, teachers, and staff – an environment where students can attain academic success. The School Committee must also enable our Superintendent to focus solely on leading and encouraging our students, teachers and staff members in their pursuit of academic excellence.

3. The School Committee provided the rationale – stated below – as the basis for its position of non-support for the renewed Regionalization efforts.

a. Decisions have ramifications.  The Middletown Voters approved the Regionalization Issue during the 2022 election, but the Newport Voters failed to approve it.  Middletown Voters followed up in the next election cycle with the approval of a bond issue to build two new schools. Each respective municipality is now dealing with the ramifications of their Voters’ decisions in the 2022 election.

b. The current environment is vastly different from 2022. The new Rogers High School is opening Fall 2025, and the construction of the two new Middletown schools is underway with a completion date of – Fall 2027.

– There is no current or pending RI Legislation that guarantees an approximately 80% reimbursement rate for Regionalization. The challenges of creating new legislation with 80% guarantees when the coffers of the Rhode Island Treasury are significantly more strained than in 2022 – combined with the fact that the Federal government is currently threatening to withhold funding to the states for education – makes this scenario more unlikely.

Even if guaranteed reimbursement rates were possible with new legislation, the timelines to create and pass that legislation and hold special elections for the Voters to approve new Regionalization Ballot issues would be daunting if not nearly impossible.   

c. The City of Newport Resolution that was passed by the Newport City Council and endorsed by the Newport School Committee was not unanimously supported by either elected body.

d. The Newport School District has significant financial challenges whereas the Middletown School District does not face those same challenges.

e.  Shared Services was an area of focus in the Newport City Council Resolution on Regionalization. The Town of Middletown and the Middletown School District currently share services in the areas of Facilities and Business Office Operations. It is difficult to comprehend the multitude of challenges that would be faced by either overlaying or entangling additional organizations into this mix. Additionally, Regionalization is not a requirement to conduct shared services, Memorandums of Agreement (MOA’s) could be utilized to conduct operations between the two School Districts where cost saving opportunities exist and could be initiated by mutual agreement.

f. The Middletown School Committee and our Superintendent simply do not have the capacity at the present time to undertake a massive Regionalization effort/project. The Middletown Superintendent has received guidance from the School Committee to focus solely on the monumental tasks of managing preparations for the upcoming academic year and ensuring our school construction programs continue to be on pace for an on-time and under-budget finish. The Superintendent is not authorized to engage in any Regionalization efforts until further notice.

4. The Middletown School Committee has taken this unprecedented action with the intent to send a strong message to the Middletown Town Council and to inform the taxpayers as follows:  Chasing an undetermined, uncertain funding stream with daunting timelines and questionable outcomes with many significant unknowns while knowing that approval would ultimately result in a loss of School Committee autonomy is unwise and has no support from the elected officials of the Middletown School Committee.

On behalf of the Middletown School Committee,

Gregory Huet, Chair

7. Old Business - None

8. New Business - None

9. Reports/Updates from the Superintendent and Staff

RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE June 18, 2025

Kellie Sorel Ducharme, Science Teacher, GMS

Connor Leighton, 4 hour Teacher Assistant, GLA

Karen Hlousek, 4 hour Teacher Assistant, FA

Kimberly Pearce, Grade 3 Teacher, AQ

NEW HIRE EFFECTIVE August 1, 2025

Tamara Shane, School Based Food Pantry Staff Member, MPS

APPOINTMENT EFFECTIVE August 11, 2025

Andrew Leys, Social Studies Content Coordinator, MHS

Paul Pignatelli, Math Content Coordinator, MHS

Christopher Richards, English Content Coordinator, MHS

Kevin Zahm, Science Content Coordinator, MHS

Kristen Pacheco, Math Content Coordinator, GMS

Sophia Perrotti, English Content Coordinator, GMS

Richard Taylor, Social Studies Content Coordinator, GMS

Jacqueline Zahm, Science Content Coordinator, GMS

Christine Clancey, Guidance District Coordinator, MPS

Amy Dunn, Grade 4 ELA Elementary Content Lead, GLA

Deborah Marcellino, Grade 5 ELA Elementary Content Lead, GLA

Laurie Oliveira, Grade 4 Math Elementary Content Lead, GLA

Tara Sweeney, Grade 5 Math Elementary Content Lead, GLA

Kelly Britto David, Grade 4/5 Science Elementary Content Lead, GLA

NEW HIRE EFFECTIVE August 14, 2025

Maxwell Yates, Assistant Varsity Football Coach, MHS

Andrew Doody, JV Football Coach, MHS

RESIGNATION EFFECTIVE August 15, 2025

David Annese, Director of Technology, MPS

RESIGNATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF RETIREMENT EFFECTIVE August 15, 2025

Maria Dowler, District/School Clerical Administrative Support, MHS

NEW HIRE EFFECTIVE August 18, 2025

Doug Lowenstein, Girls Varsity Tennis, MHS

Jill Hague, Assistant Director of Student Services, MPS

Dahlia Rafael-Tirado, Varsity Girls' Volleyball Coach, MHS

Corey Newbury, Junior Varsity Boys' Soccer Coach, MHS

APPOINTMENT EFFECTIVE August 26, 2025

Kate Homer- Girls JV Soccer, MHS

NEW HIRE EFFECTIVE August 25, 2025

Brant (Tom) Wagner- GMS Girls Soccer, MHS

James Teeters, GMS Boys Soccer Coach, MHS

NEW HIRE EFFECTIVE August 26, 2025

Jessica Tetlow, Music Teacher, MHS

Eve Weber, Speech and Language Pathologist, MPS

Francesca Pellingrino, Building Based Substitute-One Year Only, AQ

Alexandria Filippo, Social Worker, MPS

Juliana Gomes, 6hr Special Ed Teacher Assistant, GLA

Chelsea Seyster-Thoma, 6hr Special Ed Teacher Assistant, GLA

Linda Pratson, 6hr Special Ed Teacher Assistant, GMS

APPOINTMENT EFFECTIVE August 26, 2025

Maggie McCue, Early Childhood Educator, AQ

Rachel Stalnaker, 6hr Special Ed Teacher Assistant, AQ

Diana Stamp, Lead Teacher, AQ

Caitlin Coyne, Lead Teacher, GLA

Toni Cawley, Lead Teacher, FA

Maggie Luongo, MLL Teacher, AQ

Megan Fonseca, MLL Teacher, AQ

Kyla Vieira, MLL Teacher, FA

Pamela Souza, School Administrative Support, MHS

TRANSFERS EFFECTIVE August 26, 2025

Lauren Marx, Grade 6 Social Studies 0.8, GMS

Jennine Cerra, Library/STEM, GLA & GMS

David Fontaine, Library, MHS

Jane Violet, Social Studies Grades 7 / 8, GMS

Jackie Zahm, Science Grades 7 / 8, GMS

Daniel Kerloch, French, GMS

Rachel Kravchuk, Title One Reading Specialist, 0.8 GLA & 0.2 GMS

Stephanie Sims, Title One Reading Specialist, GMS

Cathleen Palkovic, Grade 3 Teacher, AQ

Tina Reynolds, Intensive Special Education Teacher, GLA & GMS

Gail Sulllivan-McCune, Computer Science .9 & Art .1, MHS

Taylor Pilotte, Grade 1 Teacher, AQ

Brittany Williams, Grade 4 Teacher, GLA

Sarah Alexander, Pathways Teacher, FA

Ana Geraghty, Grade 2 Teacher, FA

Kristina Hughes, MLL Teacher, MHS

Calley Marcarelli, Kindergarten Teacher, AQ

Kaitlyn Duggan, Grade 4 Teacher, GLA

Kimberly Pearce, Grade 5 Teacher, GLA

Robyn Borges, MLL Teacher, GLA & GMS

Alana Guglielmo, Grade 3, AQ

Caitlyn Severson, Special Education Teacher, FA

9.1 Financial

1. June GL Budget: $42,356,384.00

2. GF YTD Expenditures: $41,710,999.29

3. GF YTD Revenue $42,173,791.08

4. GF Encumbrance: $ 364,660.44

5. June GF Actual Balance: $ 398,131.35

9.2 Curriculum

Michelle Fonseca, Assistant Superintendent and Director of Teaching and Learning

Admin Retreats- Were held over two days. Keynote Speaker Dieter Breithecker.   The theme and focus areas for the school year are to Engage, Empower and Elevate: Instruction that moves.

Student Services

Leslie Brow Director of Student Services,  Student Services has had a productive summer focused on planning and preparation for the 2025–2026 school year. Efforts included outlining caseloads, hiring support staff, and designing professional development opportunities. The Extended School Year (ESY) program concluded successfully, with 68 students receiving support at Gaudet. St  We are pleased to welcome Jill Hague as the new Assistant Director of Student Services.

Technology

Middletown Public Schools has been awarded a $100,000 grant through the "21st Century Technology and Equipment Fund." This grant will allow us to expand our investment in STEM and CTE learning by providing students with access to innovative, project-based technology and tools. Our team has worked closely with our district’s computer science teachers to develop a thoughtful list of high-priority needs, including 3D printers, robotics kits, and other specialized equipment that fall outside of our traditional operating or CIP budgets.

Facilities

Bentley will be pulling off the site on August 21with  both courtyards and oil tanks having been demolitioned.  We are working on a finishing plan for the courtyard and meeting with vendors about creating outside learning spaces for when we transition over to elementary school.

Next Regular Meeting: Thursday, September 18, 2025

ADJOURN FROM MEETING

MOTION: Wendy Heaney , 2) William Nash To adjourn from the School Committee Meeting at

6:15 p.m. Unanimous vote.