Officials say some project is likely to reach voters again before June
EG residents have until Nov. 7 to vote on the $150 million school construction bond that would see a major grade realignment, at least one new elementary school built with another shuttered, and a townwide tax rate increase. But if the bond fails, town officials say they still want to try to get a school construction project done.
“[The schools] need work no matter what,” said School Committee Chair and co-chair the School Building Committee Alyson Powell. “Doing nothing when we could get this reimbursement would just be the worst.”
Currently, the state will pay for 35 percent of EG’s school construction project. A potential additional 20 percent reimbursement, in five percent increments known as bonus points, will expire in June 2024.
If the bond fails in November, the town could come up with a new or altered plan, possibly with a different dollar amount, and then hold a special referendum before the June 2024 expiration to still be eligible for the up to 20 percent in bonus funds.
The town passed a measure by a 3-2 margin in April asking state legislators to borrow up to $180 million designated for a school construction bond. That not-to-exceed number is still applicable for future school construction bond referendums if the measure in November fails. Therefore, as long as any new or adapted school construction project is under the $180 million cap, the Town Council could put it to a townwide vote without having to go back to the state legislature.
However, creating an entirely new plan would be difficult, according to Town Council President and member of the School Building Committee Mark Schwager, who explained that the current committee took years to create this plan. He said he is concerned about developing an entirely new plan or alternating the existing one “under these time constraints.”
When asked about a specific plan B if this option fails, Schwager said, “Essentially, we reviewed all of those plans previously, and they were rejected for one reason or another. Mostly that they didn’t meet the needs of the community, the district.”
Both Powell and Schwager agreed that if the bond fails, town officials would need to use data from the vote to determine what steps to take.
For instance, Powell explained, if a “huge” number of people in town vote and the bond “overwhelmingly fails,” then it’s clear that “the community does not have an appetite for this project.” However, if the bond fails by a small margin, she said she would encourage members of the School Building Committee to “slightly modify” the plan and “get the message out better.”
Another aspect of coming up with a new plan is that the town needs to submit its stage II to RIDE by February 15, 2024. A stage II plan “requires the development of schematic design documentation that can be used to provide dependable cost estimates,” according to the RIDE website. In other words, they need to submit very detailed construction plans that could be difficult to pull together for a new proposal.
Schwager is convinced the current proposal is the right one for this moment.
“If you vote the bond down, the needs are still there, and they’re going to be funded at some point and they’re going to be much more expensive,” he said. “The needs don’t go away,” but part of “the reimbursement goes away.”
You can find all our stories on the school construction plan HERE.
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So let me get this straight… It will take the bond failing for the committee to start listening to community feedback?? Maybe community feedback should have been included in the proposals that was forced upon taxpayers. Let’s be clear.. there was never any intention to alter the proposal regardless of the feedback that was given during community forums.
What is honestly confusing to me is mixed messaging. One message is the bond as written provides flexibility and details are still developing. The reason why the publicly available plans and renderings lack detail and are conceptual. The other message that I am hearing now is that the plans can only be slightly modified if and only iff the bond fails. It seems that any minor suggestion such as not redirecting traffic through Lillibridge neighborhood is off the table. Any insight on this? I honestly want to know if input such as this is still possible. It may help nearby residents.”
Hi Bruce – the bond as presented does have conceptual plans and highlights each school’s biggest need with general plans. As part of the RIDE stage 3 application, the engineering, architectural, construction management and designs must be presented in order to secure funding. You can follow the guidelines as RIDE requested here https://ride.ri.gov/funding-finance/school-building-authority/necessity-school-construction.
The misinformation that the public was not able to weigh in is unclear to me. It has been made several times by certain parties but the School Building Committee had several public meetings where residents could ask questions. The School Committee invited people to attend walk-throughs at all the school buildings this past May. If the bond fails, the need of the school buildings does not go away. If people are concerned about the appearance of the renovations/new build, please contact us. If people are concerned about what might be in the new educational spaces, please contact Superintendent Ricca.
The traffic patterns are developing. I am unsure where the idea that the Lillibridge neighborhood would be part of the traffic pattern. As far as I recall, this was not yet discussed in part because it would be part of the Stage 3 application and while there is currently an entrance there, my understanding is it was only used for emergencies. The SBC and the town is aware that traffic is a major issue for everyone, not just those near schools. As someone who lives on a main road, and the speed and congestion that comes with that, please contact me ([email protected]) about traffic issues regarding this plan.
Finally it would be a shame after 2 years of planning for the bond to fail, I realize that the bond can be resubmitted but it would be rushed at that point. I would ask that you speak with the School Superintendent or the principals of each school to ask about issues at a particular school.
Councilwoman Englehart, please explain why no elected official attended the “Public” informational meeting given by the Sarah’s Trace residents concerning the possible damage related to the construction of the new Hanaford and Frenchtown School? One member of the EGSC attended for 5 min and left (how could he possibly hear all that was presented). Don’t you and the other members, as our elected officials, want to learn from the past experience so it doesn’t happen again? Who do you and the other Council members represent if you don’t want this crucial information? What are you afraid of? You mention that several public meetings were held for the bond proposal and that you feel there is misinformation and there was failure to attend and get the information. With that said where were you? Do you know what REALY happened? Don’t you and the others want to be informed? Isn’t that part of your responsibility? The town’s communication about protecting residents in these neighbors is deficient and sparse.
I’d like add that there’s also been a claim that the 35% is guaranteed and we shouldn’t worry about the add’l 20% or approximately $30M in reimbursements. There is precedent in the past that the state may not offer even the 35% if financial conditions warrant it https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/education/2014/01/10/20140110-three-year-moratorium-school-construction-rhode-island-seen-creating-missed-opportunities/35374186007/
Hi Renu, has there been any evidence or rumblings of such a thing happening, or are you just speculating about a major downturn in financial conditions?
Ms. Englehart, the moratorium was put in place so that the RIDE could assess the state of all the schools, after which the Schoolhouse Report was released. The School Building Authority (SBA) was created, as well as the SBA Advisory Board and the SBA Capital Fund. It would not make sense for the state lawmakers to impose another moratorium in the near future as the information gathering has already taken place and the report found that most of the schools across the state are deteriorating; this problem grows worse every year. Also, there is a law in place that will be in effect in 2024 which provides EG with 35%, so that is not in danger. I would assume that our town will put forth some school construction plan by then. http://rihebc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Treasury_RIHEBC_TrainingPresentation_Oct21.pdf
Thank you Renu! This is incredibly helpful guidance on appropriate avenues to engage. I will reach out to offer thoughts.
Yes people were able to speak to “weigh in” but no one actually took those comments in and offered solutions or alternatives. It was essentially the school committee listened and then moved on to the next person that had a concern and listened and then again did nothing to change or offer suggestions.
This is what happened at every single meeting. Not one meeting was different or in anyway more insightful than the last.
Let’s have a vote on whether the people want to keep Eldredge as a used up old building and lose the school, or tear it down and build a new neighborhood school in town, and lose the old building.
The taxpayers on the Hill and in the Harbor would rather not bus their kids across town and pay an exorbitant tax increase for the pleasure of doing so.
That would be the appropriate place to start rather than the ambiguous and poorly thought out plan currently on the ballot.