WESTERLY — The School Committee voted Wednesday to close State Street Elementary School, and the deteriorating structure would be shuttered at the end of the current school year if state education officials approve the committee's decision.
The committee's vote was 4-2. The school has been plagued with problems, including leaking roofs, a bothersome odor, and crumbling bricks. What to do about the school was a central issue in the town's failed school building referendums in 2016 and 2019.
The move to close the school seemed to surprise some and was characterized by the two sides as both "political" and as a means to move the district forward.
School Committee member Marianne Nardone made the motion to close the school as the committee was discussing whether to address its deficiencies, including the need for better security. The discussion focused on spending at least a portion of the $1.4 million that the committee had previously agreed to spend from its surplus on facilities improvements.
In 2016 voters rejected a $38.5 million project that would have closed the school about five years after Bradford, Dunn's Corners and Springbrook schools were renovated. Bradford School has since been closed and the building has been turned over to the town.
In October the voters rejected a $71.4 million project that called for tearing down the current State Street School building and constructing a new one. That project also would have renovated Dunn's Corners and Springbrook schools and provided improvements at Westerly High School and districtwide.
Committee Chairwoman Diane Chiaradio Bowdy discussed the history of the two failed building projects immediately after Nardone made her motion. "I would ask that everyone please finally remove blinders and acknowledge the vast amount of resources, including time and money, that have been consumed in the last 3.5 years with absolutely nothing to show for it," she said.
Chiaradio Bowdy, who voted in favor of the motion, went on to repeat her disagreement with the move to close Bradford School and questioned the wisdom of spending more money to repair State Street School. The Tower Street School Community Center building should also be closed, she said.
School Committee members Christine Cooke and Mary Adams voted against the motion. Cooke said proponents of the motion acted politically and had "leveraged" a burst pipe that occurred at State Street School on Friday. Repair crews remained at the school as of Wednesday. She said, "We don't have a plan to move the kids and where's the education plan?"
The motion also followed a review by the School Committee of the results of a survey of voters in the wake of the October bond referendum. The survey showed a plurality of support for a new building should one be proposed in a new project.
"I cant help but think that this is politically motivated because some people don't like the results they are seeing," Cooke said.
Adams acknowledge that she had worked to defeat the 2016 plan and noted that she now serves on the committee and supported the plan that voters rejected in October.
School Committee member Tim Killam said closing State Street would move the district forward and potentially position the district to build a new school on the site if voters approve that measure.
Committee member Kristen Sweeney, who was active in the effort to defeat the 2019 plan, said she was encouraged by the survey results and approved of the education plan that served as the foundation for the 2019 plan.
"We have data now that tells us that our town will support a bond that will include a new build," she said.
By deciding now to close State Street at the end of the school year, Sweeney said work could immediately commence on a new building if it is approved by voters.
Superintendent of Schools Mark Garceau said moving students into the Tower Street building would be akin to moving from one "2003 Corolla to another 2003 Corolla. It's a short-term fix. It's not a recommendation I would make," Garceau said.
William Nardone, the School Committee's attorney, said he planned to speak with Rhode Island Department of Education officials today to determine whether the committee's move to close State Street School was in compliance with department regulations or whether the department would require public hearings prior to a vote of the committee. He also noted that RIDE regulations require the department's approval for district's to reopen closed schools.
Nardone, Killam, Chiaradio Bowdy and Sweeney voted in favor of Nardone's motion. Cooke and Adams voted against it. Committee member Rebecca Greene did not attend the meeting.
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