Barrington school board candidates endorse $68.4M bond
Candidates also discuss school calendar changes, start times
The proposed $68.4 million Barrington Middle School bond received three "Yes" votes during the candidates forum on Wednesday night, Oct. 5.
Pam Lauria, Megan Douglas and Anna Clancy — the three Democratic candidates running for school committee — each voiced their support for the proposed bond. Independent candidate Gina Pine was unable to attend the forum.
"I strongly support the Barrington Middle School bond," said Ms. Lauria. She then suggested that people take time to walk through the current building to see the conditions of the facility. Ms. Lauria said she was confident in work that the building committee had done in planning for the new school.
Dr. Douglas echoed that opinion. She said she was supporting the bond and had "great faith" in the building committee. She also said that further savings could be realized as the design phase of the work continues, but emphasized that the bond needed to be passed first.
Ms. Clancy, an incumbent, said officials had compared the projected costs of the proposed new Barrington Middle School with similar projects completed within the last few years in Massachusetts and found that they are very comparable.
All three candidates said the construction of a new middle school in town was their top priority.
Ms. Clancy also challenged comments made during an earlier debate featuring prospective town council members — she said the process followed by school officials and members of the building committee was "valid" as outlined by the Rhode Island Department of Education.
Other topics
• School calendar: Ms. Clancy and Ms. Lauria endorsed future changes to the school calendar. Ms. Lauria said the beginning of the school year was most problematic — the numerous days off for holidays, teacher professional development days and parent teacher conferences created unnecessary challenges for working parents. Ms. Lauria suggested that parent-teacher conferences be held outside of normal school hours.
• School start time change: All three Democrats supported the move to later start times at the middle school and high school. Ms. Clancy explained some of her prior voting on the issue, while Ms. Lauria and Dr. Douglas also spoke of the importance of sleep for children.
• Education funding: Ms. Clancy and Ms. Lauria said a closer look needs to be taken at how the state funds public education. Ms. Lauria said that while Barrington spends less per pupil on its students, the returns are great.
