TIMEOUT: Johnston Town Council president calls for pause in new school construction

The head of Johnston Town Council has called for a pause in new school construction projects.

“I think the state needs to enact legislation to increase aid to communities based on this expected influx of students to our schools,” said Johnston Town Council President Robert V. Russo. “Until something like this is in place, I think construction of any new school facilities should be paused.”

New housing developments in town may lead to an influx of students in the near future.

“With new legislation enacted at the state house which took effect Jan. 1, 2024, communities across the state will see an influx of multi-unit developments that will bring in many students,” Russo warned. “It is real and the way the legislation is drafted there is very little a community can do to stop this potential development.”

A new elementary school has progressed beyond the point of no return, but a new high school project being considered by the Johnston School Building Committee is still in the schematic phase of planning.

“We have our new elementary school being constructed which will allow some savings due to redundancies,” Russo said. “I believe taking a step-by-step approach to school development is a wiser choice considering what may be on the horizon.”

Johnston Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Jr. said he’s also eager to see the details.

“I am in agreement with the Council President that the town needs to see a plan from the school department going forward before we sign off on over $100 million to build the high school,” Polisena said Wednesday morning. “I fully anticipate the school department to present that plan.”

Declining enrollment?

Facing declining enrollment projections, the state will require a new high school be built for nearly 80 fewer students than the current, 50-year-old high school.

“The high school currently has about 840 students attending,” Johnston Public Schools Superintendent Bernard DiLullo Jr. said last week. “The planned building will be built for 761 as NESDEC (New England School Development Council) projections show our enrollment to begin to decrease in the 2025-26 school year reaching 761 in the 2028-29 school year.”

Last week, Russo told the Johnston SunRise that “the talk of constructing a new high school … may be premature.” He cited “enrollments” as “one issue.”

“But more importantly, I believe more effort needs to be placed on improving the academic performance of the students,” Russo said. “And we need to take a global look at the town as a whole and make sure that whatever available funds we have from Amazon or other sources are placed in projects that will accommodate a full spectrum of our taxpayers.”

District 5 Town Councilman Robert J. Civetti has been sounding the alarm since the earliest stages of school planning.

“As I stated from Day 1, I believe that the proposed High School is being built too small and in a period of 5-10 years we will be looking to add on,” Civetti explained last week. “JHS at one point had more than 1,200 students. I understand that enrollment is down and decreasing but I think as the RI population continues to age we will at some point see a turnaround.”

The ‘Housing Crisis’

In response to the “housing crisis,” barriers to building have been toppled. Just a block away from the town’s new elementary school, a 28-unit condo development rises from former forest land. Today’s student body forecasts may be obsolete in five years, after new families move into town.

“I hate to build too small and then in a few years have to add on,” Civetti said. “I would have to imagine that it would be cheaper to do at this time rather than do renovations and additions in a few years. I would like to see the School … built to accommodate at a minimum 900-1,000 students. I believe that this was the original population estimate back when the taxpayers approved a plan to renovate the High School.”

Taxpayers approved a $215 million bond for new school construction. Voters were told they would never see a tax increase because anticipated annual payments from Amazon would cover the tab.

“Just to add, I believe one of the goals at JHS is to not only retain students but to also bring students back that have left to attend other schools such as Cranston West, Ponagansett, Scituate, etc.,” Civetti wrote via email. “We need to expand (our) Pathway programs, tech programs, and curriculum that we offer our students.  How can we do this if we do not have the space needed to provide these programs?  We need to be proactive and keep our students rather than continuing to have to bear the financial burden of out-of-district tuitions.”

Russo also has academic concerns with the current new high school plan.

“If a high school is built it needs to be a place that will attract students for their academic ability, not athletic ability,” Russo said.

Polisena agrees with the growing need for broadened career education paths.

“The purpose of building the high school is to create CTE programs that the school currently doesn’t have, which results in Johnston taxpayers being forced to pay other municipalities to educate Johnston students,” Polisena said. “We need to see a plan of which programs are going to be created and the estimated revenue coming back as a result of returning students enrolling in those programs.”

The Big Question

How do school and town officials know students who have been traveling outside of the district for career programs will come back to Johnston?

Polisena explained, that in “most cases,” the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) “doesn’t let students go out of district for a CTE program if their home district offers it.”

“The problem is now JHS doesn’t have a large variety of CTE programs, which is why we see a lot of Johnston students at Ponaganset and Cranston West,” the mayor explained. “As I said before, while neither I nor the council have any control over the school department, I still think it’s a good idea for the new JHS to fully embrace the trades.”

Paying for Johnston students to attend school in other districts has repeatedly been blamed for school budget shortfalls over the past three years (both career pathway students as well as special education students).

“Even if someone is looking to take the traditional route and go to college rather than a trade, I believe it should be a requirement that every student take at least one trade (welding, electrical, plumbing, etc.) while they pursue traditional academics,” Polisena wrote via email. “It will give them a life skill, build confidence and open doors never before thought possible. Imagine being a college student (pursuing nursing but still having the ability to do electrical work, mechanical work, woodwork, etc.).”

“Who’s to say learning something like 19th-century British Literature is more important than learning a life-skill trade?” Polisena asked.

The Squeeze

Polisena refocused the aim of frustration toward the state.

“And regarding RIDE … Council President Russo is also correct,” wrote the mayor. “What they do to Johnston is a microcosm of what happens to squeeze the American middle class. If you’re a wealthy district like Barrington or North Kingstown, you can tax at a high level and don’t need the subsidies. If you’re from an impoverished community, you’re almost fully subsidized (think Central Falls high school being 95% reimbursed by the state whereas we’re around 60%). If you’re in the middle, like Johnston, you’re hurt the most as you can’t tax like other communities for revenue but yet aren’t impoverished enough to get meaningful subsidies.”