The East Providence School Committee, and by extension the administrative team led by Superintendent Kathryn Crowley, deserves to be lauded for how it has conducted itself to date as it puts together …
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The East Providence School Committee, and by extension the administrative team led by Superintendent Kathryn Crowley, deserves to be lauded for how it has conducted itself to date as it puts together a budget plan for the upcoming 2016-17 fiscal year.
The members of the committee have been measured. They've accepted many of the recommendations submitted to them by the professionals whom they've hired to do the job. And they've been inquisitive on the substance of the proposal when necessary without any needless condescension or petty discourse.
The way the committee has acted over the last two weeks during a pair of workshops on the budget, in fact, is in stark contrast to the manner in which its counterpart, the council, has conducted its business lately. The city side board would do well to mirror the performance of their school side peers when it comes to talk of the overall budget outlay for the next fiscal year.
As of earlier this week, at the end of the committee's second working meeting on the matter, the members appeared united in their support of requesting additional funding from the city and, transposed, its taxpayers. Most of the extra money, as was explained, would be aimed at lifting the salaries of employees across the school district, but specifically for the teachers, whose pay was at first slashed several years ago then stymied recently.
Whether or not the committee should commit to the substantial 2.5 percent increase plus flat raises proposed this year while negotiations on new contracts will be in earnest over the next 12 months, however, is a question they still must determine. The sustainability and feasibility of this action have meaningful consequences that must be addressed.
With that in mind, the committee needs to display the kind of conviction, of belief in its cause, that this action entails if it is going to make it happen. They'll need fortitude of real purpose, something our politicians haven't always exactly had over the course of the last few months. We'll see if the committee does.