Editor's note: This story has been edited from its original version.

A parent upset about the Tiverton' school district's fiscal situation has started a recall petition to remove school committee chairwoman Diane Farnworth from office, and have until Wednesday to complete the town's legal requirements for moving it forward.

The petition, which was filed with the town clerk by Bulgarmarsh Road resident Valerie Lynne Cafaro last Wednesday, Feb. 26, states:

"We the undersigned registered voters in the Town of Tiverton RI do hereby call for the removal of Diane M. Farnworth from the School Committee by recall vote pursuant to Article XII Section 1209 of the Home Rule Charter of the Town of Tiverton. Diane M. Farnworth's actions and initiatives have proven to be fueled by special interests with unclear motives, which has been detrimental to the well-being of students and families. Diane M. Farnworth oversaw and actively enabled the district's squandering of a $4.5M surplus, leading to a current-year deficit and financial decline for Tiverton Public Schools. Diane M. Farnworth refuses to allow input from Town officials and stakeholders and consistently blocks public comment at Tiverton School Committee Meetings."

In order for the recall petition to move forward, the charter requires a number of signatures equal to 25 percent of the number of votes Farnworth received in the most recent election. She was re-elected last November with 3,290 votes, meaning that Cafaro's petition would need 823 signatures. There is no deadline for gathering the signatures.

If enough signatures are received, a special vote would be scheduled between 50 and 75 days from Wednesday.

Cafaro could be reached for comment prior to publication, but on Tuesday morning Farnworth said she has seen the petition, but "I think it would be more appropriate to speak of it if or when they actually get enough signatures for a vote."

School talks

The petition comes a week after school committee officials laid out three possible scenarios for consolidating the town's three elementary schools after a recent vote to all but shutter the Fort Barton School:

• Option one includes housing pre-k through fourth grade students at the Pocasset and Ranger schools;

• Option two would house kindergarten through fourth grade students at the Pocasset and Ranger schools, with pre-K housed at the Fort Barton School;

• And option three would house pre-K through third grade at the Pocasset and Ranger schools, with fourth graders moving over to the middle school.

Under each scenario, enrollment at each school would be guided either by the area of the town in which students live, or by the grade into which they are entering.

While the first proposal would keep elementary students in the pre-K through fourth grade setup the town currently uses, it would also lead to fewer rooms available in those Pocasset and Ranger schools and would necessitate art and music teachers sharing a room. The second option would force the committee to hire a nurse for Fort Barton, which would negate some of the savings realized by the school's decommissioning. And while the third option would provide more available rooms in the schools, parents said it's not an option they are interested in, mostly because of the necessity of sending fourth graders to the middle school.

“I think it should be noted that of all of your constituents, nobody is in favor or interested in that option,” Ray Forest, a father of a Fort Barton student, said. Forest also expressed confusion at the second plan, which would keep Fort Barton open as a pre-school. He questioned why, if the school committee were to keep Fort Barton running anyway, members voted to close it in the first place.

In addition, the idea of the elementary schools being split by grade level caused anxiety in some parents.

“My son is a first grader at Ranger Elementary School and his younger brother is in the process of going into kindergarten,” Riley Kilmer said. He said that while his youngest son is worried, he is excited to go to school with his older brother, something that might be put in danger if the elementary schools were to be split by grade level."

But Farnworth defended the decision to close Fort Barton, saying that Tiverton cannot continue to fund five schools as enrollment continues to decline.

In addition to the three options presented by the committee, a fourth was also presented by Fort Barton teacher Alane Deldeo. She proposed that pre-school and kindergarten be housed at Fort Barton, with grades one through four at the two other schools. Farnworth said that will be discussed further at the committee's next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday evening.