The Bristol Warren Regional School Committee is a mess. Even the nine people sitting in those seats should admit that.
Aside from the string of controversies running through the school department …
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The Bristol Warren Regional School Committee is a mess. Even the nine people sitting in those seats should admit that.
Aside from the string of controversies running through the school department for months, a fairly deep, 5-4 divide has emerged within the committee itself. Four school committee members — Erin Schofield, Nicky Piper, Carly Reich and Sarah Bullard — often find themselves at odds with the other five, which includes both Chairwoman Marjorie McBride and Vice Chairwoman Tara Thibaudeau. The 5/4 split has been a common theme lately, as they’ve frequently argued over finances, spending, administrators, calendars, masks, school holidays and ‘man-splaining.’
They’ve clashed with citizens at their meetings. They’ve gotten into squabbles with each other. And now some seem intent on rooting out “the rat” who dared speak to a reporter about clashes between the six-week superintendent (who came and left before anyone got to know him) and some overly involved committee members.
Many will chafe at comparisons to Barrington, the annoyingly successful and number-one-ranked public school district in the state, but so be it. The Barrington School Committee bears no resemblance to this group.
In Barrington, the five-member committee acts like a board of directors for their $55 million enterprise. The superintendent (the CEO) and his team typically make presentations to the school committee, updating them on projects or curriculum or long-range initiatives, and the school committee pokes, prods, asks questions, advises and occasionally sets long-range policies.
The whole dynamic is professional, courteous and entirely focused on the quality of education in their six school buildings.
The Bristol Warren school committee needs a shakeup, both now and for the future. Here are a few suggestions:
• Establish term limits. No one should spend 20 years on this board (or any board, really). Three, four-year terms should be the maximum.
• Stop treating the chairman’s seat like a ping pong ball between Bristol and Warren. Elect the best person for the job every time, regardless of town. Let the best people lead this group.
• Outline a clear process, and take the time, to hire a dynamic superintendent. Then let that person lead the district forward, beginning next summer.
• Stop requesting one-on-one meetings with district administrators, and conduct the public’s business in public.
• Hire a consultant to evaluate the roles and responsibilities between the school committee and the administration. Give that person the freedom to offer sharp criticism, if warranted, and outline strategies for a better school leadership structure, impacting both the committee and the administration office.
Not long ago, Bristol Warren was considered a “district on the rise,” and optimism was high. That can be the case again, but the squabbles need to end, and the group needs new leadership.