Newport
Spaulding went to the lectern to speak under Article 1 of the warrant, which details the positions up for election at the annual school meeting vote on March 14. It is usually passed over quickly, but Spaulding instead read from a nine-page order the conduct committee issued in July. He never gave a reason for reading from the reprimand, other than to say it was within his rights.
As soon as he began, Dunn, who was standing just a few feet away at a second lectern, tried to cut him off.
“You are out of order,” Dunn yelled.
“You are out of order yourself,” Spaulding shot back, before proceeding to read parts of the ruling most detrimental to Dunn, including the basis of the reprimand: unreasonable fees, which were resolved in probate court.
Dunn again tried to stop Spaulding, and several audience members could be heard asking what relevance Spaulding’s remarks had to the article.
“No, no, no,” audience members yelled once, trying to stop Spaulding.
Spaulding, who said silencing him was a violation of his first amendment rights, dared Dunn to have a police officer escort him out of the meeting, indicating a lawsuit would be sure to follow.
Spaulding said residents should not vote for Dunn in March, calling him “irresponsible.” Dunn, who told the audience he believes he has been moderator for about 15 years, is up for re-election in March.
Dunn addressed the committee’s reprimand and said there were no complaints on how he handled a client’s estate and all matters were resolved successfully.
A couple of residents then responded to Spaulding’s remarks.
Kurt Minich said he came to the meeting hoping to see a lot of positive things accomplished for the school, but it didn’t begin that way.
“Boy, this was rough. I had to get up and leave,” said Minich, who added that he always admired Spaulding for his hard work examining school spending, but not this time. “He just bombed himself. He’s got to let it go.”
Resident Lucy Wells said Spaulding’s comments were unprofessional and unreasonable, and bogged down the meeting.
“Mr. Spaulding’s speech has nothing to do with the deliberative session,” Wells said. “It sounds somewhat like a vendetta.”
Eventually, the meeting moved on to the $17.7 million budget, which was adopted along with three other appropriations. No changes were made to any of the items.
The operating budget includes contracts for teachers and support staff, along with three new teaching positions and an additional paraprofessional. The one-year teachers’ contract of $223,445 gives each of the 104 teachers, nurses and guidance counselors a step raise of $1,240. The support staff contract is for $216,396.
“This goes a long way toward strengthening our ability to attract and retain staff,” said Terry Scott, president of the paraprofessionals union.
Minich, who said he supported the pay raises, said he was not pleased the contracts were in the budget because if the budget were defeated, the raises are not included in the default budget that would take effect. He thought the contracts would have a better chance as separate warrant articles.
But School Board Chairwoman Shannon Howe and others disagreed. Howe said the board felt separate warrant articles would put the teachers and support staff “out on their own.”
Budget Advisory Committee member Seth Wilner, who said that Newport is near or at the bottom in teacher and support staff pay when compared with several area towns, said he was happy to see the contracts in the budget because he thinks separate warrant articles tend to fail.
“We think they deserve the raises,” Wilner said, speaking on behalf of the Budget Advisory Committee. “This will go a long way toward retaining teachers.”
Articles 4, 5 and 6 also were adopted. Article 4 puts $50,000 in a trust fund for unanticipated special education expenses. Article 5 adds the same amount for future bus purchases and Article 6 would appropriate $200,000 for a behavior support program at the elementary-school level.
Board member Ann Spencer said the program would allow the schools to help children from families that are struggling economically or have been affected by the state’s opioid crisis.
“We can help those children be successful in school and learns skills to take care of themselves and learn,” Spencer said.
The budget would increase the school tax rate $1.98 per $1,000 of assessed valuation while the other appropriations would come from a projected year-end surplus with no tax rate implication. If articles 4, 5 and 6 fail, the surplus would be used to lower the tax impact of the budget to $1.30.
Article 7 would form a committee to study charging students a fee for extracurricular activities, including sports.
Board member Linda Wadensten stressed this is only a committee to study this issue because there has been a lot of conversation in town.
“We wanted to put it out to the public to see how many are interested,” Wadensten said. “It will tell us if we should look into it or it is a dead topic. We want to know once and for all.”
Resident Patty DiPadova called charging for activities in Newport, with its high poverty rate, a “horrific” idea that would jeopardize the participation of low-income students.
The final vote on the warrant is March 14.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
