Bachus: School Committee Race Q&A

WARWICK, RI — Karen Bachus, an outspoken and often contrarian voice on the Warwick School Committee since she was first elected in 2012, is one of four School Committee candidates Warwick voters will choose among Nov. 5.

Bachus was initially elected to the Warwick School Committee in 2012, then reelected in 2016 and 2020, earning either the most votes of candidates on the ballot or the second most votes.

“It is important to bring things to the table so that the Committee has the information and can make decisions when it comes to students, teachers, schools,” Bachus said while running in the 2016  School Committee race.

Warwick Post posed the following questions to each of the Warwick School Committee candidates, giving each the same amount of time, five days,  to respond with their answers. Candidates were urged to answer the questions directly, and invited to elaborate on each topic after answering the initial question. All the questionnaires have been posted within the same  five-minute window, with a digital dice roll assigning the order each set of answers run on the site, and thus, their order in  the daily newsletter.

Here are Warwick Post’s questions, and Bachus’ answers:

Bachus School Committee Race Q&A

WARWICK POST QUESTION 1A: The final bill on the new high schools project is set at $350M, with adjustments and a $28M buffer to guard against cost overruns. As the design process continues, what elements of the design are you most concerned with preserving?

BACHUS:  I am very concerned with the teaching and learning spaces. In the new plan, there are not a lot of traditional classroom spaces.

The architects tell us that the new method of teaching and learning is more collaborative and that teachers are going to teach differently. I hope that we are going to prepare our teachers and in-service them in this new method of instruction. When we began coteaching in the high schools our teachers were not in- serviced in that teaching method. This continues to be problematic in some areas. We are told that teachers will use all the different spaces—breakout rooms, stages, etc.…, to teach students in a collaborative manner. We must support and teach our teachers how to do this if we expect it to be successful.

I am also concerned with physical education spaces. We are losing gym and physical education space in the new schools. We are not slated to have a second gym, nor a primary gym that will fit the entire school for pep rallies and things like that. This does not look like a good plan. We should be building for our needs and to our specifications, not for what RIDE wants.

WARWICK POST –  QUESTION 1B : What would you suggest using any unused contingency funding for once site work and demolition are finished in 2027?

BACHUS:  If there is any unused contingency funding, I would start by looking at what may have been cut from academics and what is most needed. If that is complete, I would next look at gym space and athletics. The more we can do to upgrade our facilities and fields, the better we will serve our students. Many want turf fields—I hope we can do more of that because it appears that it cuts down on maintenance and is a better playing service for our athletes. It may end up paying for itself in the long run.

WARWICK POST –  QUESTION 1C) Please share any other thoughts on the new high schools project.

BACHUS:  The primary function of our schools, per statute, to provide safe schools where our students can learn. These schools need to have safety built in—from both the outside and from within.

The current plan includes half walls that have open spaces where students could jump or be thrown over to the floor below. This is the last thing we need and is not safe for our population. We have seen this in other venues—we know that it has the potential to be a danger. We have to look at everything for safety. First and foremost, physical safety, but we cannot stop there. We have to look at policies too and make sure that we do our best to provide a safe environment for the “whole student.” This is our most important job!

I have talked about putting a program into place that allows for naming rights of areas and rooms of the new high schools, selling bricks or stones for patios and outside learning spaces, alumni gifts, etc….. I would like to see a fundraising program in place to target our alumni and other people and organizations that are willing to provide gifts to our school system so that we can have the “extras” that we want and need. We can’t ask for that from the taxpayers, but there are other directions that we can go in. We need to be smart about this and smart about the money we are given to build these schools the best we possibly can.  They are going to have to last for a long time. We need to make certain that they can be changed, upgraded, and improved for the long term.

I would also like to create an alumni organization—we have so many successful amazing alumni who would love to contribute and be a part of our future. We need to put a vehicle in place to allow that to happen. We have a responsibility to show our students how Warwick Schools have impacted those who have gone before them.

WARWICK POST –  QUESTION 2: What steps will you support to limit district operating costs and tax increases?

BACHUS: If these new high schools are a success, we should have an influx of new residents. East Providence and other districts have experienced this phenomenon, and I have no doubt that Warwick will too. At this point our academics continue to improve and we are making great strides in teaching and learning—scores are up in every grade level with new curricula, teaching methods, etc. This makes Warwick a good city to go to school and live in. That said, new schools, that include new curricula, improved vocational and technical opportunities, great athletics spaces and teams, and extraordinary extracurricular programs, will make us a top district in the state.

There is a lot of new building going on in Warwick—that includes condominiums and apartments in the city Center plan along with new neighborhoods and housing areas going up throughout the city. This along with new businesses to support our increased population, will widen the tax base and help us to maintain a stable tax rate and better services. This puts us in a good position for the future.

In addition, we have to watch everything and search out the best quality and price available. We have to be creative and conscientious. To provide you with an example from our last meeting, I questioned high shipping costs for materials that we ordered. I asked that they contact the companies and ask for a better shipping rate. Some of my colleagues told me that shipping costs are to be expected. However, Dr. Schultz made contact with a company the next day and they zeroed out the shipping charge. This saves us over $500 dollars. It all adds up and you don’t know until you ask.

WARWICK POST –  QUESTION 3:  Are you confident the planned HVAC air conditioning approach for the new high schools will be effective with increasingly hot weather later and earlier in the year? (https://warwickpost.com/architects-present-toll-gate-pilgrims-new-high-schools-designs/)

BACHUS: It appears that the HVAC/ tempered air conditioning approach is working in the elementary schools where it has been installed. The new high schools will have both air conditioning and tempered air. Air conditioning will be installed in the athletic and main office areas. It is too early to tell, but hopefully the experts are telling us the truth and everything works out as promised.

I cannot predict the future. At the very least it should be better than what we have now, but we don’t know how weather conditions will change over time and as such it is an unknown over the long term.

WARWICK POST – QUESTION 4A: The School Committee’s fiscal subcommittee is reviewing policies for procurement, purchases, and bids after RI State Police began investigating the district for hiring Jada Trucking without first advertising the work: (https://warwickpost.com/warwick-school-committee-exerts-extra-contract-oversight) What safeguards would you suggest to the School Committee Policy Subcommittee, chaired by Michele Kirby Chapman and Leah Hazelwood?

BACHUS: When this issue was discovered, Superintendent Dambruch changed the manner in which we do business. Going forward, she created very tight rules for purchasing and services. As the former long-term Chair of the Policy Subcommittee, I would review the new procedures, determine if there are any loopholes, look at additional measures that may be available, and write the new policy accordingly. We must learn from our past and continually improve our practice.

WARWICK POST – QUESTION 4B: Please share any other thoughts on the district’s bid and procurement process.

BACHUS: The previous procurement policy was never challenged. Therefore, we did not see the ways that it could be manipulated. However, we now know that it was not air tight. We have to put a new policy in place to ameliorate this issue. The last thing I want to see is Warwick Public Schools in the news for not adhering to purchasing rules or anything else for that matter.

The city of Warwick has listed polling places by precinct on Board of Canvassers website.