Warwick, RI – Dist. 1 School Committeeman Eugene Nadeau, 83, wants another term to bring all day Kindergarten, a middle school system and a fully researched consolidation plan to Warwick Schools.
The problem with the Warwick School Administration’s assessment of consolidation, said the 50-year Warwick resident and retired banker, is that it failed to take all of the district’s 23 schools into consideration. Warwick’s 17 elementary schools were left out of the study.
So, he said, the School Committee voted to hire a consultant who would assess the entire district to determine how best to approach a consolidation plan.
“We want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing and the money is going to be saved,” Nadeau said.
Meanwhile, Nadeau said, Mayor Scott Avedisian should release bond money for the schools approved by voters eight years ago.
“Our school buildings must not be allowed to deteriorate any further and the School Department must not be forced to pay the interest and principal on monies released from the $25 million bond issue, as is the present situation,” Nadeau said.
Before Nadeau served his most recent term, he’d raised his son and daughter through the Warwick School system and got involved with the PTAs. He was also a member of the School Committee in 1978, when he succeeded in making the board non-partisan.
Other accomplishments Nadeau notes include restoring the senior project mentor program, his opposition to closing the now shuttered Accelerated Learning Activities Program (ALAP), fighting to restore Pilgrim High’s athletic fields and track, and building Warwick arts and music into award-winning programs.
The arts and music programs are a point of pride for Nadeau. “So I show up two or three nights a week,” to see school performances, he said.
Nadeau said he’s still set on the goal he set for himself when his own children attended Warwick Schools.
“So I’ve taken an interest all of these years to see if I can contribute to the betterment of their education,” he said.
Nadeau said he’s stayed true to promises he made during his 2010 campaign, and will keep that up.
“One person can make a difference,” Nadeau said, “It takes responsible leadership.”
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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