Letter to the Editor

Posting an LTE written by Joel Johnson that appeared in the KC Times on 05/11/09.



Time for Creative Thinking in Coventry

Based on the initial reaction of the School Committee to the suggestion by the Town Council that their budget might be level-funded for FY 2009-10, it appears that very little thought went into how to meet that challenge while having the least effect on the education received by the town’s school children. Instead, the School Committee chose to trot out the same old, tired list of threatened cuts that every school committee has held over the heads of frightened parents for at least the past 40 years: “We’ll have to cut sports!, We’ll have to cut extra-curricular activities!, We’ll have to eliminate ROTC!, We’ll have to close a school!” - all the while feigning incredulity. Oh so predictable, oh so disingenuous.

There is no doubt that the Town of Coventry pays a premium to have its children educated. Asking the school department to absorb what amounts to only a 3% cut to its increased funding request (while the municipal side is being told to brace for what amounts to a 10% cut below the current level of funding) is, under the circumstances, getting off easy. To claim that “It can’t be done!” implies an admitted lack of creativity and/or laziness on the part of the School Committee and the administration. I choose to believe that isn’t the case. Rather, I believe that Superintendent Di Pietro is more than up to the challenge of meeting the goal set before him by the Town Council. No one can dispute that he’s a smart, savvy individual who knows his way around a budget dilemma. It’s now time for him to prove his worth and deliver the goods.

Please stop the hysteria! It is time that the taxpayers of Coventry demand that their elected School Committee representatives stop the bellyaching and do what is prudent and justifiable in light of the current financial challenges facing our town, state and nation. Furthermore, this can be accomplished without having to plead their case while groveling at the feet of the Coventry Teachers Alliance. Renegotiating that contract at this point is a bad idea, completely unnecessary and, in the long term, counter-productive. To do so now would be tantamount to merely “kicking the can down the road”. Past experience would indicate that every dollar in union “concessions” would likely yield two or more dollars in additional costs somewhere down the line - thus, shouldering the Coventry taxpayer with an even bigger burden in the future.

Enough is enough. No tax rate increase in Coventry is possible. Dedicated public officials can make it a reality if they choose to do so. Taxpayers should thank them for it.



Joel Johnson
Coventry, Rhode Island