By GLYNIS HART
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NEWPORT – The select board moved forward with plans for a new community recreational center at its Monday night meeting. Newport’s teacher association also spoke to the board to advocate approval of the new teachers’ contract.
The first of two public hearings was held for the town to take a strip of land abutting the rec center property. The land in question used to belong to the Newport Youth Baseball Club, which no longer has any living members. Town Manager Hunter Reiseberg advised the select board that the town’s lawyers recommended taking the land by eminent domain. In order for the town to do so, it must hold two public hearings; the second will be at the meeting Feb. 14.
Several people spoke in support of the new rec center.
“We’re starting to get some rough estimates,” said Selectman Todd Fratzel. “The guaranteed maximum is $6.48 million. That’s the maximum price the project could be at this point.”
Voters must approve the town issuing a bond for the project to go through. “The thing for this group,” said Fratzel to the select board, “is how much will we bond?”
An anonymous donor has pledged $1 million and challenged the community to raise another $2 million. Fratzel said the fundraising committee has already brought in $1.315 million, largely from private donations. Fratzel suggested asking voters to come up with half the amount for the rec center, if the fundraising committee (Friends of the Rec Center) can cover the other half—roughly $3.4 million.
Selectman John Hooper II said he learned about the community’s passion for a new rec center when he was running for office.
“Regarding tax increases, there’s never going to be a great time to do the community center, financially,” said Hooper. “But if we don’t push it a little now I’m not doing the job I was elected to do.”
Citizen Bert Spaulding Sr. responded, “There’s never going to be a great time, but there couldn’t be a worse time. If we come in at $5.50 (tax increase per $1,000 of assessed value) and you pile another 20 cents on, wow.”
Teachers lagging behind others in state
If all the warrants requested by the school district pass, the tax increase may be as much as $5.50. (Without knowing the effect of next year’s assessment, that number cannot be given with certainty until tax time.) Those warrants include approval of the teachers’ contract and non-instructional staff contract.
Newport Teachers Association President Melissa Mitchler and first-grade teacher Lisa Ferrigno were present to advocate for approving the contracts.
Ferrigno began her remarks by addressing a perception in the community that the teachers oppose the rec center. “We send a mini-bus twice a day to the rec center,” she said. “Seventy-five kids go there for after-school care. Seventy-five kids in that center is pretty crowded.
“We support building a new rec center because we support the children of Newport,” said Ferrigno.
Mitchler said the district’s lack of a contract is driving away teachers. “Last year one third of our teachers left, a lot of them because there was no contract,” she said.
Mitchler emphasized the cost to the district of hiring and training new teachers, around $270,000, or $10,000 for each position. The new contract will remedy the lagging wages of Newport teachers, who haven’t been receiving raises commensurate with their time in the district. Teachers hired into the district from outside are held to the same salary level as the Newport teachers, according to the old contract.
“We have a teacher with 16 years’ experience being paid as if they had 9 years,” said Mitchler.
In the new contract, bringing each teacher up to the appropriate salary level will happen over two years, with new hires coming in at the appropriate step for their level of experience. Mitchler said the district has 10 vacancies right now that have been advertised since before the school year started. Three teachers that don’t have appropriate certification, although they have relevant experience in the district, are currently filling vacancies that lack qualified candidates.
Tim Renner, who has served three years on the school board, said he knows of at least five teaching candidates who came to Newport for interviews, were offered jobs, and declined because of the low salaries.
“This is a critical juncture for the teachers,” said Renner. “If this contract is approved it makes it possible for them to move forward in a positive way.”
Ferrigno added that without voter approval, old language and inequities in the previous contract can’t be updated. For example, Towle School, which no longer exists, is still written in. “There are glaring inequities in how we pay for girls and boys sports — when the contract doesn’t pass that can’t be changed either.”
The lagging pay affects teachers’ retirements, too, said Mitchler, because retirement is based on salary.
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