Could Rhode Island do with fewer school district heads, as Fairfax, Va. does?

01:00 AM EST on Thursday, March 30, 2006

BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Sen. James Doyle has proposed a bill that would drastically reduce the number of school superintendents in the state.

Doyle, a Pawtucket Democrat, told the Senate Committee on Education that his plan would save money, but he didn't know how much. There are 36 school superintendents in Rhode Island, he said, and that means 36 administrative offices and 36 assistant superintendents.

According to Doyle, Fairfax, Va. has approximately the same number of schools as the entire state of Rhode Island -- about 300 -- yet it has one superintendent.

"I'd like your input," he told the committee. "I don't know if this is feasible. But it's good for the taxpayers."

The bill calls for five regional superintendents, one for each county, but Doyle said he isn't wedded to that idea. The proposal also steers clear of recommending that Rhode Island consolidate its school districts into larger, regional districts -- a proposal that Governor Carcieri has broached. (Carcieri would combine Providence, Central Falls and Pawtucket into one urban district.)

"My constituents don't want regionalization," Doyle said.

Under Doyle's proposal, each regional superintendent would be appointed for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2008. The Board of Regents of Elementary and Secondary Education would prepare a list of three nominees for each county. The school committees in each county would select a regional superintendent; each school board would be assigned one vote.

What would happen to the 30-odd superintendents whose contracts remained? Doyle said they would fulfill their contracts, but he wasn't clear what their responsibilities would be while they were still employed.

Henry Boeniger, a lobbyist for the National Education Association, Rhode Island, was the only person to speak out against the bill. While his union supports economies of scale in the area of purchasing, he said that it does not endorse regionalization of superintendents or school districts.

"Each town has a different collective bargaining agreement," he said. "Each city is unique."

The Senate Commttee on Education took the matter under advisement.

lborg@projo.com / (401) 277-7823