Letter to the Editor

Letter: What The Returned Funds Means For Tiverton Schools

Tiverton Schools Superintendent William Rearick writes a letter to the editor.

To the Editor: I would like to take this opportunity to speak to the residents of Tiverton regarding the Town Council’s most recent decision instructing the Town Treasurer to return the amounts of $367,165 and $243,092 to the Tiverton School Department. The controversy surrounding these funds has been well documented by several local newspapers and online media websites over the past year and a half. With the upcoming Financial Town Referendum (FTR), I believe it is necessary to explain the impact these funds will have on the Tiverton School Department. First and foremost these funds do not represent a windfall of $610,257 to the School Department. The amount in question represents surpluses which the School Department has been able to …

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Joe Sousa.

5:39 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012

It's up to the public to make sure the needs are met. We need to become vocal and persistent .   more ›

Tiverton School Committee Addresses Funds Returning; Approves Strategic Plan

The committee hopes the bifurcation, or separation of local and state funds, debate can be put to rest.

The Tiverton School Committee weighed in Tuesday on the Town Council's vote to let the town treasurer release the disputed funds back to their accounts. Superintendent William Rearick said their attorney will be withdrawing their complaint against the town from Newport Superior Court. Member Carol Hermann thanked Councilor Brett Pelletier for putting the item on the Town Council's agenda Monday night. "He made the motion each time for the funds to be returned to us," she said. "I appreciate him taking the lead." Hermann, and the rest of the committee, concurred they hope the latest dispute over money puts to rest the bifurcation issue. A remaining historical debate in Tiverton, bifurcation is the dividing of local and state/federal monies …

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Joe Sousa.

4:44 pm on Friday, April 13, 2012

Jim the Town is an Enterprise Zone . There are a whole host of Tax Breaks and Incentives for prospective businesses We offer a tax break and so does the state. "The Enterprise Zone Program is designed to offer tax incentives to businesses that expand their workforce at facilities located in one of the ten state enterprise zones: Any business located in a state enterprise zone that grows its …   more ›

Tiverton Schools' Court Complaint To Be Withdrawn

The move comes in light of Monday's Town Council vote to release the disputed funds.

Following Monday night's Town Council vote after executive session, Tiverton Schools Superintendent William Rearick said Tuesday in an email they now have access to their disputed funds. Shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday, Rearick said Town Solicitor Andy Teitz told the school department they can access the approximate $367,000 and $243,000 that were in dispute with the town from fiscal years 2009-10 and 2010-11, respectively, In light of the council's vote, Rearick said their attorney, Stephen Robinson, will be withdrawing their complaint, or writ of mandamus, filed last week in Newport Superior Court. The School Committee meets tonight at 7 p.m. in the high school library.

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Tiverton Council Releases Disputed Funds Back to Schools

Patch reported live from Tiverton's Town Council meeting of Monday, April 9.

7 p.m.  The meeting begins. 7:04 p.m. Council votes 7-0 to accept the consent agenda. 7:05 p.m. Council President Jay Lambert reads proclamation for National Library Week for April 8 to April 14. Liquor license approved for Wally's Tap House 7:19 p.m. Council votes 7-0 to approve BV liquor license for Susan's Restaurant, Inc., which is becoming Wally's Tap House. Owner Joe Faria said he increased the number of seats in his revamped space and moved his bar to accomodate a higher number of patrons. He said it was approved by the fire marshal. He said they will still serve breakfast and lunch, like Susan's, but now have a dinner menu, such as steaks and spare ribs. The bar will seat around 20 people, he said. Appointments and resignations 7:…

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Tiverton Schools File Court Complaint Against Town

The disputed $367,000 still sits in the town's general fund.

Adhering to the deadline set by a School Committee vote last week, Tiverton Schools Attorney Stephen Robinson filed a complaint in Newport Superior Court Tuesday morning against the town over monies not returned to their account. The complaint, or writ of mandamus, sets a hearing on the "formal and special clause" calendar for next Thursday, April 12 at 2 p.m., according to Robinson. The schools' move follows a Supreme Court decision not to hear an appeal from the town regarding $367,000 removed from the school department's accounts. The town's appeal, or writ of certiorari, followed a decision from the Board of Regents and education commissioner that the town wrongfully took the money from the schools' accounts. The dispute started in Dec…

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Disputed Tiverton Funding Not Returned; Lawsuit Looms

Instead, the Town Council voted to divide the local school spending figure from the state/federal aid figure on this year's financial town referendum docket.

The Tiverton School Committee demands the town return the disputed $367,000 back to its accounts, following the State Supreme Court's decision not to hear the town's appeal. To date, the town has not informed the schools whether it chooses to comply with decisions already made in the schools' favor by the Board of Regents and the education commissioner. At the School Committee's meeting Tuesday night, they voted 5-0 on two motions, authorizing the school's attorney to take "any and all legal action necessary" to enforce the state's decision against the town's "illegal attempt" to reduce the approved fiscal 2009-10 and fiscal 2010-11 spending plans. "We'll take it one step at a time," said Committee Chairwoman Sally Black on the phone …

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BD

11:00 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Great comeback, Joe. Do you think you can point out ONE of the statements that's a "lie"? Or should we file this comment with your stories about the 12 teachers and the town council making the ARC for the police pension plan? I think it's time for you to start deleting your comments again before you look even more foolish than you already do.   more ›

Tiverton Schools Prevail In $367,000 Funding Dispute

The Rhode Island Supreme Court declined to hear the town's petition for a new ruling on Wednesday.

A judge in the State Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to hear Tiverton's appeal for a ruling in its $367,000 funding dispute with the Tiverton School Committee. According to an email Wednesday night from Craig Berke, spokesman for the Rhode Island Supreme Court, the court rejected the town's appeal, or writ of certiorari, for another ruling and the decision of the lower court stands. Last summer, the Rhode Island Department of Education and education commissioner sided with the schools in the case. The dispute started in Dec. 2010 when then-treasurer Philip DiMattia recommended the Town Council support adjusting $367,000 and placing it in the town's general fund. The town took the position that if there was a decrease in state aid, the …

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Joanne Arruda

10:12 pm on Thursday, March 22, 2012

Mr. Devolve: Yes, and we can thank Chris Spencer, Town Planner for it, before he leaves.   more ›

Tiverton Schools Make Counter Offer To Settle Funding Dispute

The school's attorney says the town's offer was unacceptable and their counter offer remains open until the end of the day Feb. 15.

The Tiverton School Committee voted 5-0 Monday night to send a revised settlement proposal back to the Town Council over the adjusted $367,000 from 2010. A proposal submitted last week to the School Committee from the Town Council stated the town would agree to transfer the disputed $367,000 back into the school's accounts if the funds went toward repairing the district's outdated septic system and the School Committee drop its budget claims for fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2010. On Tuesday, schools attorney Stephen Robinson sent a letter to Town Solicitor Andrew Teitz outlining the counter offer voted on by the School Committee on Monday. He called the town's offer "unacceptable." "We firmly agree that this matter can and ought to be settled …

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