News Release     

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2010
CONTACT: Giovanni Cicione
(401) 732-8282 

(401) 996-3536

MEDIA ADVISORY:

SPECIAL RIGOP REPORT –

“THE OPPOSITE OF RIGHT PART XI”

WARNING TO CENTRALFALLS: DON’T LET CHAFEE

MONKEY AROUND AT YOUR SCHOOLS

While Central Falls School Superintendent Gallo, with the backing of Education Commissioner Gist, battles with the teachers union leadership in her quest to transform public schools, where the graduation rate is 48% (ProJo 2/11/10), Mr. Chafee wants to mediate differences between the Central Falls Teachers Union and the Central Falls School Board.  In fact, he has offered himself as a mediator based on his experience in resolving the dispute with the Warwick Teachers Union in 1994.  The RIGOP can only say: “For the sake of children of Central Falls, please turn Mr. Chafee’s offer down!”

The RIGOP applauds Superintendent Gallo who has made reasonable requests of the teacher union leadership such as increasing the length of school day by 25 minutes to provide more instructional time for students and formalizing a tutoring schedule so struggling students have extra help for one hour before and after school.  (ProJo 2/11/10).  The problem is that the teacher union leadership just wants more money for what they should be willing to do already.  This is inexcusable when the average teacher in Central Falls is already making over $70,000 not including benefits. 

Instead of condemning the teacher union leadership for putting its needs before the students, Mr. Chafee wants to come in and save the day for the teacher union in Central Falls like he did for the Warwick Teachers Union in 1994, in order to further his political ambitions.  Back in 1994, the Warwick School Committee was fighting “to do away with the pupil weighting system that is used to reduce class size” (ProJo 5/3/94), and was trying to get teachers to “pay up to 20 percent of their health insurance” (ProJo 5/4/94).  Instead, then Mayor Chafee decided to circumvent the Warwick School Committee and agreed with the Warwick Teachers Union to give teachers a 19.4 % pay raise with no health insurance premium co-share while keeping the pupil weighting system in their contract (ProJo 5/3/94).  Although the Providence Journal described this sweetheart deal as "the biggest achievement of his early tenure in City Hall," (ProJo 10/10/2000), a former Warwick School Committee Chairperson was quoted at the time as saying “the city taxpayers could not have done any worse” and that “[e]ven a monkey can manage to give everything away.”  (ProJo 5/3/94 and 5/4/94).  As a result, Warwick spends $4,394 more per pupil than Cranston for similar results (Warwick Beacon 2/16/10), but Chafee got the “favor … returned” with contributions from unions across the state (ProJo 1/6/95).

Superintendent Gallo was showing her devotion to the children when she said: “When I meet with the union leadership, all I hear about are the adult needs, even though I am trying to concentrate on student needs” (ProJo 2/11/10).  When Mr. Chafee meets with the union leadership, all he thinks about is how to satisfy them so he can satisfy his need to be in public office.  Central Falls taxpayers and parents shouldn’t let Mr. Chafee monkey around in their schools in order to further his political ambitions.

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