The Newport School Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday night during a special meeting to retain the NACTC building, ensuring the continuation of career technical education programs that serve as vital pathways for students.
The committee approved a plan to keep the Newport Area Career and Technical Center building operational at a cost of approximately $300,000, rather than demolishing it as originally planned in the Rogers High School construction project.
“This is low-lying fruit for this project. Up to what, $120 million. We’re talking about $300,000 to save a building in two programs. I mean this is an easy decision,” said James Dring, committee chair, during Wednesday’s special meeting at Pell Elementary School.
The decision preserves space for automotive technology and cosmetology programs that would otherwise have been displaced, while potentially providing future administrative office space.
Committee members expressed concerns about funding the retention, with some questioning where the $300,000 would come from. School officials explained the money could come from allowances in the construction budget or the district’s fund balance.
“We know that if we have to, we can pay for it out of our education fund that we set aside that could be used,” explained committee member Becky Bolan. “We just feel like we have to either get going or cancel this.”
The committee also approved sending a communication to the City Council informing them of the decision while emphasizing they are not requesting additional funding from the city.
Donald Osborne, former CEO of the Audrain Group and consulting director for the Audrain Automobile Museum, spoke in support of maintaining the automotive program.
“In my experience around the country and indeed around the world, it is so incredibly important that trades like this be sustained,” Osborne told the committee. “The ability to solve, identify and solve problems, whether they do it in the automotive space or in anything else in life, is incredibly invaluable.”
He emphasized that the skills learned in such programs prepare students for meaningful careers with good earning potential, not just as automotive technicians but in various technical fields.
David de Muzio, executive director and chief curator of the Audrain Automobile Museum, also addressed the committee, sharing his personal experience with vocational education.
“I went to a vocational high school. I would not have graduated high school if it wasn’t for a vocational program,” de Muzio said. “It gave me a lot of confidence, it gave me hand skills that got me into the workplace and it took me all sorts of places I never would have imagined.”
The Audrain representatives indicated their organization’s interest in supporting the program and potentially helping with fundraising efforts.
Committee member Dr. Power shared a personal connection to the program, explaining how the automotive technology program at Rogers High School helped his nephew after a family tragedy.
“Auto Tech was the program that kind of kept him in line and got him through school,” Dr. Power said. “He was a kid who scored in the 95th percentile. He was a kid that could easily go to a lot of other schools, do lots of other things, but he was disconnected.”
While some committee members expressed a preference for having all career tech programs under one roof in the new Rogers High School building, they acknowledged the financial realities that make that impossible.
Committee member Stephanie Winslow raised concerns about the source of funding, noting that the district already faces budget challenges.
“I’m just concerned about what else would be cut. I’d have to know what else would be cut,” she said before ultimately voting in favor of the retention.
The committee also discussed the potential for the building to house new educational programs in the future that could attract tuition-paying students from surrounding communities.
“If we have that building, it gives us space to do some new programming in there,” Dr. Power explained. “We’ve come to recognize that there are some potential for us to create some programs that we literally could take some of the top students in the area, and I’m talking about North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Jamestown, and attract them to Rogers High School.”
School officials noted that retaining the building is more cost-effective than alternatives such as renting trailers for office space or finding off-site locations for the displaced programs, which could cost upwards of $500,000.
The committee’s decision comes just ahead of a March 1 deadline, after which the project would face significant delays if not approved.
Following the vote on the NACTC building, the committee moved into executive session to discuss employee matters, collective bargaining, and litigation issues.
Watch The Meeting
