These are challenging times for superintendents of schools.
From Pawtucket to Chariho to Newport, superintendents have been under fire from school committees, teachers’ unions, and residents. Jobs have been threatened, some superintendents have either left or been replaced, and others have been subjected to angry public disputes that have impugned their integrity, and that have sometimes resulted in votes of no confidence by their local teachers’ unions.
In some districts, they’ve been questioned whether they are teaching Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in their classrooms. In at least one case, a town councilor made the accusation, and when invited by the superintendent to see for themselves, never accepted the invitation.
East Greenwich and Pawtucket have interim superintendents, Lincoln’s superintendent is leaving, and while North Kingstown is in its second year of a permanent superintendent, who follows a series of several interims.
Alexis Meyer, who had served as East Greenwich Superintendent for two years, is being brought back as an interim, after Brian Ricca, who faced a no-confidence vote, has been on leave since late February and accepted a settlement that pays him nearly $100,000. In Pawtucket, Randy Buck is the interim, and in Lincoln Dr. Laurence Filippelli is stepping down in June for a much more lucrative position at a Connecticut private school.
The latest superintendent to face controversy comes at a school system rated highly by the state and U.S. News and World Report. Chariho High School was recognized by the magazine as the 10th best high school out of 58 in Rhode Island. On the Rhode Island Department of Education’s report card one elementary school achieved the highest rating of five stars, two others were rated with four stars, the high school four stars and the middle school and an elementary school three stars.
But at a recent School Committee meeting, the board voted seven to five against renewal of Superintendent Gina Picard’s contract to add an additional year that would extend the contract to 2028. This was after a change to a Republican controlled committee. Coincidentally, Picard is also a member of the North Providence School Committee and is a Democrat.
And now, Superintendent of Schools Gina Picard is under fire. The school committee, which recently saw a turnover to a Republican Party majority, rejected her request for a contract extension to 2028. Her current contract expires in 2027.
In explaining her vote not to extend Picard’s contract, School Committee Chair Louise Dinsmore, a Republican reportedly said that her vote (opposed to the contract extension) was “in no way a reflection of my lack of confidence in the Superintendent or her team and shouldn’t be interpreted that way. Two+ years is a fair amount of time to demonstrate growth, stronger results and achieving stretch goals. My vote reflected my being an objective observer, challenging the CEO and her team to reach for the stars.”
She also reportedly said that “Since being appointed to the School Committee and being elected as Chair, I am enormously grateful to the Superintendent and her team for helping me navigate this challenging leadership position. Gina and her team have been accessible, responsive, and quite helpful.”
The two-year reference is somewhat puzzling since Picard has been superintendent for five years, and the school system is apparently in high regard, as reflected by the U.S. News and World Report and RIDE’s report card.
Those results have come as the system faces significant challenges. The elementary schools are approaching a century old. They are dealing with mold and water issues, and at one school some students attend classes in a trailer. A $150 million school bond was defeated in 2024 that would have funded the construction of three new elementary schools. The school district is again preparing to go through the process, but this time without the advantage of certain incentives that expired last June and that could cost the system millions of dollars in state construction aid.
The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council also just listed Chariho among 10 school systems that receive less than a 2 percent increase in local financial support. This year, the budget increase is 0.67 percent. That report also says that between fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2023, state aid grew three times faster than local contributions throughout the state.
The vote by the school committee has left Picard questioning her future and she says she’s now weighing her options.
