The Middletown Town Council and School Committee will hold a joint meeting in the coming weeks to discuss Newport’s recent invitation to restart school regionalization conversations, according to the Town of Middletown.
During Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting, officials emphasized that agreeing to the discussion should not be interpreted as endorsing or rejecting regionalization. Instead, they want to gather all relevant information before making a decision on Newport’s three-part proposal.
“I think we should meet with our School Department and lay everything out on the table and see which direction you want to go,” said Council President Paul M. Rodrigues, who requested the item be added to Tuesday’s agenda.
The meeting comes after the Newport City Council and school board revived regionalization discussions over the summer. Last month, Newport’s City Council passed a resolution asking Middletown to take three specific actions:
— Appoint local representatives to an Academic Integration Advisory Commission — Participate in a meeting between both city councils to discuss creating an endowment fund using additional state reimbursement money from regionalization — Hold a regionalization summit including both councils and school committees with the Rhode Island Department of Education
The proposal creates tension with the Middletown School Committee’s recent unanimous decision on Aug. 21 not to reopen regionalization talks with Newport. The committee also prohibited Superintendent Billy Niemeyer and his staff from spending time on the subject.
Regionalization has been a recurring topic between the two communities for more than two decades. Most recently, Middletown voters overwhelmingly approved regionalization plans in November 2022, but Newport voters narrowly rejected the proposal.
Council Vice President Thomas Welch III supported the upcoming joint meeting, calling it important for officials to discuss the matter internally before engaging with Newport.
“I absolutely do want to speak to the School Committee,” Welch said. “I think it’s shortsighted for us … when we haven’t discussed it amongst ourselves.”
Town Clerk Wendy J.W. Marshall will coordinate with School Committee Chairperson Greg Huet to schedule the meeting. Assistant Town Solicitor Michael Monti indicated most of the discussion would need to occur in public, though some components could be eligible for executive session.
A specific date for the council-school board meeting has not been set.
