Newport Public Schools Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain joined What’sUpNewp owner and publisher Ryan Belmore and editor Frank Prosnitz on Wednesday afternoon for her penultimate monthly conversation before her June 30 retirement — a wide-ranging discussion dominated by the district’s deepening budget crisis, possible facility restructuring, and personnel changes at the top of Rogers High School.
The conversation came hours before the Newport City Council was set to hold the second reading of the FY2027 budget at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A $3.8M deficit and a state-mandated reduction plan
In a weekly update sent to families during the conversation, Jermain pegged the projected deficit for the 2026-2027 school year at roughly $3.8 million — well above the $2 million figure she shared in her April 30 update. The city has budgeted a 4% increase for schools next year, about $1.1 million, leaving a $2.7 million gap that does not allow the district to recall any of the 17 teachers it has laid off.
A separate $2.8 million deficit in the current fiscal year has triggered a state requirement that Newport file a deficit reduction plan with the Rhode Island Auditor General. In her written update, Jermain said the plan, developed in collaboration with the School Committee, City Council and individual schools, “calls for cost saving measures including the potential closure of Thompson Middle School while consolidating grade levels between Pell Elementary and Rogers High School.”
During the on-camera conversation, Jermain walked through what the restructuring could look like over time, framing it around the facility utilization data in the recently released Rhode Island Department of Education Facility Condition Assessments. She said the data shows Pell at roughly 78% utilization and Thompson in the range of 49% to 59% — significant capacity if grade levels are consolidated.
Fifth grade will remain at Pell for the 2027-2028 school year — the School Committee voted to delay the planned move, citing the transition to a new superintendent. Eventually, she said, sixth grade could also move to Pell, with seventh and eighth grades shifting to the new Rogers High School building. The district estimates the consolidation would save $300,000 to $370,000 annually and create opportunities to expand career exploration and hands-on learning into the middle grades.
“Nothing is definite,” Jermain emphasized. “These are just ideas for possible restructuring for going forward.”
She noted the city currently rents office space for some of its departments and that Thompson could potentially serve other municipal uses or operate as a part-time school.
Jermain framed the underlying problem as larger than Newport. “The bigger conversation needs to be about how are we going to fund our schools — and not just Newport, it’s all over the state and the country,” she said. “Public schools are dying on a vine in the sense of declining enrollment, less funding and availability for all families.”
17 layoffs, but Jermain “hopeful” on tonight’s meeting
Jermain confirmed the district notified 17 teachers of layoffs — a number she said is not unusually high but skews toward newer teachers in their first or second year. She said the City Council and administration “have been very supportive and are trying to work with us,” and expressed hope that Wednesday’s meeting would surface ideas to bring some teachers back.
She returned to a familiar frustration: timing. “It’s a $50 million-plus business, and you literally find out your budget one week before the new fiscal year,” she said.
On the underlying funding formula, Jermain said she believes RIDE supports a shift toward a needs-based approach. She pointed to Rhode Island’s “high-needs special education” reimbursement, which she described as a fixed pot of money split among more claimants each year, in contrast to Massachusetts, which reimburses at a much higher rate.
Vance not returning; Monahan to Portsmouth
Jermain confirmed for the first time that former Rogers High School Principal Jared Vance, placed on leave earlier this year following the locker room incident investigation, will not return to the district.
She also confirmed that acting Principal Michael Monahan — who stepped in for Vance — was appointed Portsmouth High School principal Tuesday evening, effective July 1. “He stepped in at a very difficult time here at Rogers, and he’s done an amazing job,” Jermain said.
The district reposted the Rogers principal opening Wednesday morning to keep it open longer. The School Committee will determine when to move forward on the hire.
Regionalization timeline slips
Jermain said she has seen no indication that legislation enabling a Newport-Middletown school merger will move in June, and the earliest realistic timeline now appears to be 2027. Asked by Belmore about reports that Middletown is leaning “no,” she said both districts are focused on their own pressing issues and that public sentiment may have shifted as funding and enrollment pressures mount.
Belmore noted the slip complicates the interim superintendent search currently underway. Jermain agreed — and floated the possibility that the Newport School Committee could move as soon as this fall to search for a permanent superintendent rather than a one-year interim. Interviews for the interim role took place last week; Jermain said she is not involved in that process.
Twelve years in her hometown
Asked by Prosnitz to reflect on a dozen years leading the district she grew up in, Jermain didn’t shy from the difficulty of the assignment.
“Some people might call that insanity, especially if you’re going to continue to live there,” she said. She recalled writing her own parents a letter early in her tenure to end a longstanding healthcare commitment for retirees — the kind of “legacy issue,” she said, that had to be addressed to move the district forward.
Her advice for the incoming superintendent, when asked what note she’d leave in the desk: “Do the best you can. Call me if you need anything.”
Jermain said she plans to take time off and see “what new adventures come along,” joking about an island with no internet.
Bright spots
The conversation also touched on student achievements. Rogers’ band, orchestra and chorus recently finished third in a New England competition in Pennsylvania involving 35 to 50 schools, an outcome Jermain credited to music director Richard Stanley, Ms. Johnson, Thompson’s Don Chilton and a strong pipeline from the middle school. She also highlighted Rogers’ continued participation in the Project Playhouse program — a Make-a-Wish-affiliated build that brings together construction technology, art and advertising/design media students. This year’s playhouse is Hot Wheels-themed.
Calendar and what’s next
- Tonight, 6:30 p.m. — Newport City Council, FY27 budget second reading, City Hall
- May 29-30, 7 p.m. — Rogers & Middletown Theater Company presents Chicago, Rogers High School auditorium, $10
- June 9, 6:30 p.m. — Newport School Committee, Pell Elementary
- June 11, 6 p.m. — Rogers High School graduation, Toppa Field
- June 24, 1:30 p.m. — Jermain’s final monthly conversation with What’sUpNewp
- June 26 — Last day of school for students
- June 30 — Jermain’s last day as superintendent
