Letter to the editor

Affordability

As Richmond School Committee candidates, we have offered a bold platform of “All ‘A’s” for Chariho”. Our ‘A’s’ are Academic Excellence, Affordability, Accountability and Academic Transparency. Our vision is for Chariho to be THE BEST school district in Rhode Island. Based on our financial investment, we should be the best — setting the standard for academic excellence.

The focus of this letter is affordability — an essential “A” in our “All ‘A’s’” platform.

Our Chariho school system is well-funded. Eighty percent of our property taxes in Richmond goes to support our $70 million “all-in” school budget. Funding our public schools is important. While funding is critical, we must also be mindful of the taxpayers that make this investment in our community. Our property taxes must be affordable. We promise to hold the line on the property taxes that fund the district.

How is this possible? First, we will focus on attracting out-of-district students to our exceptional Career and Tech program. Our vision statement references our goal of marketing Chariho Tech as the best Career and Tech program in Rhode Island. We have a gem in that program preparing students for employment. Since we are down over 1,000 students from our peak enrollment, we certainly have the space to expand Chariho Tech. And out-of-district enrollment will help support the school budget without additional taxes from Richmond residents. Second, we will benchmark against other school systems and bring our spending in line, by category, within state and regional norms. With some thoughtful and smart choices, we can make Richmond property taxes affordable. We value our Chariho School District and we value the taxpayers who fund the district.

We must find the balance in being the best school district in Rhode Island while being affordable to local Richmond taxpayers.

For more information about our entire campaign platform, and to review our campaign videos, (with more to be released soon), we invite you to visit DinsmoreJohnson.com.