[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74,86],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},"mediaId",6687702,"mediaKeyId","3459116-5b96baeec62f6a5fa9b95cf30057e97e","parentId",3459116,"title","Cumberland committee approves 10 resolutions, renews food service option and approves $209,011.39 in payments","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",4337000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3459116-5b96baeec62f6a5fa9b95cf30057e97e&start=4337&end=4337","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3459116-5b96baeec62f6a5fa9b95cf30057e97e/thumbnail_4337000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6687702/Cumberland/School-Districts/Rhode-Island/Cumberland-committee-approves-10-resolutions-renews-food-service-option-and-approves-20901139-in-payments","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6687702-24827852579ef95353101ac6eb634bc1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771185185&Signature=eNI0sNHHgfSrDqFM7YO~TtjxdOkej6QMkttjLBdDMG9MuvMjuSjmIhni78BayiFlPp69~npZtjrPYRK-e52r~TCUznHLEvFkc7v9y8yw22KaAPYyrcej3Vf03fILFM3FSralptPy66wrO4XZ2JaWL2vbR~2ri8pPQG-PKuJQvSAQewU~HfpbqbLMG0Z~LEIcAGDGyTiOzhzQlaM6dcm4zlCN5z6UYSHmoxwBTX3TMTqycSSHGIxe8KYhb1bYxUsFJyL1-HCoeDEX1uUNGS1KQLHD2I1XbtdvNC~-1ocNiDH8oyW36jzmPSMlDjrAJk4RkkjNEgd64VaeDH2b5mybZw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Cumberland","date","2025-05-22T23:00:56Z","article","The Cumberland School Committee approved 10 resolutions on the evening's agenda and authorized payments totaling $209,011.39.

Miss Smith, reporting from the fiscal management subcommittee, moved passage of the full slate of resolutions listed as SCPR‑052025‑39 through SCPR‑052025‑48; the motion was seconded by Michael Dean and passed on a 7-0 vote. The slate included routine fiscal and operational resolutions discussed earlier at the fiscal subcommittee meeting, which had recommended approval by a 3-0 vote.

Among the items Smith highlighted was the district’s annual food service contract option with Chartwells. Smith told the committee that the district signed the contract last year and that the yearly option must be renewed annually; Chartwells presented financial data to the committee and noted that, although the guarantee was lower for the coming year, the company was exceeding this year’s guarantee. The committee did not change terms at the meeting; members approved the renewal option as presented.

The committee also approved payment of bills in the amount of $209,011.39 by a 7-0 vote after the fiscal subcommittee recommended approval. Several other routine actions were recorded by voice vote, each passing unanimously earlier in the meeting: approval of the consent agenda (minutes and routine items), approval of homeschool-instruction requests for the 2024–25 school year, and a vote to seal the minutes of an executive session (vote recorded 7-0). The committee appointed Miss Shay as the building committee member for the BF Norton construction project and also realigned committee assignments (the chair noted that, with Shay taking that role, another member would assume the achievement and communications subcommittee chair responsibilities).

All resolutions and the payment authorization were recorded as passing 7-0 on the floor. No executive session was required at the end of the meeting and the committee adjourned at 8:16 p.m.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Cumberland School Committee 5/22/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Cumberland School Committee approved a slate of 10 resolutions (SCPR-052025-39 through -48), including the annual Chartwells food service contract renewal option, and approved payment of bills totaling $209,011.39; multiple routine agenda items also passed unanimously.","taxTitle","Cumberland, School Districts, Rhode Island","taxId",73254,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_46":80,"_48":81,"_50":82,"_52":83,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":84,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":85,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6687707,"Committee declines to move forward with separate climate survey after members cite existing state SurveyWorks data",1521,2424000,3945000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3459116-5b96baeec62f6a5fa9b95cf30057e97e&start=2424&end=3945","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3459116-5b96baeec62f6a5fa9b95cf30057e97e/thumbnail_2424000.jpg","/articles/6687707/Cumberland/School-Districts/Rhode-Island/Committee-declines-to-move-forward-with-separate-climate-survey-after-members-cite-existing-state-SurveyWorks-data","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6687707-c5b76bc5efee2aafc8521fce5e3aeb3c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771185185&Signature=cUL~3Qn3ZydeLJboiXHn6agY30QQMthvWAJuh-yetLnCtFirgZ9dXhdakyziADI50sBUIWDWC9iK9yF--tWXOUfPwPu~uoVGIcCAxAm7ugnuEUc9yo-9KSC7GgTpayFreQgmwQM5apsJbjlVIjlKYIfWGUzl5T1ZI4TpbBlHV5emooXrPbdiVX9XqKp~ScfO3T8DsnIam~E9zV37NCaXaBSHvEazjgSzUQZNGE8MpkmXPK6W0576GXANWiYXNpPY5HAxGTwK2ngHVw34xtZIPG9PAYTLxhi~08Mud285mRjYEvTZ9PXR7jd0KEQQh47vZ1s3FW~obaOQmFarkKaRJQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Cumberland School Committee voted down a motion to move forward with a separate, paid culture and climate survey, with the motion failing 2-5.

Committee member Michael Dean moved that the committee proceed with a climate survey; the motion was seconded by Michael Bacon. Speakers spent more than an hour discussing whether the district’s existing data from SurveyWorks (the state’s Panorama Education administration) already meets the committee’s needs and whether a separate vendor-based survey was necessary.

Superintendent Dr. Thornton and district administrator (Mr.) DiMona described SurveyWorks’ scope: the state survey is free to districts, runs annually (typically January 21–March 31), and covers several respondent groups and topic areas. The district’s responses for the most recent administration included roughly 1,000 elementary-grade students (grades 3–5), about 2,000 students in grades 6–12, approximately 300 teacher responses (about a 65% response rate), and some 570 family responses. Support-staff responses were lower (78 recorded responses in the district’s data). SurveyWorks is published through Panorama Education; the district made school-level results available on RIDE’s portal and internally for principals.

Members opposed to commissioning a separate paid survey said the state tool already provides a deep data set, that there are psychometric controls in SurveyWorks (question design and consistency checks), and that the committee should review existing SurveyWorks outputs and school-improvement analysis before approving additional expense. Supporters of a separate survey said a targeted climate instrument could ask questions specific to staff concerns (retaliation and whistleblower claims were mentioned by one member) and offer the committee a confidential, district-administered instrument tailored to locally prioritized questions.

When put to a vote the motion to move forward with the separate climate survey failed 2-5. Members recorded in the negative included Shay, Feather, Smith, Goldstein and the committee chair; the transcript records a 2-5 defeat and does not list all names for yes votes explicitly. The committee discussed options including: (1) reviewing SurveyWorks results in an upcoming subcommittee or committee meeting; (2) identifying specific gaps and then deciding whether to purchase a targeted vendor survey; and (3) asking administration for an administrative report that disaggregates Panorama/SurveyWorks results by teacher, support staff, school, and demographic subgroup.","A motion to commission a separate culture and climate survey failed 2-5 after members debated whether the state-run SurveyWorks (Panorama Education) already provides relevant data and whether additional expense or duplication is warranted.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_46":92,"_48":93,"_50":94,"_52":95,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":96,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":97,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6687711,"Cumberland school committee rejects motion to unseal executive-session minutes, 2-5",889,1805000,2694000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3459116-5b96baeec62f6a5fa9b95cf30057e97e&start=1805&end=2694","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3459116-5b96baeec62f6a5fa9b95cf30057e97e/thumbnail_1805000.jpg","/articles/6687711/Cumberland/School-Districts/Rhode-Island/Cumberland-school-committee-rejects-motion-to-unseal-executive-session-minutes-2-5","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6687711-88ebf3ddf14bf9554897f067dfb35f5e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771185185&Signature=cbPEgJ6TeogDhXR1FgVgRyuzkkPj4ZwqKQRUyeUIw2SBi-QZTqy2xMYneNbXEcF24POKCldfyjQ3gm3ZwghpDyD9pXHaU7XKJTQ4A0ckjM0JJvTLHPePxoIwopCFrX5CmkIwbsGLkiuhjNoOaX-~niKMtl9s4ZGdJ0zeVDuNde5rXVAU9W49oUhgZszfsYb4q8xaqwh9XyN0H4k5Hm7jyC2h1MMPEu9a1GrySeZX1CsF~DLeQqz-KQGlYGXguH9~073Z1AVozfvkgEOwB0Eiy4iW18dRPh5JoQ-8QVJqEHv8yRZ832OakfEIlEzm0M-b-SXu-k46ne9a7fIaHgZVCg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Cumberland School Committee considered a motion to unseal executive-session minutes that members said may no longer meet statutory exemptions, but the motion failed 2-5.

Members debated guidance the committee received from the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office and from an OMA (Open Meetings Act) training attended earlier in the spring. Committee member Michael Dean moved to “unseal all the executive minutes that are no longer bound by the exemptions.” The motion was seconded by Michael Bacon. Committee members then took a roll-call style count; the motion failed by a 2-5 vote.

Supporters of unsealing cited attorney general guidance that minutes sealed while litigation, property negotiations, or investigations are pending should be unsealed once the reason for sealing no longer applies and that, where possible, public bodies should disclose reasonably segregable portions after redaction. Dean said the committee had requested guidance in March and that the AG’s office favored transparency and advised unsealing when exemptions no longer apply.

Members opposing immediate unsealing argued that many executive session topics remain legitimately exempt under state law, including ongoing litigation, school security, personnel, and student privacy. Committee member (and attorney) William Adams emphasized that sealed executive-session minutes are exempt from the Access to Public Records Act while sealed and that revealing negotiation strategy or security-related discussion can harm the public interest. Members also noted that some exemptions—security, student records, or attorney–client communications—may never properly lapse.

The committee did not unseal any minutes as a result of the vote. The transcript records the negative votes as from members Shay, Feather, Smith, Goldstein and Vogel; Dean’s motion and Bacon’s second were recorded but did not carry. The committee discussed a process to review executive minutes one by one to determine where redaction followed by unsealing would be appropriate when applicable.

The matter may return to a future meeting after staff and legal counsel prepare a more detailed review of specific sealed minutes and identify which files, if any, could be released after required redactions.","A majority of the Cumberland School Committee voted against a motion to unseal executive-session minutes no longer covered by exemptions, after a lengthy discussion about Open Meetings Act guidance and privacy exemptions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Cumberland committee approves 10 resolutions, renews food service option and approves $209,011.39 in payments

Committee declines to move forward with separate climate survey after members cite existing state SurveyWorks data

Cumberland school committee rejects motion to unseal executive-session minutes, 2-5