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Council approves school 'stage 2' submission to state; building committee and residents urge ongoing review
Summary
The council approved the school department's stage 2 submission to the Rhode Island Department of Education to move planned capital projects into the five-year capital-planning process; staff said RIDE review could conclude by November and that emergency projects have separate reimbursement rules.
The Smithfield Town Council approved the school department’s stage 2 construction submission to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), sending a roughly 550-page plan to the state for review and potential approval.
Patrick Furlougall, owner’s project manager with Colliers Project Leaders, said the stage 2 document details how the district intends to address needs identified in an earlier stage 1 application and that the school seeks RIDE review and comment. “That document has been sent to y'all. I think it's 550 ish pages and has the plan for how we plan on addressing the need that was established in the stage 1 application,” Furlougall said.
If RIDE approves the submission, the school would be eligible to move projects into the district’s five-year capital-improvement plan and begin processes such as hiring an architect and a contractor for projects slated to start in 2026. Furlougall and council members emphasized the stage 2 approval does not in itself appropriate annual budget dollars; budgets will continue to be approved year by year.
Council members pressed for clarity about whether approving the stage 2 plan would bind future councils. Furlougall said projects could be deferred to the next five-year plan if priorities shift: if planned projects are pushed off for funding reasons, they would not be permanently ineligible but could be moved to a later plan.
Jessica Sala, vice chair of the school committee, told the council the school building committee reviews projects regularly and posts meeting notes. Outside the meeting, resident and committee member Zach Smith urged the council to prioritize school repairs, saying the district’s 2017 report estimated $25 million in needs and that current costs are higher.
The motion to approve the stage 2 submission passed on a recorded voice vote.
Ending: With RIDE review pending, the district and council will track the state’s comments and, if approved, proceed to incorporate approved projects into the capital plan and subsequent annual budgets.
