Middletown School Committee votes not to support Newport regionalization resolution

Chair Greg Hewitt led the Middletown School Committee on Aug. 21 in a vote to not support the City of Newport resolution of Aug. 13, 2025, that called for renewed efforts to regionalize the Middletown and Newport school districts.

In a prepared statement read at the meeting, Chair Greg Hewitt said the committee’s decision reflected concerns about uncertain state funding and the district’s limited capacity to undertake a regionalization effort while school construction and the coming school year demand attention. “Chasing an undetermined, uncertain funding stream with daunting timelines and questionable outcomes … while knowing that approval would ultimately result in the loss of school committee autonomy, is unwise,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt told the committee there is no current or pending Rhode Island legislation guaranteeing the roughly 80% reimbursement rate that regionalization supporters cited in 2022, and that state and federal funding conditions are less certain now than in earlier years. He also noted that Middletown voters approved a bond to build two new schools after the 2022 election and that the district is managing substantial construction and operational tasks tied to those projects.

The committee formally held a hand vote. The motion to support Newport’s resolution received no affirmative votes among committee members present; the meeting record indicates a unanimous decision among voting members to not support the Newport resolution. One member recused from the matter citing a conflict of interest; no vote tally by individual names is recorded in the public transcript.

Hewitt said the superintendent is not authorized to pursue regionalization efforts at this time and that memorandums of agreement or shared services remain possible alternatives the district can pursue without full regionalization.

The vote sends a message to the town council and the public that the school committee will not move forward with regionalization efforts under current circumstances. The committee did not adopt Newport’s resolution and instead directed the superintendent and staff to focus on preparing for the upcoming school year and managing the district’s construction projects and budgets.

Votes at a glance: tally recorded in the meeting minutes shows 0 in favor, 4 opposed among voting members, and 1 recusal; the motion thus failed to gain committee support.

Provenance: The committee discussion and vote were introduced when members moved to consider Newport’s Aug. 13, 2025, resolution and closed with the recorded hand vote and chair’s remarks.