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Community speakers urge Warwick school committee to reconsider principal Jeff Goss’s departure
Summary
Dozens of teachers, staff and community members told the Warwick School Committee on March 11 that Principal Jeff Goss improved safety and school climate at Warwick Veterans Middle School and asked the committee to reverse or reconsider a decision not to renew his contract or a forced resignation.
Dozens of teachers, staff members and parents addressed the Warwick School Committee on March 11 to urge the district to reconsider the decision not to retain Warwick Veterans Middle School Principal Jeff Goss.
Meredith MWI, who identified herself as a teacher and Warwick taxpayer, said the school has had “17 different administrators” since 2016 and credited Goss with creating a safer environment. “We want him — we think he’s doing a good job,” she said, asking the committee to keep him in place.
A statement from the school nurse, read into the record, praised Goss’s leadership and recounted fewer fights and serious injuries since his arrival, describing his disciplinary stance — including suspension and police involvement for physical altercations — as a turning point for safety and staff wellbeing.
Other speakers offered similar testimony. Michael Pierce, a teacher, said the improvement in fights and injury rates was “no coincidence” under Goss’s leadership. Trevor Mroy, who said 123 teachers and staff signed a petition, told the committee that the majority of the building’s staff oppose the principal’s forced resignation. “We just want on record that there is a vast majority of people there that are very devastated that we’re losing a really good guy,” he said.
Educators also pointed to Goss’s role in expanding extracurricular and inclusive programs. Lindsay Guglietta, a special educator, said Goss helped move a Unified Club from after school into the school day, increasing participation to more than 100 students and enabling the club to pursue state recognition.
Speakers asked the committee to consider faculty letters and petitions and to preserve momentum on safety and student programs tied to current leadership. The committee did not take public action on personnel during the March 11 open session; several personnel items had been handled in the meeting’s earlier executive session.
The committee’s next regularly scheduled meeting is April 8; the public was reminded that a special meeting is scheduled March 19 to consider construction bids and design-review packets.
