Parents and teachers urge Pawtucket committee to approve new roof for Curtis and stop closure talk

Multiple parents and staff used the public-comment portion of the meeting to press the committee to repair Curtis Elementary and remove it from closure consideration.

Jamie DeGrace, a school nurse, told the committee Curtis needs a new roof to prevent leaks in the cafeteria and gym and to preserve family events: "Curtis is a great school for students because we have small classrooms ... a new roof is needed to prevent more leaks in our cafeteria gym where we host many events for families," she said.

Tyler McFeatis, who served on the district's redistricting committee, called Curtis an "anchor of our neighborhood" and asked the committee to "take Curtis off the table by putting the roof on the school," arguing closure rumors were damaging to community confidence.

Diane Rotondo described confusion and concern among parents after past discussion of closures and asked the committee to return the Curtis roof to the agenda; she called the school a valuable neighborhood institution (a 3-star school and former blue-ribbon recipient) and asked the committee to act.

Ashley Siasi, a teacher at Curtis and Pawtucket resident, said she has worked at Curtis for 13 years and urged approval of the roof so families can continue to rely on a safe, modern school building.

What happens next: Committee members and facilities staff later noted they were pursuing funding avenues and that Curtis had no active leaks at the time of the meeting, but several members said they would continue seeking resources to address repairs and agreed to follow up in facilities discussions.

Provenance: public comments (SEG 106—SEG 122, SEG 169—SEG 203, SEG 205—SEG 245, SEG 267—SEG 282).