School Improvement Bonds: Why Fix the Roofs?

On Nov. 6's Town of Coventry Election Ballot, residents will have the opportunity to vote on six bond items that will affect the school department, five of which (#9-13) have been reviewed and approved by the RI Department of Education. RIDE will reimburse the Town of Coventry 48.3% on each of these five bond items if approved. (This is a one-time offer that will not be presented again in the future if the items are not approved.)

If approved, Bond Item #9 ($5 million) would provide new roofs for Coventry High School, Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School, Blackrock, Western Coventry and Tiogue elementary schools. As well as a partial roof replacement for Hopkins Hill Elementary School. It is important to note that if the roof at Coventry High School is not replaced, the school may lose its accreditation by 2015, an event that would greatly reduce property values within Coventry. Click here for more information about this.

If this bond is passed, the largest portion of the funds ($2,252,000) will go towards replacing Coventry High School's roof. The school department has paid in excess of $127,000 over the past two years just to patch faulty areas. 

Here is an itemized list of specific roof repairs for each school:

Coventry residents are invited to attend an informational meeting explaining the bond items on Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. at Coventry High School.

Click here to visit the school district's bond information website. 

Here is a brief introduction to all of the requested school bond items.