It’s going to be a big change to get through the first few weeks of the school year.”

Thomas Kenworthy, school superintendent

PORTSMOUTH — They’ll be no free lunch for students when they report back to school next week.

“One big change for the start of this school year that we’ve been communicating to families is that the federal waiver on school meals has expired,” Superintendent Thomas Kenworthy said at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting, adding that parents have been sent an e-mail reminder of the return to paid meals.

Per federal legislation, all school meals over the last two years — breakfast and lunch — have been free for all students across the country. “That has expired, so this means that school breakfast and lunch will return to the daily charge with the usually exceptions for free or reduced rates for those who qualify,” said the superintendent.

The price for meals range from $1 for breakfast at the two elementary schools (30 cents for those who qualify for a reduced price) up to $2.85 for lunch at the middle and high schools (40 cents at a reduced price). Adults are charged $3.95 for lunch.

The school board has a policy setting the parameters for the purchase of meals, which makes allowances for students whose accounts are low on funds or forgot their money, he said. The policy does have limits for PHS students, but Kenworthy recommended to waive those limits until there’s a School Committee discussion with input from the Health and Wellness and Policy subcommittees. 

“It’s going to be a big change to get through the first few weeks of the school year,” said the superintendent.

Emily Copeland, who chairs the School Committee, said the meals program is used as a calculating factor in the state aid funding formula. “We need to encourage families to fill out the paperwork for the financial benefit, but it would also help the district as well,” she said.

School opening updates

Kenworthy briefly shared with the board other updates regarding the opening of school, which begins on Monday, Aug. 29, for staff; Tuesday, Aug. 30, for kindergarten, fifth- and ninth-grade students; and Wednesday, Aug. 31, for all other students. 

At the last committee meeting, the superintendent reviewed several summer construction projects, such as a new Life Skills Lab at Portsmouth Middle School, an ADA (American With Disabilities Act) bathroom at the high school, new tile flooring and furniture in middle school classrooms, a new water main for Hathaway, and a major asbestos abatement project. 

“All of those projects have been completed,” Kenworthy said. “The one project that has met with some delays is the PHS stadium lights replacement. That is underway as we speak; the contractor is working very hard to get the wrapped up as soon as possible.”

During staff orientation on Monday, the district will be kicking off a training series as it works collaboratively with the Portsmouth Police Department around school safety issues. The keynote speakers, Dr. Eve Loren Goldstein and Danielle Matthew, are experts on social and emotional learning, according to Viveiros. Parents are also welcome to attend a workshop they’ll be leading, “Empowering Your Child Through Social Emotional Learning,” at 6 p.m. Monday in the PHS auditorium.  

Enrollment down, but CTE numbers up

Elizabeth Viveiros, deputy superintendent, reported that expected enrollment student enrollment is down across the board compared to last year, but in some cases fared better than projections by the New England School Development Council (NESDEC).

As of Friday afternoon, the district had 415 students enrolled at Hathaway and 332 at Melville for a total elementary enrollment of 747. That’s fewer than both last year’s enrollment total (759) and the NESDEC projection of 804. “We are still actively registering every single day, so I’m hopeful this number will increase before the start of school,” Viveiros said.

There are 626 students enrolled at the middle school and 816 at the high school — down from last year’s totals (634 and 846), but higher than the NESDEC projections for both schools (614 and 802).

The current total enrollment for the district is 2,189, with 24 pending registrations that would bring that number to 2,213, she said. That’s a decrease of 26 students from the start of school last year. The NESDEC projection for this year is 2,220.

Although general enrollment continues a downward trend, the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at PHS seem to be more popular every year with out-of-district students.

The high school started a CTE program in 2019 and currently has four offerings: The Academy for Education, Child Development, and Human Services; The Academy for Visual Arts and Design; The Academy for Media Communications and Digital Video Production; and The Academy for Engineering Design.

CTE enrollment has increased every year, from 22 out-of-district students paying tuition to attend PHS programs in 2019-20, up to the current number of 39. (Viveiros said there were three additional applications that have been accepted, but the district is still waiting on the registrations.) Students are coming from Middletown, Newport, Tiverton and Bristol/Warren. Meanwhile, the local district sends 15 full-time and 13 part-time students to CTE programs in Newport, she said.

Six children from Prudence Island will be attending schools in the district, plus 79 Little Compton residents going to PHS (down from 95 last year). In addition, one Newport family is paying tuition so their child can attend PHS as a junior, she said. 

So far, 59 students will be homeschooled, compared to 106 last year. The district is still waiting on some notifications, however. “That number will probably increase by at least 10 to 15,” Viveiros said.

Hiring on track

Kenworthy said that staff hiring is “on track” for all positions, despite the challenges faced by administrators both locally and nationally to find enough qualified professionals. “Mental health support positions are proving particularly challenging to fill, so we’re working hard to fill our last remaining areas in those areas,” he said.

Trezvant out for now

The district received word a few weeks ago that Athletic Director Stephen Trezvant will be out for an “undetermined amount of time,” Kenworthy said. A temporary replacement has been found, however.

“We recently brought on recently retired Tiverton Athletic Director Bob Murray, and he has decided to stay on to help out in Mr. Trezvant’s absence,” he said.

The fall athletic season will soon be getting underway. Kenworthy listed the following upcoming home games at PHS:

• Wednesday, Sept. 7: Boys’ junior-varsity and varsity soccer teams vs. Cumberland

• Thursday, Sept. 8: Girls’ varsity tennis team vs. Cumberland

• Friday, Sept. 9: PHS varsity football team hosts North Kingstown

Upcoming meetings

The School Committee will next meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14; and Tuesday, Sept. 27.