Johnston Budget Goes to Council Tonight

Mayor Joseph Polisena's proposed $93.25-million spending plan is scheduled for a hearing at Municipal Court at 7 pm.

Johnston's budget would reach $93.2 million under Mayor Joseph Polisena's proposal for fiscal 2014, which is scheduled for a hearing tonight at 7 at the Johnston Municipal Court. The proposal represents about a 2.7 percent increase over the fiscal 2013 budget total of $90.7 million. According to the budget ordinance filed at Johnston Town Hall last week, the Johnston School Department's budget would be about $49.7 million, with the same amount as the last five budget years — $37.12 million — provided by the town. Polisena's plan foresees an increase of about $1.1 million in state aid for education in the upcoming fiscal year. This is the earlist date in three years that Polisena has brought his budget plan to the council — last year, the …

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Johnston Schools Closed Tuesday

Classes are cancelled Tuesday, Feb. 12, as the town continues to clean up from the Blizzard of 2013.

Schools are closed in Johnston Tuesday as the town continues to clean up after the blizzard of 2013 dumped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of the town. Most residents have had power restored, but mountains of snow line the street after the worst storm in decades moved through the state Friday and Saturday, forcing students to miss a third straight day of class. Around the state, communities continue to recover from the storm. Beginning Tuesday, the state is dispatching Preliminary Disaster Assessment (PDA) teams to conduct surveys throughout the state, Gov. Lincoln Chafee's office annunced Monday. Teams, comprised of federal, state, and local officials, will visit affected areas to view storm damages firsthand, assess the scope of …

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Johnston Schools Closed Monday

Classes are canceled Monday, Feb. 10.

Kids in Johnston get an extra day to play in the snow, as classes are cancelled Tuesday, Feb. 10, the school department announced Sunday afternoon. While power has been restored to most of Johnston, pockets of the town remain in the dark, after the Blizzard of 2013 dropped more than 20 inches of snow across most of the town Friday and Saturday.  Stick with Johnston Patch for updated information on the storm aftermath as it comes available.

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JohnstonPatch Asks... You Answer

Is There a Bullying Problem in Johnston?

The NBC10 "I-Team" this week reported on a case of bullying at Ferri Middle School — do you think it's an isolated case, or a symptom of a larger problem?

  On Monday, NBC10 reported on the case of a Johnston mom who told the station's "I-Team" that her son had been bullied at Nicholas A. Ferri Middle School — incuding a recent incident where her son wound up at Hasbro Children's Hospital for treatment. Roberta Thompson told reporter Jim Taricani that her son had been the victim of bullying at the school for the "past couple of years," according to NBC10.com. About a week and a half ago, Thompson told Taricani, a 13-year-old student taunted her son and two others blocked his path when he tried to escape. Thompson alleged that the first student then punched her son repeatedly. Johnston Police told NBC10 that they have charged the 13-year-old with simple assault and disorderly conduct and …

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Johnston Schools Closed A Second Day

Town officials made the announcement shortly after 8:30 pm Monday night.

  Students in the Johnston School District will have a second day off today following Hurricane Sandy's sweep through the area on Monday. Johnston School Department Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo confirmed the closure last night just after 8:30 pm. "Our concern going into [this] morning was with the transportation of the students, but also with the teachers coming in, because they drive in from all over," DiLullo explained during a phone interview. St. Rocco School is also closed today. DiLullo said that none of the school buildings were damaged or flooded because of the storm. "We're in good shape, and we should have no problem opening on Wednesday," DiLullo explained. National Grid reported around 300 outages in Johnston as of 9 pm Monday …

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ACLU: 'Not Every Girl Wants to Be Cinderella'

Steve Brown of the ACLU said the father-daughter dance issue is old news in Cranston — Johnston has been hosting family dances for years.

  Steven Brown, director of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Cranston's father-daughter dance ban isn't about state law versus federal law regarding gender discrimination in schools. "The school district was fostering blatant stereotypes that are not allowable in this day in age," Brown said in a telephone interview with CranstonPatch. "Arranging for a dance for girls to go to and a ballgame for boys to go is a tradition that may have worked in the 1950s, but it doesn't necessarily play out the same in 2012." Johnston has been holding "family dances" at local elementary schools for about the last 12 years — what do you think of how the town has handled the issue? Add your comments here. "Not every girl …

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Peter A. Filippi III

9:12 am on Saturday, October 6, 2012

I can only imagine how many parents would take their children out of these liberal conforming ridiculous institutions if they had the chance which vouchers would provide them which would also save $millions annually for every community. I had it with these devious people who have gotten themselves into every critical area of our society for the express purpose of bringing our country down morally…   more ›

Share Your First Day of School Photos

We're looking for the best pics & clips of the kids heading off to school.

  The return of the school year is one of those classic American traditions — and so is the practice of taking photos of the kids on their way to school. If you've got a kid [or kids] attending Johnston schools, JohnstonPatch wants to feature your photos and video from their first day of the 2012-13 school year. Just click the "upload photos and videos" link — and start sharing your best shots!

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[VIDEO] Johnston Officials to Pursue Owners Who Claim Out-of-Town Kids

Mayor Joseph Polisena, school Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo, and town Code Enforcement Officer Peter DelPonte address the issue of non-residents attending local schools.

  This morning at Johnston Town Hall, Mayor Joseph Polisena issued what he termed "a stern warning" to homeowners who claim that out-of-town students are living at their homes: "If you're allowing this, you will pay financially — and you will pay dearly." Polisena announced the town's efforts to identify residential property owners who allow non-Johnston families to claim their homes as residences — and withdraw the town's 20-percent homestead tax exemption and impose a $500-per-day fine on those who are found. The accompanying video includes excerpts from today's press conference, including Polisena, school Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo, and town Code Enforcement Officer Peter DelPonte speaking about the issue. DiLullo explained that the …

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Links to Johnston Bus Routes [UPDATED]

If you need to know when your kids are getting picked up and dropped off from Johnston Schools, here's where to find all of the bus routes.

  Schools in Johnston are scheduled to open next Wednesday, Aug. 29 — here are the links to bus routes provided by First Student. Click on each link to find .pdf documents for schedules for the following schools: Johnston High School and Ferri Middle School Early Childhood Center, Graniteville School, and Johnston elementary schools   St. Rocco, St. Philip, Trinity Christian Academy, and Mount St. Charles Academy. Contact First Student at (401) 944-5880 for more information. Note: Parents of children with doctors' notes or information about who may pick up their students must resubmit this information to First Student.   Update: First Student issued a set of changes to the bus routes on Aug. 28. Click the following link to check whether …

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