Latest news with #DanMcKee
BBC News
17 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Special educational needs school leavers working as classroom assistants
Classroom assistants Dan McKee and Savanna Presho are both aged 20 and have Down's with 22-year-old Ben McCreight, who has a learning disability, they are working hard to make a positive difference to pupils at two primary schools in Bangor, County and Ben work as classroom assistants in Clandeboye Primary School, while Savanna works in Bloomfield Primary principal of Bloomfield PS, Rebecca Bishop, told BBC News NI that Savanna "brings out the best in our pupils." BBC News NI visited the school to see her at work in the school's polytunnel, helping the pupils learn about how to grow flowers, plants and also works with pupils in the school's nurture unit and P1, supporting the teacher."She's fitted in here like she's part of the furniture," Ms Bishop told BBC News NI."Savanna comes in here and just enjoys being part of our everyday."She brings that natural empathy which all children have within them, and that willingness to engage and to work with new people."It's nice for them to see somebody different coming into school and have that opportunity to shine with their own personalities." Just over a third of people with disabilities in Northern Ireland are in work, compared with more than half in the rest of the to the Department for the Economy (DfE), adults with disabilities in Northern Ireland are twice as likely to be unemployed as those without a disability. Making a difference At Clandeboye Primary School, principal Julie Thomas says Dan and Ben working in the school every Monday had made a difference to said he loved the children and staff in the school and looked forward to work every Monday."We help the kids doing PE and after that doing some work," he Thomas added: "Dan and Ben have been working with P1 and in our nurture room, The Nest, to help support the children with their practical activities and their social activities and also their time outside in the playground."Within a very short time, we've seen their confidence grow."They have grown in how they're seen within the building."They've made really good relationships with the staff as well as the children and we just see them as part of our staff now in Clandeboye Primary School." At Clandeboye, Dan and Ben were role models, Ms Thomas said."With us working now fully with children who have additional needs, I think it's important for the families of those children to see that there are other experiences once the children go beyond school life themselves and on into adulthood," she said. SEN support Parents and school principals have highlighted how support for young people with special educational needs (SEN) ends when they leave have campaigned for to change that and introduce statutory support until the age of is a situation that Robert McGowan runs Strides Day Opportunity Service in Bangor, which provides work experience and other classes for young adults who have come through special education. Mr McGowan arranged Dan, Ben and Savanna's placements as classroom assistants with the two primary schools."Dan started in special education as a boy of maybe five or six, so he's had 13 or 14 years in special education," he said."Then the provision stops. Once they reach the adult sector, there seems to be a gap there."All that effort, all that consistency, all that time that's been spent that can ease off and almost dry up."Mr McGowan also said it was important to provide "meaningful" work experience for young adults with disabilities.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Median sales price of single family homes in R.I. surpasses $500,000 for the first time
Advertisement The median sales price of multifamily homes also reached a new record at $590,000, marking the first time the median sales prices of both single family and multifamily homes topped half a million dollars in the Ocean State. The median price of condominiums, meanwhile, reached $390,000, up from $350,000, last year. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up The spring housing market is typically active in Rhode Island, but this year was particularly hot, according to Whitten. He attributed all the activity to a 'holding on effect:' Homeowners who snagged incredibly-low mortgage interest rates during the COVID pandemic and held onto them finally let them go, and re-entered the market. 'There's more buyers, and with the more buyers and still semi-limited listings, they were fighting with each other, and that brings up the value, the median price,' he said. Advertisement The new tier of pricing arrives as Rhode Island has struggled to lower housing costs. US Census Bureau data released last month showed In April, Governor Dan McKee's administration laid out 'The rest of the nation is starting to ease up on their inventory crisis that they had at the beginning of the pandemic, where we haven't put a dent in that, and that's leading to skyrocketing prices,' Whitten said. Last year, state lawmakers 'If we're not building enough, we're just going to see these prices go up and up until people, sadly, are forced to leave Rhode Island because they can't afford it anymore,' Whitten said. 'And … we're extremely scared where that future is headed.' Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
House passes $14.4B state budget with tax on vacation homes, money for doctors
A $14.3 billion Rhode Island budget for next year won House passage Tuesday, June 17 with a new tax on high end vacation homes and a financial boost for health care providers. The budget passed 66 to 9 after almost three hours of debate. It now moves to the state Senate. The tax and spending plan for the year starting July 1 is around $120 million more than Gov. Dan McKee proposed in January and $370 million more than the current year budget. Republican Rep. Marie Hopkins of Warwick and independent Rep. Jon Brien of Woonsocket joined all House Democrats in support of the budget. House leaders refused the pleas of progressives to raise income taxes on wealthy Rhode Islanders, but heading into the year facing a $250 million deficit sought revenue in other places, particularly high-end real estate. With that money lawmakers propose a long-sought increase in Medicaid reimbursements rates, specifically $45 million for primary care practices, $38 million for hospitals and $12 million for nursing homes. "These people and places touch us all. We must protect them," House Finance Committee Chairman Marvin Abney told colleagues about the rate increases while introducing the budget. But the tax increases, including a tax on second homes worth more than $1 million and dubbed the "Taylor Swift tax," drew opposition from the real estate industry, Republicans and a small number of more conservative Democrats. In response, House Democratic leaders agreed to index the "Taylor Swift tax" to inflation. The point at which home sales would be charged at a higher rate in real estate conveyance tax, now $800,000, was also amended to be indexed to inflation. The inflation adjustment was requested by the House Republican caucus. After the vote House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi told reporters that the intent of budget writers had always been to adjust the taxes to reflect the cost of living, but ran out of time when the budget was unveiled June 10. However, those changes were not enough to convert all opposition to support. Cranston Democratic Rep. Charlene Lima was the most vocal opponent of the "Taylor Swift tax," arguing that the owners of million-dollar second homes aren't all bona fide "millionaires," but average everyday folks whose family vacation home happened to appreciate past seven figures. She proposed an amendment that would have only started taxing properties worth more than $2 million. "This is not a Taylor Swift tax. This is the mom and pop tax," Lima said. "The house has been in their family for decades. Now that house might be worth a million dollars, but that does not mean that these mom and pops are millionaires ... you're hurting real people." Rep. Lauren Spears, D-Charlestown, said she was concerned that million-dollar short-term rentals would be exempt from the tax as long as they were occupied more than half the year. Rep. Katherine Kazarian, D-East Providence, argued that no matter when they bought the property, the owners of million-dollar second homes are not struggling. "I think for many of us, a million dollars is a lot of money to spend on a primary home, much less a second home," Kazarian said. "And I think as many people have stated, if you own a second home that is valued at a million dollars, you can pay a little bit more in taxes." Lima's amendment was defeated 17 to 56. Burrillville Republican Rep. Jason Place objected more to the budget's proposed extension of the state sales tax to parking and the tax on nicotine pouches. "I think those are regressive to working people coming down to the city of Providence," Place said. The budget also increases the local hotel tax from 1% to 2%. House Republicans reserved their strongest words for Attorney General Peter Neronha and his decision to direct most of the proceeds of an $11 million settlement with 6-10 interchange contractor Barletta Heavy Division to children's dental care instead of letting lawmakers decide where it should go. A section of state law added just two years ago says that settlement proceeds other than recovered attorneys fees need to go the state general fund for appropriation by the General Assembly. Rep. Brian Newberry, R-North Smithfield, proposed an amendment that would claw back the settlement money as a way to reassert the legislature's authority and teach Neronha "a lesson." "It is an insult to every member of this chamber... It's an insult to every member of the Senate," Newberry said in a floor speech. "We need to do something to stop this because there's nothing to stop him or a successor from doing the same thing down the road. And who knows, the next settlement... could be for $100 million. It could be for a million dollars under his watch." In his argument to defeat the amendment, Majority Leader Chris Blazejewski said taking back the $11 million would only hurt state residents. "Now some might say, well it's a good thing to punish the attorney general. What I think is that the attorney general's office serves the people of Rhode Island," Blazejewski said. "The people that lose from this amendment are the people who rely on the attorney general's office and the lawyers there for consumer protection, for environmental protection, for litigating in defense of civil rights and the rights of this state." The amendment failed 13 to 60. Asked after the vote if the attorney general is free to direct settlement proceeds however he sees fit, Shekarchi would say only that he supports the use of the funds in this case. "I don't know," he said. "I don't know what particular restrictions were placed on this. I don't know what was agreed to by the parties. I do know that a judge signed off." Other amendments proposed and shot down, most by similar margins would have: Taken the $100,000 per year being spent on First Lady Susan McKee's anti-litter campaign and put it toward combatting invasive species in lakes. Giving state retirees affected by the 2011 pension change law a $1,200 stipend Move the Office of Internal Audit, which now reports to the governor, into an independent agency to function like an independent inspector general Spending $500,000 to hire additional public defenders The budget proposes increasing the gas tax, which was already slated to rise 1 cent per gallon July 1, an extra 2 cents to generate $8.7 million of the $15 million in new funds to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Lima tried to propose an amendment to rescind the gas tax increase after the article it was in had already been voted on and was not allowed. Stepping back, Shekarchi told reporters the swift passage of the budget was a sign it put the state in good position, unless the federal budget passed by Republicans in Congress makes large cuts to Medicaid and supplemental nutrition assistance. If that does happen, he said, the Assembly might have to return in the fall for a special session to make cuts or raise taxes. "I think the fiscal direction of the state is heading in the right direction," he said. "There's certainly this uncertainty of what's happening in Washington. I heard today that the Senate version of the Big Beautiful Bill, as they call it, is even more severe in terms of cuts than the House version, but we'll have to wait and see what happens." In the House's progressive bloc, Rep. David Morales, D-Providence, said the budget "meets the moment" for the state's schools and health care system. "This budget is about progress and meeting the moment while still recognizing there is a lot more work to do, such as raising revenue by taxing the highest earners here in our state," Morales said. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: $14.4B state budget moves to the Senate after House passes it 66 to 9
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
R.I. poised to ban cellphones in schools
If signed into law, it won't go into effect until Aug. 1, 2026, giving districts a full school year to come up with their policies. Related : A growing number of states and school districts have been restricting the use of smart phones in school, citing the intense distraction they cause, bullying concerns, and seeking to encourage more in-person social interaction. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Reports of cyberbullying in middle schools are on the rise since the pandemic, according to the Advertisement Governor Dan McKee's office did not immediately say Monday night if he would sign the bill, but the legislation received veto-proof majorities in both chambers. (The House and Senate still must pass each other's identical bills before sending to McKee's desk.) Advertisement Multiple school districts have already chosen to ban cellphones in school. Central Falls was among the first in Rhode Island to lock up the phones in Yondr pouches all day, keeping school phone-free from 'bell-to-bell.' South Kingstown implemented a similar pouch system this past school year, and some Providence schools use them as well. Others are more flexible. The Globe reported last year that Lincoln High School The bill allows exceptions for medical needs, such a student with diabetes who uses a smart phone for glucose monitoring, or a student with disabilities who uses adaptive technology. Exceptions can also be made 'in case of emergency,' the bill says. Many schools provide Chromebooks to students, so they will still have access to technology for class purposes. Both major teachers unions in Rhode Island supported the legislation. Teachers have long lamented being enforcers of cellphone policies, especially if they had to take phones away. 'In the post-pandemic world, many students are still grappling with the overstimulation caused by constant digital interaction,' Maribeth Calabro, the president of the American Federal of Teachers Rhode Island, wrote in testimony urging lawmakers to pass the legislation. 'Banning cell phones can help mitigate these issues by removing the temptation to check notifications, social media, or games during class, fostering better concentration.' Some school leaders said the lack of statewide guidance was making it harder for schools to tackle the pervasive cellphone issue. Advertisement 'The absence of statewide standards or expectations places a significant burden on local districts, often leading to inconsistent enforcement, pushback from families, and a lack of clarity for students and staff alike,' said Jared Vance, the principal at Rogers High School in Newport, in testimony in support of the bill. When the Globe The ACLU of Rhode Island testified with privacy concerns, prompting lawmakers to amend the bill to add that school officials cannot search the contents of a device they confiscate. The Rhode Island Department of Education, which has never issued guidance about cellphones, was in support of the legislation, spokesperson Victor Morente said, 'underscoring the important of flexibility for districts.' Arguing in favor of the bill Monday night, Education Committee Chairman Joseph McNamara said schools that have implemented phone bans report 'students are talking to each other and listening to each other' again. 'As an educator who was involved in the transition before and after cellphones came into play, I can personally attest to the fact that they negatively changed the climate in our schools,' McNamara said. Steph Machado can be reached at
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Washington Bridge contractors say RIDOT issued flawed RFP in countersuit against state
Traffic flows in both directions on Interstate 195 on the eastbound side of the Washington Bridge on Friday, June 13, 2025, at 3:50 p.m. Demolition work that has removed much of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge is expected to be completed in December. (Rhode Island Department of Transportation Traffic Camera) Two of the 13 firms being sued by the state for allegedly doing negligent work on the westbound Washington Bridge have filed a counterclaim, alleging the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) failed to tell them about a key inspection report. The counterclaim filed by Barletta Heavy Division Inc. and Aetna Bridge Company in Providence County Superior Court Thursday argues they should have been alerted to the findings of a January 1992 report by Lichtenstein & Associates, at the time they bid for the state's $78 million contract to rehabilitate the Washington Bridge in 2021. The 1992 report was cited by the state in its lawsuit against the firms, claiming they all should have known about deterioration in the concrete drop-in beams and signs of distress in the grout and cantilever beams that were eventually deemed a risk to the bridge's structural integrity. The westbound span on Interstate 195 was closed in December 2023 when engineers determined the bridge was at risk of collapsing. 'RIDOT knew or should have known, or ought to have known, that the Washington Bridge incorporated a unique design that limited the ability to determine its condition from visual inspections alone,' the counterclaim states. The westbound bridge is expected to be rebuilt by November 2028 and cost up to $427 million. Chicago-headquartered Walsh Construction Company was awarded the state's contract on June 6 after two attempts by Gov. Dan McKee's administration to secure a bridge builder. Work is scheduled to begin in July, which overlaps with the ongoing demolition of the existing bridge by Aetna, which is among the 13 firms being sued by the state. The Warwick-based contractor is expected to complete its work by the end of 2025. Barletta and Aetna claim the state concealed the true condition of the bridge and neglected to conduct the appropriate testing ahead of issuing a request for proposals in 2021. Instead, the companies allege that they received a project scope which did not identify any structural deficiencies with the post-tensioning system. The 1992 report called for RIDOT to perform additional radiographic and other evaluation of the Washington Bridge before any future attempts to rehabilitate the span over the Seekonk River. 'The Rhode Island Department of Transportation may have averted a costly and disastrous emergency closure of the Washington Bridge last December if it had followed recommendations in a detailed 1992 inspection report,' Barletta spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister said in an emailed statement. Because of the state's alleged failure to investigate the bridge, Barletta and Aetna claim they were deprived of incentives available after successful completion of the initial rehabilitation project. The two firms have asked the court to issue a judgment against the state for all of its damages plus interest. The state's initial August 2024 complaint seeks to recover damages based on alleged economic losses and physical damages, along with breaches of contracts. RIDOT spokesperson Charles St. Martin deferred comment to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha's office, which is handling the state's case. 'Counterclaims are to be expected in a case like this,' Timothy Rondeau, a spokesperson for the AG's office, said in an emailed statement.'The state stands by the allegations in its complaint. As this is part of ongoing litigation, we have no further comment.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
