School committee appoints independent investigator and votes to request $767,000 in capital funds from town

The North Kingstown School Committee took two formal actions during its Feb. 3 budget work session: it appointed an independent investigator and voted to request capital funding from the town.

Investigation appointment: Committee members moved and seconded a motion to appoint Barton Gilman to conduct an independent investigation related to an earlier agenda item; the motion passed by voice vote with no recorded roll-call breakdown.

Capital funding request: Later in the meeting the committee discussed an asset-management presentation outlining building and systems needs estimated at $767,000. After debate about whether to request multi-year funding, a member moved and the committee seconded a motion to submit the $767,000 capital request to the town; the motion was approved by voice vote.

Votes: Both motions were approved by voice vote. The meeting record does not include an itemized recorded roll-call tally for those motions on the transcript provided.

Next steps: Administration will transmit the capital request to the town finance and asset-management process on the timetable the committee agreed, and will provide supplemental documentation for the board and the town council as requested.