Andrew McQuaide Resigns from School Committee

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
July 8th 2024

WOOD RIVER JCT. – As the dust continues to settle from the failed school construction bond, Andrew McQuaide, who represented Charlestown on the Chariho School Committee, has resigned.

Why is He Leaving?

McQuaide and his family have moved out of Rhode Island, to a location that McQuaide said he preferred not to disclose. But the relocation is not the only reason for McQuaide’s resignation.

In a letter dated July 5, McQuaide, who first served on the School Committee in 2006 and has served terms totaling nine years, pointed out what he views as a discrepancy between the high quality of the work being performed in Chariho schools, and the deteriorating condition of the school buildings themselves.

“I went to Charlestown Elementary School and I love that my daughter had that same opportunity to learn there,” he said in an interview on Monday.  “She was literally in the same Kindergarten classroom as myself, and so, I really do have a deep appreciation for the feeling that our community has had as we’ve had these conversations about our elementary schools and as folks talked about their own relationships with these buildings. I think it’s really important for us to acknowledge that two conflicting feelings can coexist with one another.  I can feel all of those feelings about all of our buildings and at the same time, recognize that these buildings are not adequate facilitators for learning in 2024.”

Charlestown Town Council President Deborah Carney said McQuaide had worked hard to represent the town.

“Andrew was an asset to the Chariho School Committee,” she said. “He clearly had the best interests of the children in his decisions. He brought a level of knowledge to the School Committee that will be missed.”

The three remaining Charlestown members, Linda Lyall, Craig Louzon and Donna Chambers, have two years remaining in their terms. The only person seeking to fill the vacant Charlestown seat is a Republican, Laura Chapman, a Chariho parent who currently serves on the Middle School “School Improvement Team.”

School Committee Chair Catherine Giusti said she was hoping that Chapman, would be a productive member of the committee.

“I’m hopeful, if she’s taking the time to be a member of the SIT [School Improvement Team] for the middle school, she clearly cares about Chariho, and I’m hopeful that she’s going to bring an open mind and a student-focused approach to serving on the committee,” she said. “I don’t know if Charlestown will install her to finish Andrew’s term or if they’re just going to wait until November.”

It is likely that the Charlestown Town Council will appoint Chapman to the position before the election.

“The Charter says in the event of a vacancy, the Town Council announces the vacancy and then the following month will make the appointment,” Carney explained. “The vacancy will be announced on July 22, so any appointment won’t be made until August 26 at the earliest. Personally, since Laura Chapman is the only person running for the one seat, then it makes sense to appoint her since she will most likely be sitting there in November.”

Giusti acknowledged that with the composition and direction of the School Committee in flux, McQuaide’s resignation had come at a bad time.

“Andrew leaving is a huge loss, a huge loss for the School Committee, it’s a loss for the students.,” she said. “He was such a good advocate, and he was very thoughtful and very intelligent and very compassionate, and those are not qualities you always get in one person, and he forced everybody to stop and think for a minute about the implications of all of our actions on students, and that, frankly, the first thought that we should have. I’m going to miss him.”

McQuaide’s resignation letter contained a warning that the school district appeared to be moving from its long-standing collaborative relationship with the administration to an adversarial one.

“… Chariho is very close to having a majority of school committee members that would prefer a more adversarial, mistrusting approach to Chariho and its leadership,” he wrote.

“They are more focused on litigating national noise at the local-level [sic] regardless of its applicability and rarely do the actual

work of a committee member.”

The letter concludes with the following:

“While I’m, momentarily, unusually pessimistic my hope lies in what I’ve experienced in our schools. Our administration is laser focused on improving student achievement for all students,

mindful of Chariho’s fiscal constraints, and committed to setting our students and community up for success. I hope Chariho voters reflect on the progress of the past twenty years as they

consider our district’s future in November.”