In a move that emphasized his fourth point, Mulligan invited Middletown Board of Education President Chris Urso to share the evening's stage, and provide a State of the Schools speech.
With the schools, "As a community we must step up and address the situation," Mulligan said. "Certainly the new and improved facilities will bring the middle school and high school into the 21st century."
“So much of our community identity is associated with our schools,” Mulligan said. “The new school board will be able to address the issues closely and is working to improve performance.”
Middletown as a district recently received overall grades of three F’s and a D — F’s in the categories of percent of standards met; overall value-added; and annual measurable objectives. The district received a D for its performance index score.
Urso was blunt in describing the importance of report-card grades.
“In contemporary times, the most salient measure of a school district’s efficacy is the State Report Card,” Urso said. “All in attendance this evening realize that our district’s grade is an impediment to our community’s ability to grow.”
“Our grade contributes to a narrative, a story, about the capacity of our teachers and our students while propagating an overall image of our community,” Urso said. “Your Board of Education fully realizes this reality and intends to directly confront this issue through the strategic planning process.”
Urso expressed hope that the strategic plan the district is creating, with input from a diverse cross-section of Middletown residents, can lead to significant progress.
Mulligan, meanwhile, expressed hope that the early childhood education, including Middletown Community Foundation’s “Ready! Campaign,” will help children, particularly from disadvantaged families, be prepared for kindergarten, so they can be more successful throughout their school careers.
Mulligan mentioned these positives during his speech:
Crime is down, he said. Overall calls for service dropped 12 percent from 2014 to 2015; Total Part 1 crimes — the most severe ones, including homicide, forcible rape, robbery, burglary and arson — dropped 17 percent. He said arrests were down 9 percent and theft-related crimes decreased 15 percent. In addition, Middletown Municipal Court had its lowest number of cases in 21 years, he said.
Mulligan thanked the Windamere Event Venue and Art Gallery, which opened in October and hosted the speeches, saying the facility demonstrates the rebirth Middletown is experiencing.
He also cited construction of the $36 million AK Steel research and innovation center; and NTE Energy’s $645 million gas-fired power plant as investments that are creating jobs.
“Activity at Towne Mall Galleria — once considered a dying mall — is seeing the results of years of planning and hard work coming to fruition — new retail stores; new uses with Planet Fitness; new investment in new out-lot locations: Aspen Dental and BW3’s,” he said.
“Our future looks brighter — we have a plan in place to start addressing our roads. We will resolve the sewer issues and the heroin crisis. Working together we will improve school performance,” he said. “We have the benefit of many great assets in our community. We will build upon those to achieve our greatest potential as a city.”
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