School Committee Rushes Out Beloved Band Director

Having watched the YouTube videos of last night’s North Smithfield School Committee meeting I feel compelled to share the post below. After hearing from students and parents for over an hour attesting to what they described as the exceptional abilities of North Smithfield High School Band Director Metro Narcisi, I find the school committee majority’s rush to vote on his resignation perplexing. It was mentioned that Mr. Narcisi’s mother had passed away on the weekend. Parents suggested the “resignation”, effective at the end of the school year, which Narcisi submitted, withdrew and resubmitted over the last several days was “forced”. Ironically, the high school jazz band under Narcisi’s direction had just won 1st place in their division at the Berklee Jazz Festival on Saturday. Parents urged the School Committee to table the vote until a full report was reviewed by the Committee. That suggestion seemed harmless and warranted in light of all the circumstances. School Committee members Merredythe Nadeau, Art Bassett and Paul Jones deserve kudos for voting against accepting the resignation at last night’s meeting. Since the resignation isn’t effective until the end of the school year, postponing a vote until the committee was apprised of all the facts would have been in everyone’s best interests.

#northsmithfield #highschool #nshs #schoolcommittee #nadeau #bassett #jones #schooldepartment #band #teacher #teachers #resignation #superintendent #superintendentofschools #schoolsuperintendent