NORTH PROVIDENCE - One of the two District 3 School Committee seats has a primary for voters to decide on Sept. 9.

Incumbent Democrat Helen Ann Reall is being challenged by Paul K. Burke.

Reall is 74 years old and lives at 57 Sampson Ave. She has lived in North Providence for 51 years. She is a retired educator who worked in the North Providence School Department as a teacher, guidance counselor and as an acting principal. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Salve Regina University and a master's of education degree from Rhode Island College. She is married to Robert J. Reall and the couple has three children. She has served on the School Committee for 16 years.

Reall said "During my tenure in office, I have based all my decisions on what was educationally sound and financially supportable. Political correctness has never entered into any educational decisions I have made." She added, "my commitment is to serve with dignity, honor and expertise."

Burke is 60 and lives at 30 Belcourt Ave. He is retired from BFI, where he worked as a supervisor. He is a graduate of LaSalle Academy. Burke is divorced and has two children. He is president of the North Providence Taxpayers Association.

Burke expressed the need for practical leaders making common sense decisions in this time of financial hardship. He said "it is time to put the students' needs and the taxpayers' needs before the big raises, excessive contracts, and nepotism."

"The condition of our elementary schools is one of my priorities" said Burke. He also expressed that children's health and safety needs to be addressed. "We need to look into forms of alternative funding to help alleviate the tax burden," Burke said.

Burke and Reall have taken each other on in an exchange of statements in The North Providence Breeze.

Burke said in a press release, "We need to elect officials who will make the right decisions by enhancing the quality of education in our town and doing the right thing for the health and safety of our children."

Citing Reall's "white glove" inspections of town schools, Burke points out that some school bathrooms have been in a deplorable state for a few years and have only recently been repaired.

"Last December the fire marshal presented a 55 page report of fire code violations in our schools," he said. "I understand that many of these violations have now been addressed, however, the repair of fire escapes is still ongoing."

Burke adds that in the last year he has seen his opponent initially vote against full-time day care because she felt that it would be too costly.

"However, Mrs. Reall continued to vote for big pay raises and new jobs in the school department," said Burke.

Burke is also questioning the hiring practices of the school department.

"I believe that it is time to make the necessary changes in our schools," Burke said. "Without those changes it will not be possible to make educationally sound decisions for our children and provide fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers."

Reall fired back.

"My opponent has taken liberties with the actual facts of my votes on the School Committee," Reall said in one statement. "The discussion of nepotism affixed to my name is ludicrous. It is a well-known fact in North Providence that I do not, nor have I ever had, a member of my family working in the school department during my tenure. However, I have never disregarded the most qualified candidates who have been recommended by the various superintendents. That would be discrimination of another nature. All of the past and present town administrators can attest to the fact that I have never solicited political favors."

She continued, "The issue of votes regarding pay raises has been greatly exaggerated by my opponent. He seemed to conveniently forget that I was the sole dissenting vote on a past teacher contract. Other contracts I have approved placed our teachers in the middle of the pay scale in comparison to other districts in the state. Our superintendent's recent contract, which I supported, still placed her second to the last when compared to other superintendents statewide."

Said Reall, "As far as voting for new jobs is concerned, my opponent has a short memory and once again has not done his homework. In June, I voted against creating six new positions, not required by state and federal mandates, which will cost the town approximately $376,000."

As for Burke's accusations about kindergarten, Reall responded, "First of all, I never voted against full-time day care. What we were voting for, and which my opponent obviously missed, was all-day kindergarten." She continued, "As a result of the school department budget being cut $1.6 million, by the mayor and Town Council, prior to the full-day kindergarten vote, I found it insupportable to add another $500,000 up to a potential $1.2 million, for a program that could not be sustained by the budget. By law the school department budget must be reconciled to the budget approved by the Town Council," she said. "At this time we are still wrestling with reconciling the budget with the additional expenses incurred by implementing a full-time kindergarten, which required six new teachers, as well as, making the cuts imposed by the town."