Sandy Oppenheim of Woonsocket is circulating a petition to have one of the new Woonsocket Middle Schools named in honor of her father, who was a member of the Woonsocket School Committee.  Call photo/Ernest A. Brown

By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET — As the School Committee considers selling naming rights to the new middle schools, the daughter of a once-prominent member of the panel is trying to drum up support for naming at least one of the buildings after her late father, Edward O. Boucher.

Sandra Oppenheim says the School Committee should forego the lure of financial remuneration for selling the naming rights to a private sponsor and instead name one or more of the schools in honor of an individual who was dedicated to public service, in keeping with tradition.
 “I know they’re running a deficit and they need the money,” said Oppenheim, a city resident. “It just comes down to what you think is morally correct for the city.”
A lawyer, Boucher died on March 13 at the age of 70 after four terms on the school committee, from 1987-1991 and 1999-2003, serving much of his time on the board as its chairman. But Boucher’s credentials went far beyond the school committee.
In 1963, he was elected a state representative on the Republican ticket at the age of 25, the first Republican lawmaker in the city in nearly a quarter century. Boucher had also served as a state prosecutor under former Attorney General Arlene Violet and worked in the city as a probate judge, a bail commissioner and a justice of the peace.
On the extra-curricular side, Boucher was instrumental in the founding of Theater Works, a community theater company in the city that recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
But Boucher was robbed of his vitality mid-way through his last term on the School Committee when, in January 2003, a man beat him to the brink of death in his Newton Street home, repeatedly kicking him in the head.
He was hospitalized for months as he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain, followed by numerous episodes of plastic surgery and rehabilitation.
Theodore Cox, 34, an ex-Cranston man whom Boucher had befriended, was quickly arrested in the attack and later sentenced to 15 years at the ACI, with two to serve.
A determined Boucher eventually returned to the School Committee, but the brush with death had taken its toll.
“He tried to come back. He did come back,” said Oppenheim. “But he was so disabled by what happened to him that he was never the same. He didn’t want to admit it but he was never the same. He had a life-threatening incident happen to him, but he still came back to finish his term. That’s how dedicated he was.”
Despite his enfeebled condition, the fighter in Boucher wanted to run for another term on the School Committee in November 2003, but family members talked him out of it, said Oppenheim.
See BOUCHER, Page A-2
In addition to the milestones posted on Boucher’s resume, Oppenheim said her father was also a tireless advocate for teachers and students. He established a recognition awards program that Oppenheim likened to “a Grammy night for teachers.” He was also responsible for the “Youth Festival,” an effort to get children involved in activities outside of school.
Now Oppenheim has begun circulating petitions to gather signatures in support of naming at least one of the new middle schools on Hamlet Avenue in memory of her father. While many petitions have not yet been picked up, she says she has collected 130 signatures after a couple of weeks.
With permission from Schools Supt. Robert Gerardi, Oppenheim said she has dropped off petitions at every public school in the city to give teachers an opportunity to sign them. Others are available at the Senior Center, the Woonsocket Harris Public Library and the studio of radio station WOON.
“I would like to see my father’s years of dedication and hard work to be honored in some way,” she said. “I don’t want the city to forget what he did.”
School Committee Chairman Marc Dubois said he was aware of Oppenheim’s efforts because she called him to inform him about them. Dubois said he has not taken a position on the naming of the middle schools and told Oppenheim he would forward her request to the school committee when it comes time to make a decision on the matter, which is probably months away.
But Dubois said the school committee has already begun discussions about the naming of the $80 million, twin middle school project and it appears members have made some tentative decisions.
“It appears the committee is not in favor of naming either one of the schools after an individual,” said Dubois.
Though there has been no firm decision, school officials have not ruled out selling the naming rights to one or both of the schools to a private or corporate sponsor, said Dubois. Further discussion of the issue is on the agenda for the committee’s next meeting on Wednesday and that session may shed more light on the direction the panel wants to take.
Meanwhile, general contractor Gilbane Construction continues working on the Hamlet Avenue schools, slated for completion in December 2010. The current plan is to begin transferring students from the existing middle school on Park Place after the holiday break that year.
Oppenheim says she is not sure a decision to name the middle schools after a corporate sponsor will sit well in a city that has already dedicated schools after the likes of industrialist William Harris and homegrown Gov. Aram Pothier, a onetime city mayor.
“Would you like to see the Edward O. Boucher Memorial School or the Dunkin’ Donuts School?” says Oppenheim.