$4M settles school dispute

Sports, some other programs restored; last year's deficit unresolved

By ETHAN HARTLEY
Posted 7/30/19

By ETHAN HARTLEY With a unanimous vote during a special meeting Thursday night, the Warwick School Committee made official a nearly $4 million allocation of funding from the Warwick City Council that will enable the schools to fund its sports program and

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$4M settles school dispute

Sports, some other programs restored; last year's deficit unresolved

Posted

With a unanimous vote during a special meeting Thursday night, the Warwick School Committee made official a nearly $4 million allocation of funding from the Warwick City Council that will enable the schools to fund its sports program and restore 16 other items that were cut in order to balance a $7.7 million financial gap back in June.

As part of the resolution, the school department has also agreed to conduct a thorough review of its budget, comparing themselves to like districts (such as Cranston) in order to try and find means to reduce their expenditures. The city council will be privy to this review and the school committee is charged with presenting those reports prior to next year’s budget hearings. The development also puts to rest any potential Caruolo Act lawsuits that can be waged against the city, at least for this year.

The major items restored from the funding allocation include the entirety of the school sports program, a new math curriculum, textbooks, teaching assistants for first and second grade co-taught classrooms, student assistance counselors, funds to conduct the accreditation process, four maintenance positions and, with the money, custodian hours will not be cut as proposed – meaning for the first time since custodians were cut, the schools will be cleaned by a full complement of staff on a full, regular schedule.

“Hopefully what we see here tonight will be a giant step forward,” said Betty O’Leary, one of the school’s head custodians, during public comments.

While the restoration of the above items was universally celebrated by those on the committee, there was still an air of disappointment that many other items – including school library books, professional development opportunities for educators and administrators and the entirety of the school’s budget for technological hardware – remain unfunded.

“We are still $3.7 million below our calculated budget, which means that many of the items between 18 and 45 [on the cut list] will not be restored this year,” said chairwoman Karen Bachus.

“If anybody thinks that we don't think that's important, or if anybody thinks that was part of a bluff, they display a level of ignorance that I have never seen,” said school committee member David Testa, referencing comments he had heard from some members of the public that the schools used programs like sports to “bluff” the city into allocating more funding.

“As the only school committee member sitting here who actually has kids in our schools, I don't bluff with my kids and I don't bluff with anyone else's kids,” he continued.

Bachus emphasized that the proposed cuts announced in June, which ultimately led to overwhelming public outcry, protests and civic engagement at municipal meetings, were not any sort of manufactured “play” utilized by the schools to get more money.

“We never, ever, ever, ever used your kids, as some people say,” Bachus said. “We didn't use your kids and say, ‘We're not going to have sports, so now the city has to give us more money.’ I want to be really clear about that. Eighty-two percent of our budget, which is approximately $165 million, 82 percent is salaries and benefits. There aren't many businesses or organizations who can say that.”

“We don't make widgets, we're not a factory, we're a school. And educators, and support and administrators are what make schools,” she continued. “It costs money to employ people and to pay them a decent wage.”

Still, the overall message of the evening was looking ahead to the future.

“I know settling for $4 million isn't getting everything on the list,” said Warwick Teachers’ Union president Darlene Netcoh. “But I think it's important to move forward.”

“This is a new day in Warwick,” said Bachus. “I am heartened by the fact that we were able to negotiate this and I will continue to work with the city, as will everyone else here, to try and let them see what the need is, why the need is there and show there is no hidden money.”

Trust emerged as a major theme of the proceeding as well, as throughout the many months that have passed, distrust between the city council and school committee has been an ongoing issue. Even just as recently as Tuesday’s special council meeting, Ward 3 Councilman Timothy Howe reiterated his uneasiness trusting the school department, which he felt has been dishonest or at the very least misleading in their budgetary reporting during his tenure.

“As far as the trust issue, I agree with the chair and my colleagues. I think this is a step to build trust,” Testa said. “But trust works both ways. And trust needs to be verified.”

“Hopefully, as we establish trust for the first time in a long time, the city will work with us,” Bachus said. “And we have given the city full access to our spending, and to anything they want. They are more than welcome at meetings, they are more than welcome to call any one of us, any administrator, and ask about things.”

Bachus said that the school committee will continue to work hard to find money for things that remain unfunded, such as payments to ensure late buses can run and money to purchase materials and secure a proper space for graduation.

“We're going to do the best that we can to give the most that we can to our kids. And that's what the city wants too,” she said. “They're trying, we're all trying, and we're all here because we want to make our schools what they were. Not even necessarily what they were, but even better than what they were, and hopefully that will happen. We look around and we know what's going on in Providence and various districts, and it's frightening. And we never want to be there, but we need your support.”

All members of the school committee made sure to thank the various groups and individuals who were involved during the tenuous process of receiving more funding, summed up best by Testa.

“I would thank the members of this committee, I would thank the chair for working with the city, I would thank those council members who helped initiate this,” he said. “I would thank the community, I would thank the kids, I would thank the parents, the teachers – everybody and their cousin who was involved in this, we should all be proud. Because while this isn't perfect, it's good.”

While the resolution, to a degree, settles the funding issues for the current fiscal year, it does not specifically lay out a deficit reduction plan for the school year that just ended in June. The school department has targeted this number at around $4.4 million, and the city and schools have agreed to work together on a plan that will be amenable to the state Auditor General. As of this time, however, no plan – at least not one that has gained the approval of the Auditor General – has been formally presented.

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  • Justanidiot

    sure, day didn't hold sports hostage so day could get the biggest rile up dey could. uh huh. plan b was to cut money for the chess club but they didn't wants the skuls burned down

    Tuesday, July 30, 2019 Report this

  • perky4175

    this was a waste of tax payers money so what are they going to do when the teachers go on strike as they always do

    Wednesday, August 7, 2019 Report this