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On the positive side the response time was commendable. Gothberg and his staff fixed the problem in frigid weather, and in record time and they deserve a lot of credit for that.

On the negative side, Warwick taxpayers have been handing over $160 million a year "forever".

Since 2009, the School Committee (SC) has received OVER A BILLION DOLLARS. Much of that money was supposed to go toward renovations and repairs.

It didn't.

Now, the SC wants $85 million MORE! That's not $85 million. That's $85 million in addition to the $160 million we ALREADY give them EVERY YEAR. That's $85 million MORE than the ONE BILLION DOLLARS Warwick taxpayers have given the SC since 2009! And it's for things that are covered in the normal budget of $160 million dollars EVERY YEAR!

Beverly Hills California is a school district with 4,261 students and a budget of $61,072,913. That comes to a per-student cost of $14,333 to educate each student in affluent Beverly Hills, each year.

Here in Warwick, if we add the $85 million in new money to the $160 million that we already gave to the School Committee, then Warwick taxpayers will be paying a total of $245 million dollars next year to educate less than 9,000 students. That's a per-student cost of $27,222 for the upcoming year. It might cost less if we flew our students to Beverly Hills!

Now, before my critics suggest that I would consider doing that, let me be clear. I am showing the Beverly Hills comparison to prove how expensive our cost of educating is. Warwick taxpayers simply can't afford $245 million. They can't even afford the $160 million they are already paying. (Which, at a per-student cost of $17,777, is still much higher than Beverly Hills). Warwick needs to "Cut Taxes - Cut Spending" and we should start with an independent audit of the School Committee budget since that represents the biggest part of the total budget.

It's just basic economics. Any independent audit will show that. I've been saying that for over three years and the 80,000 taxpayers that are paying the tab, seem to agree with me.

Happy Valentines everyone.

Rick Corrente

The Taxpayers Mayor