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Hello Mr. Testa:

As someone who routinely provides facts to disprove the fake "mayor's" statements, I appreciate the information you present to again dismantle his misleading claims.

Unlike you, the fake "mayor" believes that he can fool the readers of this site and voters in Warwick by simply repeating his lies over and over again despite having information provided to him. You may have seen the multiple times that I stated exactly what you explain about the issue of audits: The school department is audited every year by the same firm that audits the city.

Yet the fake "mayor" continues to suggest that such audits are not independent enough, and continues to call for withholding school funding [including paying for teacher salaries] until such an expensive, punitive, and ultimately futile audit could be conducted.

I also believe that you are correct to suggest that the fake "mayor" wants an appointed school committee -- one, which in his delusional mind, would be appointed by him.

The one area where I respectfully disagree with you is in questioning the changes in school vs. city expenditures: It is a fact that the school population has been falling for a decade or more. It is also a fact that state funding has increased year over year while the number of children in Warwick schools has fallen, independent of the recent consolidation.

While you are right to point out that the local school appropriation has remained nearly level, the overall education budget has increased every year. I'd also point out that the new teachers contract just added some $4.5 million [including an additional $3 million from the city] to the school budget, and that the new bonds, if approved, would add $40 million to the city's debt to pay for school repairs.

So, your evaluation of the past is correct, though it fails to account for the present and future city contributions to the school department.