Report Inappropriate Comments

First I have to defend the City Council.

They said "No." to a request from the School Committee for millions of dollars MORE! It wasn't the City Councils fault the School Committee ran out of money! AFTER the School Committee burned through a budget of over $160,000,000! AFTER the School Committee received over $160,000,000, they went back and said they needed MORE!!. The School Committee tried to blame the City Council for their own mismanagement and, at the same time, they want ANOTHER $40,000,000 in the form of a bond and they STILL refuse to be accountable for where and how they spend these taxpayers dollars. We hear about a new "Asst. Principal of Climate and Culture" and a new "Asst. Principal of Teaching and Learning" and then they lay off dozens more needed teachers and take away critical funding like the Mentor Rhode Island Program, while still refusing to even have a "Clerk-of-the-Works" for the $40,000,000 bond request to show taxpayers how that money would be spent. Doug Schobel is right. It's DEVASTATING, HORRIBLE, CRAZY AND HEARTBROKEN.

Here's the problem: 5 members of the School Committee control over ONE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS OF TAXPAYERS MONEY SINCE 2009. They haven't EVER been accountable to the taxpayers. They REALLY need to be. An independent audit, from an outside firm, NOT SELECTED BY THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, with all results published in the Warwick Beacon would help.

Here is the solution: A Home Rule Charter!

It will allow our City Council to be part of the decision making process and build in a system of checks and balances that will finally develop trust in the Warwick School Committee. A fool-proof program? No. But a much, much improved idea over the one we have now! As Mayor, I will strongly support a Home Rule Charter. Warwick is one of the few cities or towns in Rhode Island that still doesn't have one. Even Richmond has a Home Rule Charter. Shouldn't Warwick?

Happy Summer everyone.

Rick Corrente

The Taxpayers Mayor