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The School Budget was cut 5% ($6.2 Million) in 2010 by the City of Warwick. The school budget has been level funded (underfunded) for 4 years since for an approximate total of $25+ Million since it was cut. Since 2008, the city budget has gone up and now it is up $30 MILLION annually. With the cut in 2010 now having a total reduction of $25 Million, where will Warwick Schools find the money to actually fund education?

I toured the schools when I was on the committee. There were empty and unused classrooms during the day (at the Junior and Senior HS) and from what I saw, some of the classes had only a dozen students. I agree there should be a long term plan but in the short term, there is no money. The total effect of the 2010 cut is now in excess of $25 Million. I am glad the cuts were made, it forced departments to make cuts, more will need to be made. I would like to see the city make cuts to their budget too rather than continuously increase the taxes by the maximum each year and send it to the city side of the budget. I believe there have been 24 years of tax increases in Warwick, enough is enough.

The fight to keep a school open should have been fought in 2010 when the school budget was cut 5%. If the fight in 2010 was won, there would no Jr or Sr high closed right now. The public did not come out to support the schools in the fight to stop the cut. The mayor and city council spun the facts and used the stimulus money and influence at the general assembly to cut the school funding while increasing the city taxes the maximum amount and keeping it for their own needs ignoring the needs of the schools. They called the CUT level funding. When I see $6.2 Million not being sent to the schools, that is a cut NOT level funding. The $6.2 Million cut is missing from the school budget each year and it ends up being a lot of money quickly. In another 4 years, it will be $50 MILLION missing from the school budget.

If a Jr High school doesn't close and a high school doesn't close the schools will be bankrupt, teachers and staff will not be able to be paid. Right now, there are shortages in the classroom and I see it, you see it, but what is to be done to fix it? There is no hidden fund sitting at the administration building, there is no secret money hidden in a closet.

Does there need to be a long term plan? Yes. What should be done in the short term? If something is not done soon, the schools will be in the same situation as Central Falls and Woonsocket.

When Greene was going to close, Helen Taylor stood up in front of the crowd and proclaimed she had a solution, the city council would help. They did nothing. Donna Travis says the city council wants to help, but not until the schools make cuts. What the heck does she think the schools have done each year since the budget was cut in 2010? (or since my arrival on the committee in 2008.) There were cuts after cuts after cuts and the student education is suffering. Please remember the city budget HAS gone up $30 MILLION dollars annually during the same time period the school have been "level" funded (again, cut $6.2 million annually).

Now, newly elected City Councilman Ed Ladouceur said he hasn’t "seen transparency in the process and won’t support closing any schools until accurate information and numbers that balance are presented." Well Ed, if you paid attention for the last 4 years you would know the schools have been underfunded and the elementary schools have already been closed. The schools have been talking about a bubble of students moving through and the potential for a Jr or Sr High to close for years. So, Mr Ladouceur, if you won't support closing the schools, what is your solution? Keep them open and go bankrupt? The fact is, percentage wise, administration has been consolidated as much as teachers and staff for the last 4 years.

The city council will pretend to want to help but they will not. The school committee will be blamed but in the end it is the students who will suffer, not because they need to be on a bus longer or because they may be separated from their friends but because they are not getting what they need to succeed when they graduate and move on to the workforce or college.

Does the classroom of the building a student sits in matter more than the education they receive by the teacher standing in front of them?

On a related side note,

The sewer authority was $7 Million over budget in 2009-2010, is this being paid back to the city? The fire Department is over budget $1 Million annually with overtime, how is this being handled? By building a new fire station. Get costs under control in all areas, NO MORE TAX INCREASES!

From: Let’s get all facts before closing Gorton

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