On Dec. 2, School Committee Chairman Shaun Galligan appeared before the Warwick City Council to defend the School Department on $6 million in salary overspending in the fiscal 2024 budget.

Mr. Galligan justified the overspending, asserting that it simply was part of the routine year-end budget reconciliation process. Contrary to this claim, just two weeks later, a municipal finance expert hired by the School Committee to ensure accurate financial reporting identified an additional $9 million deficit in the current, fiscal 2025 budget. 

Mr. Galligan emphasized the School Committee’s commitment to transparency and fiscal responsibility, yet today, no detailed information regarding the consultant's work has been provided to anyone.

A Freedom of Information Act request in February revealed a $15,750 invoice from the consultant containing a reference to a report submitted to the School Committee on Dec. 18, 2024. An additional FOI request in March resulted in the report being released by the School Department. 

Given Mr. Galligan’s assurance of complete transparency, why didn’t he release the report in December? The report outlines critical details indicating a lack of awareness within the school administration of the emerging fiscal crisis and highlights deficiencies in budget oversight by the School Committee. 

Superintendent Lynn Dambruch and the Warwick School Committee caused the deficit by continuing to hire additional administrators and teachers with funds the department did not have. Those positions were previously financed by expired one-time federal COVID funds and never should have been incorporated into the general fund budget. 

The consultant discovered that school financial systems lacked detailed information necessary for the school finance department to compare current expenses with the 2025 approved budget and identify forecast deficits. Essentially, the School Department was flying blind, heading toward a major fiscal crisis. 

The school consultant added missing information into the 2025 budget, enabling the Finance Department to perform a deficit analysis. But fiscal reporting presented to the School Committee at the March 11 meeting lacked that analysis. This suggests either that the consultant’s recommendations have been ignored or school staff were not capable of producing a complete overview of school spending. 

The School Committee has done nothing to remedy this situation, with the department now operating without an experienced finance director. Apparently, meetings with city officials over the last two months have failed to offer a solution to the school structural deficit because the School Department can’t provide meaningful data to this committee. 

Warwick taxpayers have received no updates on deficit-reduction sessions from Mayor Frank Picozzi and Council President Anthony Sinapi. This lack of communication is unacceptable, as time is running out. Public oversight sessions with the School Department, allowing questions from citizens, must be scheduled.

 Superintendent Lynn Dambruch demonstrated poor leadership during the crisis by avoiding meetings and questioning from city officials. She needs to promptly resign. The school finance department requires a thorough overhaul with experienced financial professionals.

 The School Committee’s past assertions of transparency ring hollow. The current chairman needs to prove the committee’s commitment by fully disclosing information to city leaders and Warwick citizens. While it is evident that staffing reductions are necessary to address the budget deficit, the School Committee's delaying tactics may have rendered such measures unachievable.

Clearly it is evident that the Warwick School Department at all levels is lacking the leadership necessary to stabilize the department and solve the fiscal crisis. Since December, the situation hasn’t improved; in fact it has gotten worse. 

With all the financial problems in the School Department, including the construction of two new high schools at a cost of $350 million or more, plus the excessive spending on the city side of the budget, taxpayers could be confronted with excessive tax increases for years to come.

Robert Cushman is a former Warwick city councilman and School Committee chairman.