Six months into the 2025 Fiscal Year, the Warwick School Department has identified it faces a $9-million deficit by June 30 unless it makes budget adjustments.
Looking at the news from a …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
|
Six months into the 2025 Fiscal Year, the Warwick School Department has identified it faces a $9-million deficit by June 30 unless it makes budget adjustments.
Looking at the news from a positive perspective, School Committee Chair Shaun Galligan said Sunday, “What’s good is that we caught it [the potential deficit] midway … there’s plenty of time to make alterations.”
The not-so-good news is that in a system hemmed in by contractual obligations and state requirements to meet student needs, making budget cuts is going to be difficult. Furthermore, as of last weekend there was no immediate answer as to where the department went off track to incur such a significant projected budget shortfall.
Galligan hoped to get some answers when the committee met in executive session with the school administration Monday morning. He said Sunday the purpose of the meeting is to review what measures could be taken to address the budget while preserving the quality of education. The meeting was ongoing at the deadline for this newspaper, which was early because of the New Year’s Day holiday.
Mayor Frank Picozzi learned of the projected school deficit Christmas week. He was in contact with the state auditor general and informed that the city needed to come up with a plan to address the projected deficit. The administration met with Galligan and school administrators on Friday to review the situation.
According to state law: “The chief financial officer of each municipality and each school district shall summit a report, certifying the status of the municipal budget including the school department or regional school district's budget, on a monthly basis.” Those reports are to be submitted to the members of the City Council as well as the School Committee.
Galligan did not have an answer as to why the committee is learning only now of a projected budget shortfall if monthly reports are required by the auditor general.
In addition to the projected budget deficit, the School Department has yet to close the books on FY 2024. Galligan discredited reports that the 2024 deficit could be as high as $6 million. He said that as of last week the number was close to $500,000 but depending on how expenses are coded [operating expenses versus capital expenses, which in many cases are costs covered by bonded improvements] the deficit could be reduced to zero. Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur, who has been following municipal and school expenditures, said on Sunday the department’s records showed a $5-million-plus deficit for 2024, and as of last week he was told the number was $800,000.
“You don’t know who to believe anymore,” he said. As for the explanation of properly coding expenses, he said, “it’s the shell game.”
Dealing with the current shortfall doesn’t look to be as simple as adjusting department allocations.
Galligan notes that in the 2025 budget approved by the committee and the City Council was balanced and required the elimination of 34 positions, however those positions have been filled over that last six months. He acknowledges restoring the positions would account for some of the deficit but not all of it.
“We brought back many of those [positions] because of student needs,” he said.
He said that according to a student’s IEP [individual education program], the district is required to hire additional personnel and there are cases where the IEP dictates one-on-one instruction requiring the district to hire a teacher assistant whose sole job is to work with one student. He estimated the cost of a TA [teacher assistant] including benefits at $50,000 to $60,000.
“Were seeing an increase in the number of students needing requiring special benefits,” he said. Asked if those requirements could be meet by third parties at costs less than the district, Galligan pointed to other factors such as student transportation have to be taken into consideration.
Soon after the telephone interview Sunday, Galligan emailed the following statement:
“The School Committee is deeply concerned with the fiscal health of our district and the challenging position we are in. Over the past weeks, we brought in an independent consultant as an important step to ensure a thorough and objective review of our district’s finances.
“We will work closely with Superintendent Dambruch, her team and city leaders to develop a plan to close the budget gap, with education priorities and transparency to our community at center. In light of this news, we foresee a difficult process and challenging decisions ahead. We will navigate this situation responsibly and seriously. The School Committee is committed to keeping the community informed and involved as we move forward.”
In a press release issued by her office on Monday, Schools Superintendent Lynn Dambruch said:
“We deeply appreciate the patience and partnership of our Warwick community during this time. Together, we can address these financial challenges while continuing to prioritize the needs of our students and their families.”
The release did not address how or why the district ended up with the projected deficit.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here