Members of the Warwick Teachers’ Union (WTU) took umbrage to comments made by School Finance Director Brandon Bohl and many updates on upcoming construction projects at Tuesday’s School Committee meeting.

In making his monthly fiscal report Bohl said that the school department’s healthcare policy would likely need to be amended to reduce benefits.

“In summary, I would say that the district cannot continue to subsidize employee health benefits that are this generous without forcing cuts to programs and activities,” Bohl said. “If you’re focused on quality of education and pursuing the vision of a graduate, it seems like it’s time to update our healthcare policies.”

Bohl’s mention of raises that Warwick teachers received, ranging from no raise in 2021 to a three percent raise in 2018, 2019 and 2020, drew sarcastic cheers from WTU members in the crowd, with one teacher shouting, “How much are you earning to say this?”

WTU president Darlene Netcoh said Bohl’s statements were tantamount to negotiating next year’s contract publicly, something which both the WTU and the school administration have said they would not do, and mentioned that the teacher’s union worked without a contract from 1991 through 1997.

“Nothing can ever make up for six years of a zero,” Netcoh said.

Other WTU members said that Bohl’s comment drove them to speak during the meeting’s public comment, with Toll Gate chemistry teacher Michelle Landry calling it a “slap in the face” and saying that Warwick teachers deserved a raise ranging from three to four percent.

Director of Facilities and Operations Kevin Oliver asked for a repair to Warwick Veterans Middle School’s HVAC system, of which costs are not to exceed $50,000. A science teacher at Vets- Pauline Pinto- said that the humidity in her room at one point this year was measured at 74 percent, she could see mold growing in her classroom and had received complaints from students about the floor being wet.

When pressed by committee member Karen Bachus, Oliver said that Vets’ HVAC system, as well as another repair of an obsolete controller, were made five years ago. According to Oliver, closeout documents and warranty paperwork for that project were not completed.

School Committee Chair David Testa said he was “more than willing” to pursue legal action against the LG Corporation, the manufacturers of Vets’ HVAC.

Additionally, Director of Construction and Capital Projects Steve Gothberg said that Holliman Elementary School would relocate to the Gorton Administration Building for the 2024-25 school year. According to Gothberg, the move, which will make Holliman the third elementary school in three years to occupy the former middle school, will be done primarily so that large-scale work can be completed at the school.

“It’s a very, very difficult project,” Gothberg said. “There’s tough demolition that needs to be done, we have hard ceilings in there and there’s a lot of abatement that needs to get done. The abatement will not allow us to do that over the summer of 2024, so we’ve got to start that in the fall of 2024 and roll over into the following spring and summer.”

Tuesday’s meeting was the first since the City Council approved issuance of a $350 million bond to build two new high schools. Gothberg said that he has been meeting with the city’s Finance Department on how the buildings will be financed in the short and long term.

Gothberg said that, at the moment, two firms- Saccoccio and Associates Architects and Saam Architecture - are working together. According to him, the former firm will likely design the new Toll Gate High School and the latter will likely design the new Pilgrim High School, although that is not finalized.

Additionally, Director of Elementary Education Patti Cousineau and Director of Technology Jeff Taylor gave a presentation on recently installed innovative spaces in six elementary schools and both middle schools in the district.

Superintendent Lynn Dambruch said she is proud of the indoor learning spaces, and that the department is looking to supplement them with outdoor learning spaces to be built next year. Those spaces will reportedly be installed at Wyman, Norwood, Greenwood, Cedar Hill, Hoxsie, Robertson and Oakland Beach elementary schools.

According to Dambruch, LeftField Project Management has been contracted by the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) to build these spaces by 2024.

Dambruch also noted that Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) scores from the 2022-23 school year would be released in the near future.