New High Schools Cost Review Continues Tonight, 6 p.m.

WARWICK, RI — There’s still $22.9 million to cut from the new high schools cost before it’s within the original $350 million voter-approved bond, and what is cut next, or not, is up for discussion tonight at 6 p.m. at Warwick Veterans Middle School.

New High Schools Cost Review Ongoing

The New High Schools project’s cost overrun was last cut from rom $37.8 million to $22.9 million on Tuesday. Previously, in December the School Committee reviewed about 200 possible cuts to the program, proposed by Left Field and voted unanimously to restore some of the cut items, such as classroom storage space as well as the number of bleacher seats in the gymnasium, and new scoreboards for Pilgrim and Toll Gate.

The list of cuts, referred to as value engineering (VE) had been discussed by the district’s consultants including the OPM (Office of the Project Manager), the architects, representative of a half dozen engineering firms, and the construction manager. Saccoccio and Associates have been working on the design for Toll Gate. Pilgrim will be designed by Saam Architecture.   Dimeo Construction Management is serving as the construction firm for the project.

The project is scheduled to begin construction of on the new Pilgrim High the week of April 21. The new Toll Gate construction will begin the week of May 5.  The move in date for the high schools will be scheduled sometime between July and August 2027.

The meeting will be streamed on the district’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@wpsvideo3385

Warwick Schools 5-year budget plan

The meeting will also review a 5-year budget plan for the Warwick School Department as the district grapples with both a now-estimated $6.8 million deficit and a Warwick City Council request to the General Assembly for a Budget Commission takeover of the district to address that budget overrun.

Warwick Schools originally disclosed a $9 million FY25 deficit, which the Warwick School Committee began remedying with $2.8 million in cuts to their budget Jan. 14, the first of three planned rounds of expense reductions considered by the board. Those reductions continue as the Council and Committee wait the outcome of the budget commission legislation in the General Assembly, expected in late February.

Warwick School Committee Chairman Shaun Galligan argued that the Committee had already made substantial progress on cutting the deficit and is likely to resolve the entire problem before a commission can be established following the General Assembly’s approval of the idea, hopefully on Feb. 28. He said they’re on track to do that, including the 5-year plan the budget commission would be tasked with producing, without the special help of an appointed budget commission.

RI Auditor General David Bergantino said he’d continue to provide guidance to the department whether the commission is established or not.

While Galligan, and several members of the community, asked the Council to allow the district to handle the deficit on their own, questions between Councilman Bill Muto and Galligan established the Committee’s remedy to the situation could run concurrently to the budget commission approval process waiting for General Assembly to approve a Commission, then staff it.

“The way I look at what we can do through this is more of a belt and suspenders approach,” said Councilman Vinny  Gebhart.

C_ A Proposed Budget Reductions - Round 2 January 30, 2025 C_ B FY25_Finance_High Level 5 Year Projection 00 Special Meeting Agenda January 30, 2025