School Committee Votes On Council $3.9M Budget Boost Tonight

WARWICK — Tonight at about 6 p.m., the Warwick School Committee will return from closed session to attend to a few matters, chief among them a vote on whether to approve the Warwick City Council’s appropriation of $3.9 million extra for Warwick Schools, ending a months-long standoff between the bodies.

On Monday, the Warwick City Council unanimously approved the additional funds, sans a provision that would have asked the school department to pay back a $4 million deficit in FY19, taken out at the behest of Rhode Island Auditor General Dennis Hoyle.

The funding allows the Schools to restore 17 line items cut from the education budget. Those cuts included:

1. All textbooks cut / no textbooks will be purchased (this includes e-books and other digital media).
2. All classroom Teacher Assistants in Grades 1 and 2 have been cut.
3. All custodial hours have been reduced by 12%.
4. All Middle and High School Assistance Counselors positions have been cut (these positions are part of a statewide program utilized in all public schools to educate students on the perils of substance abuse and to provide assistance and support to students and families in crisis).
5. Eliminated four maintenance staff who are critical to the operation.
6. 90% of all technology hardware has been cut, jeopardizing the district initiative to provide Chromebooks for all Middle and High School students.
7. All teacher professional development and workshops have been cut.

The evening’s vote is the final vote needed to resolve the funding crisis for the school department. Copies of the agenda and meeting documents for the meeting’s other business have been embedded below:

Warwick_School_Committee_July_25_04 Contract Award-Portajohn Rental Warwick_School_Committee_July_25_03 Contract Award-NEST Contract Extension Warwick_School_Committee_July_25_02 Bid Award-Toll Gate Football Uniforms Warwick_School_Committee_July_25_01 Bid Award-Athletic Equipment & Supplies Amended Agenda-July 25, 2019