Warwick officials split over bill to create temporary school budget commission amid reported deficit

Mayor Frank Boccozzi and the Warwick delegation asked the Rhode Island House Committee on Education on Feb. 6 to authorize a temporary Warwick Public Schools Budget Commission (H 5252) to examine a reported budget shortfall and recommend a multi-year amortization plan.

Boccozzi told the committee the school department notified city leaders in December of a possible additional deficit “in the neighborhood of $9,000,000” on top of unresolved prior year issues, and that in combination with recent borrowing and capital projects the city’s bond rating and capacity to build two planned high schools could be at risk. “If our bond rating is lowered . . . it’s gonna cost tens of millions of dollars more for these high schools and that would sink the project,” the mayor said, urging an independent commission with narrow financial authority.

Sean Galligan, chairman of the Warwick School Committee, and Lynn Danbrook, superintendent of Warwick Public Schools, testified in strong opposition. Galligan told the committee the $10,000,000 figure was a worst-case, and that the school committee had already taken measures that reduced the projected shortfall. “The deficit is not $10,000,000. That number is…