South Kingstown school committee forwards FY 2026 budget proposal to Town Council, requests $500,000 increase

The South Kingstown School Committee voted to forward its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal to the Town Council under “Option 2,” asking the town for an additional $500,000 rather than using $500,000 from the district fund balance.

The committee said the district faces a roughly $2.4 million net fiscal gap driven by lower state and federal aid and contractual cost increases. The administration presented three ways to close that gap: (1) shift shared services to the town and use $500,000 of fund balance; (2) shift the shared services and ask the town for an extra $500,000 (the option the committee adopted); or (3) take deeper program and staffing cuts totaling an additional $500,000 and eliminate summer credit-recovery programming.

Superintendent Pedraza and Ryan Kilpatrick presented the budget and walked the committee through assumptions: collective-bargaining salary increases, an 8% health/dental premium estimate, a 4% increase in the transportation contract, and a projected enrollment decline that reduces state aid. The administration said it had proposed roughly $1.5 million in reductions tied largely to enrollment (about 16.8 full-time-equivalent staff reductions) and still faced an $830,000 shortfall before the three options were added.

Option 2, the package the committee forwarded, would also request the town absorb costs currently on the school side for shared services including school resource officers, crossing guards, field maintenance and certain shared information-technology services. With that additional $500,000 from the town, the administration said no further reductions would be required under current assumptions and the district would avoid drawing down fund balance below the district’s 2% policy threshold at year-end.

Committee members stressed the stakes if Option 2 is not approved. Members listed a range of program areas that could face reductions in a deeper cut scenario, including intramurals, middle-school athletics, some extracurriculars, local professional development, and summer credit-recovery at the high school. The administration said those cuts would harm programming and student supports and that deeper reductions would begin to erode the district’s stated priorities of safe, engaged, future-focused learning opportunities.

The committee voted to forward Option 2 to the Town Council. School Committee members Stuart Lander, Brad Shearer, Paula Whitford, Kate Malsonami, Michelle Brusseau, James Restivo and Chair Carol Bedderts recorded “aye.” The budget packet and the adopted recommendation will be submitted to the Town Council; the committee was told the town manager will present a town recommendation in early March and a joint meeting with the committee is scheduled for March 13.

The administration noted that federal ESSER funds that had supported programs in prior years largely have ended and that the district expects smaller federal allocations and smaller carry-forwards next year. The administration also warned the committee that using fund balance this year would create a structural shortfall in FY 2027 unless revenue or other conditions change.

The committee directed the administration to submit Option 2 to the Town Council and to continue tracking enrollment, out-of-district tuitions, and final insurance and retirement rates as they become available. The Town Council will consider the request at upcoming budget workshops and a joint meeting in March.