Council defeats effort to force special election to revoke $350 million school bond authorization

The Warwick City Council voted to defeat a resolution asking the Rhode Island General Assembly to authorize a special election that would allow voters to revoke the city's $350 million bond authorization for two new high schools. Council members who opposed the measure said the original bond had been approved by voters and the better course was to manage cost and scope through the existing project process.

The resolution, introduced by Councilman Ladiser and debated at length during the intergovernmental committee and at the full council meeting, sought authorization for a special election to stop construction of the two high schools. Supporters of the resolution argued that rising costs and design changes meant the public should decide again. Critics said a special election would overturn the result of the 2022 vote and risk losing state reimbursements and progress already made.

Why it matters: Voters approved the 2022 bond measure authorizing $350 million in general-obligation indebtedness to replace Pilgrim and Tollgate high schools. The project later showed a projected budget gap that proponents said could be narrowed; opponents said the gap and other budget pressures mean taxpayers should be given another vote.

What the council decided: On the full council docket members debated a motion to take "unfavorable action" on the resolution (effectively defeating the request to pursue a special election). The clerk recorded seven votes in favor of the motion to take unfavorable action; the council therefore defeated the measure and no special-election request will be sent to the General Assembly.

Arguments for a new vote: The resolution's sponsor, Councilman Ladiser, said he was "100% support" of giving voters the option and framed the measure as restoring a public check on a project that supporters now say faces cost challenges. Several public speakers said the project has grown above what voters were explicitly asked to approve on the ballot in 2022 and urged the council to halt further work pending a revote. Contractor and resident Rob Cody told the council, "you could not build these schools for $350,000,000," saying industry experience predicted higher costs.

Arguments against a new vote: Building-committee chair David Testa (chair of the building committee) told the council the resolution amounted to "an effort to subvert the will of the voters because some people didn't like the result," and warned that stopping the project would forfeit roughly $173 million in guaranteed state reimbursement plus interest and would require repayment of more than $13 million the city has already spent on design and preconstruction. Testa and other speakers argued delays and restarting the process would increase overall costs and put the project's state incentives at risk.

Public testimony: Dozens of residents and stakeholders spoke during an extended public-comment period. Speakers in favor of halting the project cited projected overruns and the risk that taxpayers would face a larger burden; speakers opposed to stopping the project warned that delay would increase cost, that many families moved to or remained in Warwick because of the planned improvements, and that the city has no feasible alternative plan that would cost less while delivering equivalent educational facilities.

Budget context and clarifying numbers: During public testimony the building committee chair gave the project's most recent gap estimate as $23,000,000 with roughly $17,000,000 still held as contingency. Committee members and the administration also noted that delays between the 2022 vote and later reviews have added construction-inflation costs to the project.

Votes at a glance: - PCR 15-25 (resolution requesting GA authorization for a special election to revoke further indebtedness tied to the $350,000,000 authorization for two new high schools): motion to take "unfavorable action" carried (the clerk recorded seven votes in favor of the motion to take unfavorable action); the council thereby defeated the request to pursue a special election.

What happens next: With the council's defeat of the resolution, the city will continue work under the existing approvals unless the school committee or the mayor takes other steps; proponents of a revote may pursue other legal or legislative options but the council's action prevents the city from asking the General Assembly for election authority at this time.

Ending: Council members and the administration said they would continue to hold public briefings about the project's finances and schedule; several council members asked staff and the building team to produce updated, straightforward tax-impact and timeline figures so residents could better understand how the project might affect property tax obligations.