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Teachers, TAs and maintenance staff urge Warwick School Committee not to cut frontline positions
Summary
Dozens of staff, parents and union representatives told the committee that proposed TA and maintenance cuts would harm student safety, reduce inclusion and increase long-term costs; many asked the committee to prioritize vacancies and administrative savings instead.
More than a dozen employees, parents and union representatives told the Warwick School Committee on Jan. 30 that proposed FY25 cuts to teacher assistants and maintenance staff would damage services and student safety.
Speakers described classroom conditions and program needs in detail. "We are the custodial staff that open each and every school...we are the foundation and backbone of Warwick Public Schools," Nicole Peacock, a TA at WELC, read on behalf of WISE President Mary Townsend. Tim Cain, director of the Warwick Area Career & Technical Center, said the center has about 500 students with roughly 135 students on IEPs and warned a proposed 75% reduction in his TAs would jeopardize compliance with federal requirements and work-based-learning placements. "Without these crucial supports, many of the students will face unnecessary barriers to their success," Cain said.
Teachers and TAs described crowded special-education rooms, frequent behavioral incidents that sometimes required restraints, and special activities that would be curtailed without extra adults. "We have students who elope," said Kayla D'Ambra, a TA at Norwood Elementary; she noted that inclusion, outdoor recess and special activities depend on multiple adults in the room. Emily Carzona, an IES TA at Whitman Middle School, said classrooms are "overfilled" and stressed that midyear reductions risk safety and IEP noncompliance.
Maintenance staff and custodians warned the committee that cutting building mechanics and helpers will leave older school facilities vulnerable to reactive repairs and higher long-term costs. "If we cut those positions...they're gonna fall apart," Todd Hertow, a maintenance helper filling as head custodian at Warwick Neck Elementary, said, citing frozen pipes and flooding as examples.
Union representative John Burns and other speakers also pressed for clearer pension and finance documentation, asking administration to explain prior contributions and where previously budgeted amounts were spent.
Taken together, the public testimony emphasized two consistent requests: (1) prioritize cuts to vacant positions rather than filled frontline roles, and (2) provide more transparent financial documentation before implementing widespread personnel reductions.
