Warwick School Committee adopts limited vacant-position cuts, tables pension reductions after public outcry

The Warwick School Committee voted 5–0 on Jan. 30 to adopt a set of limited budget moves that shift $300,000 from the general fund to grants, implement four vacant maintenance/custodial cuts and one vacant 1-to-1 teacher-assistant position, and to table proposed pension contribution reductions (FY24 and FY25) for additional review on Feb. 11.

The decision followed more than an hour of public comment in which teachers, teacher assistants, maintenance workers and parents urged the committee to preserve frontline positions. "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 from a statement on behalf of WISE President Mary Townsend. Tim Cain, director of the Warwick Area Career & Technical Center, said the proposed cuts to TAs would remove supports for roughly 135 students with individualized education plans and "would fall out of compliance with special education law." Austin Irons, a culinary instructor and parent, warned that understaffing in equipment-heavy classrooms creates safety risks.

Committee member remarks and the substitute motion framed the vote. Member Testa proposed an amendment to limit reductions to positions that are currently vacant or soon to be vacant and to remove pension reductions from the package; after discussion he withdrew a standalone motion and the chair offered a substitute motion that the committee approved. The motion explicitly: moved $300,000 from the general fund to grant accounts, tabled pension contribution reductions of $1,443,152 (FY24) and $776,601 (FY25) to be reconsidered Feb. 11, and proceeded with personnel cuts limited to four vacant maintenance positions plus one vacant 1-to-1 TA.

The committee did not adopt broader TA cuts proposed earlier by administration; several members said midyear reductions to filled instructional-support posts would harm students and risk violating IEP requirements. Finance staff and committee members stressed the district is still facing a multi-million-dollar deficit for FY25 and that additional budget adjustments will be needed as the process moves toward the city and a Feb. 11 follow-up. The chair said the committee "will draw down the deficit as much as we can until we feel uncomfortable," adding the panel cannot legally end the year with an outstanding deficit.

Next steps: pension contribution recommendations and additional line-item reductions will be revisited at a Feb. 11 meeting, and administration will continue preparing a comprehensive staffing plan tied to the FY26 budget.