Newport school officials warn of multimillion‑dollar budget gap; committee asks for 5% and 10% cut scenarios

School officials told the Newport School Committee on Tuesday that the district is working from a draft budget showing a projected shortfall of roughly $3 million to $4.5 million for the coming fiscal year, and committee members pressed administration for concrete scenarios that would show how a 5 percent or 10 percent reduction would affect schools and central office.

“...we have a draft, that will be ready for discussion, at full school committee meeting in February. It appears, our new sub finance committee will have some guidance to further develop or evolve our budget gap of between 3 and 4 and a half million dollars that's forecasted as of January,” Director Gonzales (S21) told the committee. Gonzales said the estimate factors in anticipated state aid, an assumed 4 percent increase in the local appropriation and planned use of fund balance.

Members asked administration to model immediate, across‑the‑board reductions so the committee can see dollar impacts by cost center. Gonzales agreed to produce a template showing the dollar effect of a 5 percent and 10 percent reduction on salary and fringe categories and other cost centers, and to prioritize firming up revenue numbers when the governor’s estimate and health‑insurance renewals become available.

“A 5% cut across the board, salary fringe benefits would net approximately 2,000,000; a 10% would net approximately 4,” Gonzales said during the meeting.

Committee members and administrators discussed constraints on where cuts could fall: contractual obligations (bargained agreements), transportation requirements, and protected categorical funding such as Impact Aid. Several members urged caution before cutting programs that would weaken services for students; others urged prompt modeling so the board can make informed choices.

The committee set near‑term deadlines: staff will return with a modeled 5 percent/10 percent impact at the finance subcommittee and a fuller discussion will follow at the next full meeting so the board can review options, potential program impacts, and legal requirements before making final decisions.

The district will also continue pursuing state and local revenue clarifications; Gonzales said more precise figures should be available in March–May as insurance renewals and state allocations are finalized. The committee asked that any modeling include both dollar totals and illustrative examples of positions or services that would be affected if reductions were implemented.