Pawtucket School Committee approves FY27 budget after split vote

The Pawtucket School Committee approved the second passage of the fiscal year 2027 budget by a roll-call vote recorded as 4-2.

The chair introduced agenda item 4 as the "approval of the second passage of the FY27 budget." A motion to approve the budget was made and seconded and the clerk called the roll. The clerk recorded affirmative votes from four members and negative votes from two members, and the motion was recorded as approved.

During a short discussion before the vote a committee member objected to approving the budget as written. The member said, "I just wanna say that this is a huge mistake... I hope that when the layoffs come next year and people have bigger classroom sizes that those that vote to pass this budget don't get cute and vote no on things that this is the result of," arguing negotiators should have asked for more and warning of staffing impacts.

No dollar figures, line-item changes, or specific layoffs were stated on the record; the transcript records the objection as a policy concern rather than a presentation of specific budget numbers or savings. The chair proceeded to a roll-call vote immediately after the brief discussion and the committee voted to approve the second passage of the FY27 budget.

The committee adjourned following the vote.