Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Cranston officials say schools face layoffs, closures unless more funding is found
Loading...
Summary
School leaders told the council at a special public-comment and finance hearing that long-term underfunding and rising costs leave Cranston Public Schools with a multi-million-dollar shortfall; superintendent and schoolcommittee leaders warned of staff cuts, school consolidations and service reductions if city and state aid fall short.
Council members and school officials spent a large portion of the April 16 special meeting and finance committee hearing focused on the Cranston Public Schools budget and a widening funding gap.
At the opening public-comment session, Anthony Malillo, vice chair of the Cranston School Committee, told the council the district had not expanded since the pandemic but had “reduced their staff by 95 positions” over recent years and asked the city to stop assuming staffing costs could be absorbed without consequence. Dominic Fusco, the school committee chair, emphasized the district's scale: “We employ just under 1,200 workers, we maintain 20 buildings, and most importantly, we educate 11,000 students,” he said, urging added support.
Superintendent Joseph Balducci delivered the school department's budget presentation to the finance committee and framed the problem as long-term underfunding. He said the city contribution had risen about 18% since 2009 while inflation over the same period effectively required roughly a 38% increase to maintain purchasing power. Balducci highlighted that Cranston's per-pupil spending (listed at $19,824 for 2023-24) remains below the state average of $22,881 and said the district has been "operating on a very lean budget." He warned that without additional funding the district would face program cuts, school consolidations and higher class sizes.
Balducci also outlined specific drivers of the shortfall. The school department reported roughly $13 million in extraordinary high-cost special-education expenses and said the governor's FY27 proposal would provide about $1.5 million toward that category for Cranston. He and other school officials noted charter-school tuition outflows and timing differences in state aid can magnify local gaps; the district estimated a multi-year impact of roughly $19.3 million tied to students and state aid leaving for charter operators.
On contracts, Balducci said the district needs roughly $4.2 million in new funding to meet negotiated salary and benefit increases and associated costs. The mayor's proposed budget includes $1.5 million for the schools; Balducci said that would still leave a substantial gap and that the district is preparing a mix of cost-saving options, including attrition-based staffing reductions and a committee to examine consolidations.
Council members and the mayor pressed for detail on likely impacts. Balducci said the district has already issued layoff notices affecting about 35 employees and that, depending on retirements and recalls, at least a dozen staff positions may remain eliminated when the new year begins. He said the most likely savings would come from staffing reductions rather than discretionary purchases: "Our cost-cutting measures will be in staff," he told the committee.
Several council members pushed back on one-time fixes. The administration described a proposed one-time payment tied to the city's sale of surplus school buildings (reported as $750,000 for the district) but both city and school leaders agreed that one-time proceeds do not address recurring maintenance or operating needs.
What happens next: the finance committee and full council will continue hearings through the budget process; the city charter requires a final city budget adjustment by May 15, and the council would need a supermajority (7 of 9 votes) to adopt a levy increase above the cap. Mayor Traficante has flagged a proposed levy increase that he says would generate roughly $15 million, with much of that revenue earmarked to close city-side gaps; council members said they are still weighing how much to allocate to schools versus other obligations.
The superintendent closed by noting concrete effects that families and students could see if gaps remain: larger class sizes, fewer programs and potential school closures. "Our operations will look significantly different to our constituents," he said.
Ending: The hearing continues as the council and administration weigh whether to use bond proposals, reallocate city funds or pursue a levy increase to close the gap; school officials said the timeline is short and that further cuts will be decided this spring if additional revenue is not secured.
