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Warwick School Committee approves layoffs as district grapples with $1.9 million shortfall
Summary
The Warwick School Committee voted to approve proposed layoffs tied to an estimated $1.9 million funding gap. Union leaders and parents urged restoring positions; the committee said it will continue seeking budget solutions and may revisit staffing if funds become available.
The Warwick School Committee on May 27 voted to approve a motion advancing proposed layoffs after the district reported an approximately $1.9 million shortfall in local and forecasted state funding.
Darlene Neco, president of the Warwick Teachers Union, told the committee she is a 37-year English teacher in Warwick and urged reversal of the cuts. "It's unfortunate now that 15 people will be losing their jobs," Neco said, adding that prior cuts and seniority rules mean layoffs do not always follow a one-to-one correspondence with program reductions.
Committee members acknowledged the difficulty of cutting staff while describing constrained options. One member said the committee and administration had "done their due diligence" on the budget and that members had searched for a path to restore positions but "could not find a path." Miss Hazlewood said the panel was "caught between a rock and a hard place" and reiterated the committee's responsibility to balance the schools' books.
The committee stressed a continued commitment to special education and to staffing based on student need. A committee member said special-education staffing requests had typically been approved in prior budget cycles and indicated the committee would try to rotate resources to meet changing needs.
Public speakers during both comment periods urged the committee to prioritize positions that directly support students. Jeremy Langel, a PTA member, warned that even modest budget cuts ‘‘always find their way down’’ to parent groups and urged collaboration with PTAs. Mary Townsen, a special-education teacher assistant and president of the WISE union, said she hoped to see fewer position eliminations and raised concerns about planned reconfigurations of early-learning programs.
Roll-call voting recorded in the transcript shows four recorded "Yes" votes and one abstention (Mr. Tester), and the motion carried. The committee did not specify which individual positions would be eliminated in the public portion of the meeting.
Committee members said they would continue to pursue cost savings and operational efficiencies and said the possibility remains that positions could be restored if additional funding is secured in the coming weeks or months. The committee announced future meetings, including a June 10 monthly meeting and several subcommittee dates, to continue budget and policy work.
