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Council receives school budget deficit notice; members debate causes and urge joint audit
Summary
Council received a statutory notice from the superintendent of a projected FY27 budget deficit; school committee members said the FY27 budget passed 4–3 and cited 39 out‑of‑district placements costing about $2.8 million; councilors urged collaboration, proposed additional operational funding options, and later approved a motion to pursue an independent personnel audit.
The council received a communication from Newport Public Schools Superintendent Colleen Burns Germain notifying the city of a projected budget deficit under Rhode Island General Law 16‑2‑9(f). School committee members present said the FY27 budget passed on a 4–3 vote and that the district currently has 39 out‑of‑district special‑education placements that will cost roughly $2.8 million — costs the district is legally obligated to pay.
Councilors criticized the timing and composition of the school budget and urged more coordinated fiscal work between the city and the school committee. School committee members and councilors agreed on the need to collaborate on operational funding and audits; the school committee noted internal and pending audits (fiscal and staffing) and the council later moved to commission an independent personnel audit to evaluate organizational structure and the feasibility of realigning the school finance office under the city's finance department. "We had 39 students in out of district placements ... and I think that we are anticipating that that will be like 2,800,000 to pay for those students, which we're legally responsible to do," a school representative said.
