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RISD faces multi-million-dollar deficit; trustees weigh recurring raises, one-time stipends and a VATRE
Summary
Finance staff warned of an estimated $21M deficit for 2026-27 without raises and presented compensation options ranging from recurring salary increases (multiple models) to a one-time retention stipend; staff also discussed using a local permanent school fund balance (~$27M) and the possibility of a VATRE to raise roughly $7.7M.
District finance leaders told trustees the general-fund forecast shows a substantial shortfall under current assumptions and presented several compensation options for the board to consider.
Mister Pate summarized the fiscal picture: enrollment is the primary driver of state funding and the district's demographer projects a multi-year decline in students; staff estimated a current-year deficit approaching $25.8M and a $21M shortfall for 2026-27 if the board does not adopt additional recurring revenue or expenditure reductions. Staff emphasized a set of previously identified budget reductions totaling roughly $25.7M that have already been planned as part of Project Right Size.
Doctor Goodson presented three compensation approaches: option A and option B (structured recurring salary increases by experience buckets or flat-percentage raises) and option A1 (a one-time retention stipend delivered as a non-recurring payment). Examples given: a flat 1% increase costs about $3.6M, 2% about $7.2M and 3% about $10.8M; option A (targeted recurring adjustments including teacher pay schedule changes) was estimated at roughly $5.6M in one example, while a larger option B would cost about $8.1M. The one-time stipend model (option A1) is cheaper to the recurring budget but does not increase base pay or TRSable salary; staff suggested the local permanent school fund (noted in the presentation at $27M) could be used to support a one-time stipend if the board chooses.
Staff also presented revenue options: modest fee increases to the Explore after-school/summer program (projected net ~ $700,000) and the VATRE, which would ask voters to restore up to 3.17 cents of local taxing authority taken by state compression and could produce an estimated net of about $7.7M. Staff warned that the upcoming 90th legislative session could change districts' taxing options and said the VATRE timeline requires hiring an auditor for a mandated efficiency audit and strict public-notice and election deadlines.
Trustees told staff they wanted further benchmarking and asked staff to model combinations of options (for example partial recurring raises plus one-time stipends), and to return with more precise impacts on the multiyear forecast ahead of budget adoption in June.
