Finance board faces big decision on Bristol Warren schools

By Scott Pickering
Posted 3/15/18

Superintendent of Schools Mario Andrade will make one last appeal to the group that determines how much money he and the district have next school year. The Bristol Warren Joint Finance Committee …

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Finance board faces big decision on Bristol Warren schools

Posted

Superintendent of Schools Mario Andrade will make one last appeal to the group that determines how much money he and the district have next school year. The Bristol Warren Joint Finance Committee meets Thursday night and is expected to vote on 2018-19 funding for the district.

The school district is asking for a 3.97 percent increase in its budget, but that’s only part of the story. Mr. Andrade says that increase ($2.1 million) does not include any new programs, initiatives or expansion in services — that’s the cost of contractual increases and continuation of current programs.

At the same time, however, the State of Rhode Island is cutting its funding for the district by more than $1 million. The net impact to taxpayers is a $3.2 million increase — or a 9 percent hike in local spending for public education.

“I feel really good about the kinds of conversations we’ve been having,” Mr. Andrade said, referring to a series of workshops and a public relations campaign that he and Joint Finance Chairman Andy Tyska launched months ago. Together, they have met with parents’ groups, town leaders and joint finance committee members, to create a long-term conversation about school funding. State funding is projected to decrease again the following year, and the year after that.

“I think people are realizing these decisions are not only for this year, they affect future years,” Mr. Andrade said.

In his last-ditch effort before the decision-makers (six representatives from Bristol and three from Warren) Thursday night, Mr. Andrade will present a new comparative analysis between Bristol Warren and its neighbors to the north and south (see chart below).

According to 2016 data, Bristol Warren and Barrington have nearly identical student populations, yet Bristol Warren spends nearly three times more on benefits to retirees. These are based on contractual obligations that stretch back decades. And while Bristol Warren’s student population is only 25 percent larger than Portsmouth’s, it spends seven times what Portsmouth does on retiree benefits.

While Barrington and Portsmouth have no debt, the Bristol Warren district is paying about $3 million per year on debt service. That’s because in Barrington and Portsmouth, the towns pay for school building improvements or construction. In Bristol Warren, the district pays.

Barrington spends 60 percent of its budget on classroom instruction; Bristol Warren spends only 50 percent.

Lastly, Bristol devoted 52 percent of its budget to public education in 2016, and Warren devoted 46 percent. In contrast, Barrington spent 68 percent of its budget on public education, and Portsmouth spent 59 percent.

Mr. Andrade is hoping to see their budget request fully funded Thursday night, and he’s optimistic that all their efforts have triggered an important conversation about public school funding in this district — because it’s only going to get worse. A year from now, the district will be losing another $1 million in state aid annually.

Mr. Tyska is also working to get full funding Thursday night. Contacted Wednesday, he said, “I’m spending my efforts, very intensively now, ensuring that the information that committee members needs is both accessible and available.”

Asked what he hopes will happen, he said, “I hope that the Joint Finance Committee can understand what is necessary in order to provide our schools with the resources they need to provide fully educational opportunities for all children, and that we continue the conversation and planning for the next three years.”

“I’d like to see, if not a fully funded budget, as close to it as possible, with a commitment to look toward the future.”

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Mt. Hope High School.

Bristol-Warren vs. its neighbors

 

Bristol-Warren Barrington Portsmouth
Payments for Retiree Benefits $2.34 million $891,529 $325,481
Debt Service $3 million $0 $0
Instruction $27 million (50%) $29 million (60%) $20.6 million (53%)
% of Mun. Budget Bris. 52%, War. 46% 68% 59%

 

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