State Supreme Court

With millions at stake, Bristol appeals judge’s decision to state’s highest court

By Ted Hayes
Posted 2/22/17

The fight over millions in disputed local education funds heads to the Rhode Island Supreme Court early next month, when attorneys for Warren and Bristol are scheduled to make arguments on March …

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State Supreme Court

With millions at stake, Bristol appeals judge’s decision to state’s highest court

Posted

The fight over millions in disputed local education funds heads to the Rhode Island Supreme Court early next month, when attorneys for Warren and Bristol are scheduled to make arguments on March 9.

In early 2015, a Rhode Island Superior Court judge ruled that Warren and been paying too much, and Bristol too little, in education aid to the Bristol Warren Regional School District, based on what he ruled was a flawed application of the state’s education funding formula. After the ruling came down, Bristol appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court.

A loss at the Supreme Court is likely to cost Bristol taxpayers as much as $2 million a year. Meanwhile, Warren has been planning for the court’s decision, setting aside funds pending the decision of the high court. Those reserved funds represent the difference between what the Joint Finance Committee has ordered Warren to pay since the judge’s original decision, and what Warren believes it owes under its interpretation of the contested state funding formula. If Warren prevails at the Supreme Court level and Bristol loses its appeal, the funds will stay with Warren. If Bristol prevails, they will revert to the school district.

By the end of this fiscal year, Warren will have set aside roughly $4 million in disputed funds. That includes $1.4 million set aside as of the end of the last fiscal year in June 2016, and an additional $2.6 million that will be available as of the end of this fiscal year this coming June.

Warren Town Council members said they began setting aside funds to “hedge their bets,” reasoning that if Bristol wins the appeal they will release them but if Bristol win, they will revert to the district.

“It’s easier to set it aside and have it than to try to get it back” if the town ultimately prevails, Warren Town Council president Joseph DePasquale said last year.

This week, Mr. DePasquale said he is optimistic that Warren will once again prevail in court.

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.