EAST PROVIDENCE — Calling it a "very big issue," City Council President and Mayor Tommy Rose at a meeting of his body on January 19 wondered aloud if the School Department was running a significant surplus and questioned how it was spending that money if indeed it was.

Mr. Rose claimed the schools were either "$5.4 or $5.6 million" in the black and has that amount available for use in the Fiscal Year 2015-16. He said he had heard those numbers being bandied about and received confirmation the surplus was in that neighborhood from Ward 2 School Committee representative Tony Ferreira.

"After hearing about the last School Committee meeting (on January 12) and about a bunch of contracts being approved, I started to do some more research," Mr. Rose said last Tuesday. "I began hearing about a surplus and I had confirmation and now I want double confirmation as far as there being $5.4 million surplus on the School Committee side, which is being talked about for teachers' contracts, being saved for their next contracts…That was never brought up at that meeting."

The School Committee, at the recommendation of Superintendent Kathryn Crowley, approved a host of contracts for the district's administrators and principals at its January 12 meeting. Most of those pacts were for three years in length.

Mr. Rose asked City Finance Director Malcolm Moore to delve deeper into the actual figures of the potential surplus. He then noted the district had held money to pay for retiree benefits, but said when the Council has similarly set aside  or spent cash to fulfill contractual obligations, it has faced heavy criticism.

Mr. Rose said it was time that both the City Council and School Committee "put all their cards on the table," adding "not any one of them (School Committee members) have spoken about that (the surplus)" in their recent dealings together. He questioned why the schools needed an additional $800,000-plus from the city for their FY15-16 budget, which led to a 1.3 percent tax increase, if there was access to so much money.

"We're trying to do our due diligence," Mr. Rose said about budgetary matters. "We're trying to work with the five-year plan," he added, referencing the outline set forth by the former Budget Commission.

The money requested by the district from the city is supposed to earmarked towards some short-term infrastructure improvements as well as the hiring of maintenance staff among other items.

"I'd like to see those projects being done and if the money is being used correctly," Mr. Rose added.

Reached for comment after the meeting, Mr. Rose's counterpart on the district side, School Committee Chairman Charlie Tsonos, said the council president did not have a complete grasp of the facts.

"There is $5.4 million, but that is part of our obligation. There is no surplus. All of that money is already spoken for," Mr. Tsonos said, acknowledging payments the district owes its employees for ARC (Annual Retirement Contributions) and OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits).

"We need those funds to be distributed in order to stay current," Mr. Tsonos continued. "It's not like we have a choice in how to spend that money and it's never been a secret either."

With that in mind, Mr. Tsonos said the School Committee has tasked Deputy City Finance Director Linda Dykeman with formulating a comprehensive paper detailing how and where the money is being spent. While noting all of the information is already available, he said Mrs. Dykeman will formally present her findings to the Committee at its meeting on February 9, but that it should be entered into the public domain a bit sooner. Mr. Tsonos did not know whether Mrs. Dykeman would be asked to speak before the Council on the subject.

"If Mayor Rose wants to throws those kinds of figures out there, that's his prerogative," Mr. Tsonos added. "But rather than piecemeal things, we're going to have all the information presented at one time... All of the questions will be answered."