The School Committee, at its Tuesday, Aug. 8, meeting approved an operational budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 in the amount of $97,024,640 with an increase year-over-year in city aid of $1,912,531 or 3.6 percent.

The committee did so after a lengthy back-and-forth between the members and district administrators, who presented the body with two separate proposals. The other called for an operational budget of $97,235,747 with an increase of some $2.1 million in city support or 4 percent more year-over-year.

For review, the district administration found itself in a bit of a sticky wicket, knowing on the one hand it needed a healthy increase in city support for the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year, but on the other understanding sources of existing funding will run dry and must be replaced, somehow and from somewhere, about this time next fall.

Last Tuesday night, Superintendent Dr. Sandra Forand and District Finance Director Craig Enos guided members through the latest incarnations of the  proposed budgets, which needed to be in place soon so it could be considered by their counterparts on the City Council before the annual October 31 deadline.

Remember, East Providence's fiscal year does not match that of the state, running from November 1 to October 31 rather than the July 1-June 30 used by the General Assembly and nearly every other municipality in Rhode Island.

The district admins and the entire School Committee entered into discussions with the office of Mayor Bob DaSilva over the past six weeks, holding a series of workshops where the sides determined, in part, how much the city would contribute to school operations over the next 12 months.

The district initially sought a contribution of roughly $55.2 million from the city next year, up from the $53.1 in the current fiscal outlay. Both sides knew the state aid figure in FY23-24 would be just over $39 million. That was determined by the General Assembly during its 2023 session ending in late June.

All told, the school administration was anticipating expenditures for next year to be the $97.2 million figure.

However, at a last-minute meeting held just the Saturday previous, August 5, at the behest of DaSilva, the last known form of the budget was altered slightly. The mayor was joined at the gathering by Forand, Enos, School Committee chair Jenni Furtado and city side Finance Director Malcolm Moore,

The mayor's office requested the district reduce its proposal package by $211,107. As part of that, the city agreed to absorb into its planned police department allocation the $120,000 cost for a second School Resource Officer (SRO) at East Providence High School, which the district had included in its original plan.

In essence, the mayor was asking the district to remove just over $90,000 from its budget, which Forand and Enos deemed it could do by dropping salaries ($65,751) and health benefits ($25,356) of some new hires and due to retirements.

With the changes made, the district's requested increase from the city year-over-year fell from $2.1 million to $1.9 million or 4 percent to 3.6%.

"We feel it's a strong budget and reflects our priorities. And we will make it work. We always do," Forand said at the end of her presentation, which explained how the district would address the mayor's request.

What that means for the district in the future, though, remains unknown.

Forand reiterated it's facing the potential loss of multiple grant and federal funding sources, like Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), over the next 12 months. But some mandates, both educational and contractual, will remain in place and will be required to be paid for by some means.

The superintendent is hoping as the district's enrollment continues to grow — she said East Providence is only one of five in the state to go up this year from 5,305 to some 5,350 as of the afternoon of the committee meeting — it will receive more state aid. It's not a guarantee, however. If current form holds, Forand said the district is anticipating a decrease in support from the state.

And because the FY23-24 budget was reduced by the $200K-plus figure, the annual maximum percentage increase the district can seek from the city in FY24-25 by law will only be 4 percent more than it receives in the upcoming fiscal year.

Asked by Ward 1 member Ryan Queenan if she was comfortable running the department with the amended budget, Forand said, "We feel as if we can make it work knowing that next year we've been using funding sources that will be ending to supplement the budget.

"So knowing next year there are things that are not in this budget that will need to come back into the budget...The numbers that you have...we have to make work. Whatever we have, we have to make work."

Forand noted the district is utilizing all possible funding sources..."writing for every possible grant we can. We're trying to maximize every dollar we can." She said it's availed the district to monies for the purchase of musical instruments, construction, furniture, to support arts programs and outdoor classrooms among other things of note.

At-Large member Tony Ferreira initially balked at voting on the amended budget, saying he wanted to support the district administration and to put the onus on the Council to make any cuts. Ward 2 member Max Brandle said it would be hard for him to vote on any reductions being sought in the negotiations considering the needs of the district, something the superintendent acknowledged.

"It is a difficult decision because we want to be good partners with the city," Forand said of agreeing to the changes. "They support us with the SRO, moving that into the city budget. We do work really well with the city and the different city departments. We will be able to make the budget work this year, then we'll come back to the table again next year and we need to look at it."

The final tally on the measure was 3-1 in favor. Furtado, Queenan and Brandle voted to approve the amended budget. Ferreira did not. Ward 4 member Jessica Beauchaine was absent from the proceedings.