Tiverton voters will be in November whether they want to approve an amendment to the town charter that would require the school department to submit detailed monthly financial reports to the town administrator and town council.

Town council member John G. Edwards V, who proposed the measure, said he was motivated by what he called the school district’s failure to provide consistent and timely financial reports to the town during the last budget cycle. He said the measure, if approved by voters, would mean the council would not be caught “flat-footed like we were this past year.”

“The largest check that this municipality writes is to the school department,” he said. “We should at least have some oversight as to where the dollars are going.”

School committee chair Diane Farnworth opposes the amendment, saying if approved, it would allow for the possibility of “year-round and potentially politically motivated scrutiny of every dollar spent on education by a branch of town government that does not have the responsibility for the care and control of our town schools as laid out by Rhode Island general law.”

She recommended that a joint finance committee be formed, consisting of elected town and school officials and others who would meet regularly to discuss the financial condition of both the town and the schools. With such an arrangement, she said, the elected officials serving on the committee would be responsible for bringing recommendations to their respective boards for consideration.

Council vice president Mike Burk, who opposes a change to the charter, expressed support for Farnsworth’s idea. He also recommended creation of a memorandum of understanding between town and school officials in lieu of a charter change.   

“Putting something like this in the charter does not allow it to be flexible enough as things change, as best practices change. I think there are other ways to go about this.”

The proposal for a monthly reporting system stems in part from tensions that surfaced during the recently completed budget cycle. Town officials were caught off guard when the school committee announced in March that massive layoffs and/or the closure of Fort Barton School were possible given a major budget deficit.

Parents mobilized immediately, packing school committee and town council meetings to voice opposition to the proposals. When they began scrutinizing the school department’s financial statements, some complained to the town council that the information they received was unclear or contradictory.

Ultimately, as school officials found ways to address the budget shortfall, they opted to keep the school open and reinstate some of the more than 30 employees who were laid off. But the ripple effects of the tumultuous budget season linger. 

Said council member David Paull: “If I had a dime for every time I heard the word ‘transparency,’ I could have funded the school department. So I fully support clarity and transparency. It’s up to the voters to decide. Any type of transparency is good government.”

The vote to send the proposed charter amendment to the voters was 4-3, with Denise deMedeiros, Jay Edwards, John G. Edwards V, and David Paull casting affirmative votes and Mike Burk, Deb Janick, and Dennis Milbourne opposed.