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Boston Globe

Warwick official warns schools won't be able to buy books, pay teachers

'There is a system in place for approval. There is not going to be any disruption, especially to payroll,' Picozzi said. 'These are things (Galligan) is fabricating. Expenditures will be approved. They need to worry about keeping their own house in order. They are the ones who created this mess.' Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Picozzi pushed to create the Warwick Public Schools Budget Commission to oversee school finances after schools officials revealed they were facing a $9 million deficit. Advertisement Galligan noted He said that would allow for emergency spending on a broken water pipe, for example. But he said the schools would be violating the terms of the law if it allowed spending on routine payroll, supplies, and other spending in the general operating budget. Advertisement 'It impacts paying teachers, custodians, clerical workers, principals, administrators,' Galligan said. 'And it affects every single expenditure, including books, copy paper, and toilet paper.' The dispute comes as City Finance Director Peder Schaefer just retired on Friday. But Picozzi said City Treasurer Lynne Prodger is serving as interim finance director. 'She would approve any school spending that needs to be approved in the next few weeks,' he said. 'There won't even be a bump in the road.' Galligan said that despite opposing the legislation, he and the schools superintendent have made two appointments to the five-member budget commission. But he noted Picozzi has not yet presented his three appointments to the City Council for confirmation, although the state legislation creating the budget commission Picozzi said he has already chosen three people for the budget commission, and he will announce their names later this week. He said their nominations will come before the City Council on April 21 for confirmation. 'It just became law last week,' the mayor said. 'I couldn't appoint commission members until the law passed.' But Galligan questioned why Picozzi had not made his nominations in time for the City Council meeting 'Since the mayor has not made his appointments and the commission has not been convened, routine and essential expenditures — such as for classroom materials or operational needs — may become delayed very soon," he said. If the commission continues to be delayed, the school district's ability to act on basic matters could 'snowball,' Galligan said. Advertisement 'It could compromise special education services, school safety upgrades, facility repairs, and timely payroll,' he said. 'In the long run, it threatens to erode public confidence and educational quality.' Picozzi said he 'absolutely' sees a need for the school budget commission, which is modeled after similar commissions created in Woonsocket and East Providence during the administration of former Governor Donald L. Carcieri, a Republican who served from 2003 to 2011. The mayor has said the size of the school department deficit came as a surprise, and that if it's not promptly addressed, it could lead to big tax increases and bond ratings that would raise borrowing costs for Picozzi said school officials have outlined some potential cuts, but he said they don't appear sufficient to close the $9 million budget gap. For example, he said the idea of delaying pension contributions would be like 'saying you have extra money this month because you didn't pay your mortgage.' 'I don't have confidence they can solve it,' Picozzi has said of school officials. 'They created the problem, apparently without even knowing they created it.' Galligan said, 'Respectfully, I would counter that the school committee and superintendent have acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and taken aggressive, transparent steps to address it. To claim we didn't know about the problem is a false narrative and ignores the corrective actions already underway and the collaborative discussions we've had with the mayor and the City Council.' Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at