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Hello JohnStark:

Thank you for your insightful comparison of Warwick and Cranston schools. While I am not going to defend the comparatively poorer results in Warwick, at least some of the fiscal discrepancy can be attributed to Warwick maintaining relatively level funding of the school department as the student population has plummeted; had the school department more responsibly handled the consolidation process earlier, Warwick's per-student spending would have been reduced to more comparable levels to Cranston's. Put in plain terms, Warwick has been keeping half-full buildings open for too long.

On those disparities in achievement, you make several valid points about families who may not have the choice or availed themselves of the information to send their children elsewhere. I am hopeful that the consolidation of the high schools and the planned consolidation of elementary schools will somewhat right this proverbial ship, reducing the overall spending on education while paying for schools that operate closer to their capacity in terms of student population.