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Dear critics,

The School Committee receives $160,000,000 and from the moment they receive THE TAXPAYERS MONEY no one, including the City Council OR THE TAXPAYERS THAT ARE PAYING THE TAB have any control or can even "advise" how it is spent. That is by city charter and that is the root of the problem. In my research that you so quickly determine that I don't do, I have learned that they have a cash reserve for their health benefits. There is over $4,000,000 in that reserve. It has increased every year for 18 years (the same amount of time that Avedisian has been Mayor). Not one penny has ever been withdrawn from it IN EIGHTEEN YEARS and I can't figure out WHY, DEAR GOD, WHY they even have this "cash reserve". I suspect it is one of the many places they deposit taxpayers money without benefiting the TAXPAYERS THAT ARE PAYING THE TAB! We NEED an audit of the School Committee to get a handle on where the money is. Ask any City Council member. I have! If you find one that disagrees with me, let me know.

As far as Bob_Cushman is concerned, he says I failed to acknowledge the City side of the budget. He's right! That's because the above article is NOT about the City side. It's about the School Committee budget. I still consider him one the most intelligent citizens in Warwick, and have said so on many occasions. He just missed my focus on this one.

The best comment comes from Kammy, who is actually looking for a solution. Thank you Kammy. Here it is.

As Mayor I would invite both sides to "lock themselves in" and not leave until we have negotiated a new teachers contract. Kammy, you have previously stated that your children are grown, so you have no real "skin in the game" but you also said that the quality of life in Warwick will be greatly enhanced if the teachers finally receive a new contract. I couldn't agree more! That should be our ONLY focus for now. I would join in that "voluntary-kidnapping" and sit and negotiate as long as it took to get an agreement. The Teachers Union seems agreeable to do this but the School Committee does not. (It worked for Mayor Joe Walsh!) The current Mayor has not participated in the first year-plus of negotiations and when he finally did, I was the first (one of the first) to applaud his new-found efforts.

Now, as to the School Committee receiving $85,000,000 MORE! Kammy, until the taxpayers know where their present $160,000,000 (per year for ten+- years) went; until we have an independent audit from an outside source; until the questions that the City Council continues to ask get answered, I am absolutely against borrowing MORE of the taxpayers money and giving it to the School Committee in hopes that they will "spend it wisely". I have compared our cost-of-educating-each-student in Warwick with every other city and we are the most expensive BY FAR. Warwick is even more costly than Beverly Hills! (by about $4,000 per year per student!) I wrote about that in a previous article. If we add another $85,000,000, without ANY guarantees where it is being spent I am sure, Kammy, that a huge portion will be spent on School Committee "staff" and very little will be spent on the items that you and I agree the schools need! Have you ever asked why the School Committee staff is growing at about 30% in the last year or so, while the number of teachers are decreasing by the same 30% or so? The teachers have and so have I. I think we agree on the need for improvements. We just have to have some better control of the money. After all, didn't we already give the School Committee over A BILLION DOLLARS OF TAXPAYERS MONEY? What "capital improvements" did they spend it on? We didn't even have sewers at Vets! The taxpayers were paying for the septic to be pumped more than once a week! Kammy! That's insane! We need an impartial watchdog to assure that any new money will be spent on capital improvements ALONE! Maybe someone like you, Kammy. Maybe the City Council? Maybe Bob Cushman. If you were supervising it Kammy, and you controlled over a BILLION DOLLARS IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, would Warwick have schools that are in better shape?

It's not the need that is the issue. It's how the School Committee serves that need. So far, they haven't done a very good job in my opinion. (i.e. David LaPlante i.e. The Ragosta Report). I have spent the last several years talking to teachers, parents, Attorney Ragosta, and School Committee members. Dean Johnson (wheelchairman) is wrong. I do know what I am talking about. He should ask teachers, parents, and the members of the City Council what they think about the School Committee. I have.

Remember, the School Committee isn't asking for $85 million. They're asking for $85 million MORE! That's $245,000,000 for one year! Divide that by 9,000 students and our cost-per-student becomes over $27,000 PER YEAR! It makes you stop and wonder how much it would cost to bus the students to Beverly Hills doesn't it.

Happy Summer everyone.

Rick Corrente

The Taxpayers Mayor (dedicated to the 80,000 Warwick taxpayers that are paying the tab)