There’s a calm following the storm of opinions and recriminations over Mayor Frank Picozzi’s school budget allocation fueling an unpresented pre-budget hearing meeting between the School Committee and City Council on Thursday and a demonstration by an estimated 300 teachers and school workers outside City Hall Monday afternoon.

Like oil over troubled waters, Picozzi’s eleventh-hour disclosure of a $2,194,746 budget adjustment, boosting his recommended school appropriation from $141,809,606 to $143,594,746 took the steam out of accusatory rhetoric and – while still $1 million short of what they wanted – had school officials and even union officials talking about working cooperatively.

News of the funding injection was not trumpeted in a major announcement, but rather seeped into the audience that initially filled council chambers and the balcony as what would become an eight-hour budget hearing started at 4 p.m. The $380.3-million FY 26 city budget that the council will amend to take into account the additional school funds and any cuts approved by the council will come before the council tonight before going to the mayor.

“There were errors in the budget,” Picozzi said in a Tuesday morning interview. He explained that $1.5 million of was mistakenly categorized as operating expenditures when it should have been budgeted under lease-purchase. Additional savings resulted from inaccurate data on personnel such as budgeting six foremen in public works instead of three.

Picozzi said the will not change the proposed tax rates of $13.34 per $1,000 of assessed property value for residential and $25.45 for commercial.

Additionally, he was pleased to report that the added school funds don’t tap into city reserves that he projects at $31 million, taking into account the $3.76-million drawdown from reserves in his budget. He sees the reserves as critical to getting the city over the hump of interest payments on the issuance of $350 million in bonds to pay for the new high schools until they are completed and reimbursements come in from the state.

Schools should be ‘really close’ to balancing budget

As to where he stands on school funding , following deficits going back to FY24 and projected deficits in the current budget of $6.9 million, Picozzi said he lacks confidence in the school financial department while encouraged by the new school financial team and Craig Enos, who starts as finance director in June. He is looking to the newly appointed School Budget Commission to come up with a final school budget.

Nonetheless, Picozzi believes the windfall to schools puts them “really close” to balancing their budget especially if acting superintendent William McCaffrey’s estimates of  $1-million savings in health insurance pan out.

Looking at the impact on taxes, the mayor said, the city levy of $245 million is a fraction below the 4% cap set by state law that would allow for adjustments in property values in the wake of the revaluation. He also responded to observations made by several taxpayers during the hearing that the abundance of ongoing new construction should bring in millions in added tax revenues.

Picozzi points out property-tax lag

 Picozzi pointed out that new construction, whether homes or condos, won’t become taxable until they are sold or occupied. Also, he noted that the assessment of most new construction in the intermodal zone – City Centre – will be phased in over 10 years, including the 214-unit Class A apartment complex on Post Road at the intersection of the Airport Connector on ramp.

The school allocation dominated budget discussion, with people stepping forward to advocate for the schools’ full request. Allocations for road repairs also prompted discussion largely carried by council members who questioned what the city would need to allocate annually to maintain city roads. DPW Director Eric Earl pointed out that the city works in tandem with Rhode Island Energy and their ongoing efforts to replace the natural gas infrastructure whenever it can. His effort is to do repaving where possible so as to avoid the rebuilding of roads, which is far more costly. He cited two targets for reconstruction, Kilvert Street and Gilbane.

Ward 5 Councilman and council finance chair Ed Ladouceur drilled relentlessly into department budget presentations, asking directors the same question: whether their budgets contained new personnel other than contracted raises or staff reductions. Looking at the school budget, he argued “taxpayers were getting the lion’s share of the pain.”

On the matter of the school budget, Ward 3 Councilman Bryan Nappa was looking for guarantees that the committee would not reinstitute any of the 20 teachers and 25 staff members it plans to lay off to balance its budget. McCaffrey couldn’t make such a promise, observing that schools are making their best-guess estimates on enrollment. Nappa also wanted assurances that sports and other programs still in the budget would not be cut. McCaffrey said state mandates dictate a lot of what schools do. He made no promises and said 95% of school costs are fixed expenses.

Relations go ‘from very bad to cooperative’

 As discussion on the school budget drew to a close, City Council President Anthony Sinapi observed the relationship between the schools and the council “has gone from very bad to cooperative … it is clear [we have] made leaps and bounds in progress.” Sinapi also said the budget commission charged with approving a school budget and developing a plan for schools to work out of their deficits “is helping all parties.”

In a statement issued Tuesday, School Committee Chair Shaun Galligan thanked the mayor for the budget adjustment, saying it comes at a critical time.

“While this contribution is a significant step forward, we remain hopeful that further aid might be identified as the city continues to evaluate its budget, and then supported by the entire City Council, or that cost-saving measures recommended by the budget commission can help close the remaining shortfall without impacting student needs or achievement.

He went on to say “a major crisis has been averted” and that “looking ahead, I’m confident that with the School Department’s new finance team in place, along with the forthcoming recommendations from the budget commission, we are on a path to strengthen the financial management of our schools and ensure greater long-term stability."