We are six days away from the first votes in Warwick being cast.

One of the city’s most contested races — and one of only two local races that every Warwick voter will cast a ballot for — is for School Committee.

Warwick’s School Committee consists of five nonpartisan members with four-year terms — two members being elected citywide in presidential years and three serving different wards throughout the city each elected in midterm years. According to the City Charter, members of the School Committee receive $4,000 annually, with the chair getting an extra $100; members are also eligible for city pension benefits upon taking office, according to Chapter 60 of the charter.

Current citywide members Karen Bachus and David Testa, the two longest-serving incumbents on the committee, are both running for reelection. Challenging them in the general election are Sean Wiggins and Zach Colón. Wiggins, the president of Warwick North Little League and a legal specialist in intellectual property, was the first to announce his run for office, doing so in April. Colón, an investment sales consultant and the president of the Toll Gate Class of 2017, also has a previous run for Ward 9 of the Warwick City Council in 2020 under his belt.

The two candidates that win will help oversee the most expensive project in the city’s history, the construction of new Pilgrim and Toll Gate High Schools costing $350 million. Plans for the construction of the schools call for a groundbreaking in March 2025 with the schools opening in August 2027, and the athletic fields being done in August of 2028, meaning that the winners of next month’s election will see the entirety of the construction throughout their terms.

Each candidate went through an open primary process on Sept. 10, with the top four moving on to the general election. One candidate — Anthony Corrente — was eliminated.

In a surprise, it wasn’t either incumbent candidate that finished the primary in first. Rather, Wiggins picked up 27.2% of the votes in the city. Testa finished in second with 22.5%, putting him in position to be reelected as well should he come up with the same result next month. Bachus finished with 19.1% of the votes and Colón with 18.6%. Corrente, received 12.6% of the votes — 1,391 in total.

In questionnaires submitted to the Beacon ahead of the election, each candidate was asked what their first priorities would be if they were elected.

David Testa

Testa is the chair of the School Building Committee, which has focused on the process of constructing the new high schools. If reelected, he said that his top concerns would be making sure that school construction begins on time and that faculty and teachers have the resources they need throughout the year.

Karen Bachus

Bachus is the longest-serving member of the committee, having first been elected in 2012. She said that her top concerns if reelected would be making sure that schools are safe and that equitable opportunities to prepare students for life would be available.

Sean Wiggins

Wiggins said that his top priority would be meeting with school administration, reviewing policies and procedures and determining which subcommittee he would be the best fit for. He has spoken at previous committee meetings on improving the athletic facilities at the new high schools.

Zachary Colón

Colón said that his top priority would be offering universal pre-K in Warwick Public Schools, which he said would save parents money and would help young children with socioemotional learning.