In their Monday meeting, the Warwick City Council heard a presentation from School Committee Chairman Shaun Galligan giving the council an update on the happenings within the Warwick school system.

The presentation included some introductory controversy, with a letter written by resident Rob Cote circulating before the meeting encouraging members of the public to object to how the meeting was being held. The meeting did not include a public-comment section.

In his speech, Galligan gave multiple updates to the council on topics ranging from the financial situation of Warwick Public Schools to the performance of their students.

Galligan said Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur had misrepresented the schools’ financial situation to the media while talking about a financial balance sheet presented at November’s School Committee meeting.

“One particular elected official has chosen to misrepresent this preliminary document, focusing on a single line-item expenditure and taking it out of context,” Galligan said. “This has led to unnecessary fear and concern among taxpayers, especially those who are on fixed incomes. Moreover, these comments unfairly discredit myself, the members of the School Committee, our superintendent and her administrative team.”

Galligan rebuked claims that there had been reductions in scope and that building inspections and commissioning costs had been cut, saying that since 2022, the only things that had been removed from the projects at both schools were one of three outdoor fields, one of six tennis courts, and outdoor basketball courts. As for the latter, Galligan said costs have been adjusted, but inspections and commissioning activities, which are legally required, will proceed.

As for WPS’s budget, Galligan acknowledged that the School Department was working to reconcile the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

Galligan, however, said that the budgetary issues that the Warwick School Committee is facing are not unique, and that due to what goes into a school budget and the expiration of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, many other school departments in the state were in the same boat.

“Public finances are incredibly complex, involving grant-funded expenditures, state and local allocations and ongoing fiscal adjustments, especially as certain programs, like the extended school year services, continue beyond the fiscal year’s conclusion,”Galligan said.

“I contacted many other School Committee members from cities and towns,” Galligan said, “and they indicated that they’re doing the same thing, even though their fiscal years concluded on June 30. We are not an anomaly. Most are doing the same thing we are, and that’s rectifying their budgets.”

At the moment, the School Department has halted discretionary spending through Dec. 31 to try to balance the budget, which Galligan said was a “proactive step” from WPS as they try to find savings.

Additionally, Galligan said, WPS has retained a municipal finance consultant to reconcile the previous fiscal year’s finances and to make sure that Fiscal Year 2025 has a balanced budget.

“Let me be clear and on the record today – the School Committee has very, very, very difficult decisions ahead of us because, like many communities across the state, we’re going to have to make some cuts here in our current fiscal year to have a balanced budget,” Galligan said. “And that’s what we’re doing, despite any other misinformation out there.”

Some members of the public in attendance at the meeting expressed their displeasure that there were no opportunities to publicly ask Galligan questions.

Ladouceur and Ward 2 Councilman Jeremy Rix each asked if it would be possible to ask questions of Galligan and Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Lauren Slocum, who also gave a presentation to the council on opportunities for local businesses.

Their request was denied by Council Solicitor Bradley Walsh on the basis of it being a potential violation of the Open Meetings Act, as no public comment or question-and-answer session had been included in the meeting’s agenda.

Cote claimed in his letter that he believed Council President Stephen McAllister had violated council procedure by inviting Galligan and Slocum to speak without previously docketing the request and having it go through the intergovernmental committee, and stated that he had contacted the ACLU and docketed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office about how the meeting was conducted.

“Once again, McAllister has violated the rules,” Cote wrote. “Every activity that takes place at a council meeting is to be docketed in accordance with the rules. No one person has the authority to do anything on his own.”

McAllister, however, said that not allowing a question-and-answer session for either speaker was consistent with how the council had conducted business throughout his tenure as president.

“We’ve had guests come in, we’ve had nonprofits come in, we’ve had the School Committee and superintendent do a presentation, we’ve had championship teams from Pilgrim and Toll Gate come in, we had a postal worker come in and speak,” McAllister said. “This is something that we have done. There are no votes that will be taken on anything that either speaker will be speaking on tonight.”