Letter To The Editor: Newport Schools Have A Surplus

By Dave Carlin, Newport School Committee Member

To the Editor:

As the city and school department budgeting process is well underway, I would like to offer the below points (reflections) about the Newport School Committee's finances.

1) About one year ago, the Newport School Committee and school administration told the Newport City Council that the school department needed a 4 percent appropriation increase from the city's taxpayers from the current school year, (Fiscal year 2017) to the next school year (Fiscal year 2018). That increase would be about $1 million.

2) The Newport School Committee and school administration told the council that the school department does not have the necessary money to meet its financial obligations in the coming year. (Pay employees, keep the lights on, etc.)

3) The Newport City Council, facing its own fiscal concerns, told the Newport School Committee and school administration that the council could not afford to provide the $1 million increase in school funding. The council could only afford to provide about $375,000 in "new money." However, the council told the school committee that it could provide an additional $600,000 in cash from the council's own surplus, as a one time, non-recurring (not new money) appropriation. This money was so the Newport School Committee could purchase computer hardware/software and add two new staff members. (At a cost for the staff members of more than $150,000.)

4) The City of Newport has an annual, independent audit conducted of its finances and the finances of the Newport School Department.

5) The independent audit conducted for the school department fiscal year 2017, (the fiscal year for 2017 ended on June 30, 2017) was performed by the auditing firm around November, 2017.

6) The results of that independent audit concluded that the Newport School Department had a surplus (extra money) of approximately $975,000 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017.

7) So the Newport School Committee and school administration, while telling the Newport City Council around April 2017, that it HAD NO MONEY to pay for needed expenses in the coming year, actually had a NEARLY $1 million surplus of money, according to the independent auditors.

8) Fast forward to today. Better put, fast forward to the budgeting for next year. (Schools and city.) The school department has hundreds of thousands of dollars in "leftover" money from the past year. And, the State of RI has proposed giving an additional $620,000 to the Newport School District above what was given to us by the state last year. So, the school district has approximately $1.2 million in "additional available money," before we even ask the Newport taxpayers (city council) for a penny more.

9) The Newport School Committee will once again surely ask for a 4 percent increase ($1 million) in appropriations from the city council and taxpayers for the next school year. In addition, the school committee will ask for $800,000 from the city council's surplus for yet another "one time" expenditure for technology and technology staffers.

10) Everybody on the Newport School Committee and the Newport City Council, and likely the majority of taxpayers in Newport, want to provide the most appropriate technology available for the students in our schools. It's a fast changing world in education and beyond. We must keep up. We must also provide warm, safe and educationally appropriate school environments. However, shouldn't the Newport School Committee get its act together financially and otherwise, instead of going back to the city taxpayers (city council) on false pretenses, pretending it doesn't have the money it needs? I guess that's in part why we have elections.

Thank you very much. Please feel free to contact me anytime.

David R. Carlin lll

Member, Newport School Committee