High-Performing Schools Shouldn’t Bear Burden of Pensions

To the editor,

I am a Narragansett taxpayer, a parent of three children in each of the three Narragansett schools, a member of the Narragansett Elementary and Pier School Strategic Planning Teams, and a member of the Narragansett School Department Capital Reserve Committee. I love our school system and believe it has the best public schools in the state.

We are a high performing school system with excellent teachers delivering a great product every single day. We are very fortunate to an exceptional leader, Kathy Sipala, as our Superintendent (and current ). 

Once again, Kathy has put together a fiscally responsible school budget with a nominal and reasonable increase over the prior year. She has reduced the school budget over the last several years from 76 percent of the total town budget to 61 percent, the lowest in South County.

However, this has not been an easy task. The school department has been faced with cutting teachers each year. The principals of each school have been asked to keep costs down. Much needed capital maintenance projects have been put on hold. 

Now, we are at a crossroads. It is BUDGET time. And we are faced with one of the most severe financial problems of all time – the UNFUNDED pension liability.

The town council is that would seek to raise taxes up to the state mandated cap of 4.25 percent, generating additional tax revenue of about $1.8 million. There have also been rumors that the council is considering an appropriation of approximately $500,000 to the school department, lower than the $1.1 million in funding necessary to balance the school budget.

However, the latest rumor is that the council will most likely “level fund” the school budget and give the same appropriation as last year, leaving the School Department to make some drastic cuts to teachers, programs and capital maintenance. Rumor has it that the Town Council will use the $1.8 million in additional tax revenue raised by the tax increase to “plug” the unfunded pension hole.

POSSIBLE REALITY: NO additional money to the school department, severe cuts to programs and teachers, and our high performing school system will now be affected by the mistakes of prior leaders who have mismanaged and overspent on the municipal side.

As a result, our schools will be unfairly shortchanged because the town leaders are now faced with the burden of fixing the pension mess. This problem is growing and will not go away this year or next – This is NOW the issue in every city and town in RI and at the state level. As a taxpayer of Narragansett, I will be highly disappointed in our town leaders if these rumors do come true.

It will be a sad day for our Narragansett students if the School Department does not benefit from any of the revenues generated from the proposed tax increase. Narragansett is a great community, and we are fortunate to have great schools and the beach – Let’s keep it that way!

Urge your town councilors to be fiscally responsible and adequately fund the School Department this year and in the coming years.

Please attend the next council work session with the school committee at the town hall on May 9 at 6 p.m. and make your voice heard. Thank you!

Sharon Delfino McGreen, Narragansett