Uh thank you for coming to this uh special meeting concerning the uh school budget uh for 2026 and going forward.

Uh before we get going, could we please take a roll, madam clerk?

Lynn Underwood Segway here.

Gene Marie Napolitano here.

Alan Pinnock here, Stephanie Smike here, Charlie Holder, David Carlin, Cycam Savoravan.

There's a quorum present, Mr.

Chair.

All right, thank you.

Please stand for the pledge of allegiance.

I would like to leave the hair.

And for which we need justice for home.

Okay.

Mr.

Chair, on uh our docket tonight, uh make a motion that the following items of business filed with the city clerk under the rules of the council.

Um, oh wait, I'm sorry.

Where is the other one?

The other one.

I'm sorry.

Um make a motion that where did I put it?

I'm so sorry.

Make a motion that the city of Newport um has been asked to take up certain actions in support of the Newport Public Schools strategic fiscal recovery and structural realignment plan for fiscal years 26, 27, and 28.

Um now therefore uh be it resolved with respect to the Newport Public Schools projected further funding needs for the fiscal year of 2027.

Do I have a second second?

Motion of second, discussion on the floor.

Um I know we don't normally have like a public hearing, so if there is a time, I definitely want to make sure that uh people in the audience get a chance to to speak.

So if you do want to speak, please just raise your hand and we'll have you called up.

And so we basically have two resolutions.

Well, I'm sorry, go ahead.

Go ahead, solicitor.

I think uh one second.

What you might have in front of you right now is a one of the resolutions.

And the docket addresses uh first the receipt of the memorandum from staff concerning that plan.

So uh first.

I don't have that.

Mike.

Yeah, definitely.

Oh, okay.

All right.

So I'm so I'm sorry.

The following items of business filed with the city clerk under the rules of the council will come before the council at a special meeting held at 5 30 in City Hall Chambers and consideration of requests for support of the Newport Public Schools Department implementation of its fiscal recovery and structural realignment plan for fiscal years 26, 27, and 28.

Um, I make a motion that we uh receive a memorandum from uh Jim Nolan finance director um dated May 22nd in response to Newport Public Schools fiscal recovery plan.

Second.

All right, motion and second.

Any discussion?

Mr.

Chair Council Smythe.

Um Jim, I was wondering if you could just kind of give a summary of of what is in the memo for for everybody, please.

Jim Nolan, Director of Finance.

Um, what we have included in this memo is really there's two pieces to it.

It's going to be uh the fiscal year 26, the projected deficit mitigation, um, which within the memo, this is just uh a path forward.

Um and this path forward really mirrors the uh the school plan as well, and what would be involved with that would be a reduction of the school's fund balance of five hundred and ninety-six thousand dollars alone that would come from the city and repaid uh by the school department in the amount of seven hundred thousand dollars that would be repaid over three years, um, and then yeah, an amount of one point five million dollars, which would be a transfer from the city's projected uh two thousand twenty-six uh surplus.

And that's what that does is that will cover the the projected two point eight million dollar deficit that the school is projected.

Okay.

And Jim, that $700,000 loan would be an interest-free.

That's correct.

Yes.

Uh Mr.

Chair, sorry.

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Um, who how is that loan gonna be repaid?

Uh that loan will be repaid over three years, starting in fiscal 27, 28, and 29 by the school department through their through their operating.

Okay, it's yeah.

The them repaying it is a little bit concernings, considering there's a deficit now.

No, I understand.

And that's that's really uh that comes from a recommendation from uh the school department.

Oh, okay.

Mr.

Chair.

Could that seven hundred thousand um be accounted for through uh perhaps some solar panels being put on the the roof or like is there I I just don't understand how they could repay the seven hundred thousand if they're in just have the same question as counselor pennick.

I I don't see how that can happen.

Thank you.

Sure.

Can it be done through other means is what I'm asking?

I I would believe it would be.

I it's my understanding that that repayment will is included in the 2027 budget.

Um so I can certainly defer to to uh director Gonzals um and he might be able to speak to the to his budget a little bit better.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, I just um concerned here not about giving the school the money.

We should be doing that without question, but um just about like them repaying it just in case like we already know that there's a project.

And like I said, this is this is a path forward, so a recommendation that came from the school department to us, and we what we did is we we made sure that it would actually work for the city, and that and that's how we we came to this okay this path.

And then and this is above and beyond the like this year, the four percent that we're given to the that is correct.

So what we were just speaking of is just getting the two thousand twenty-six finances balanced.

So it's we're we we haven't gotten to the two thousand twenty-seven.

And the uh the second component to my memo is um the two thousand twenty-seven projected deficit mitigation, um, which would to your point, um chair uh holder, uh one point one nine six, one million one hundred ninety-six thousand, that's the four percent.

Um increase maintenance of effort increase that was in the adopted budget for fiscal twenty-seven.

Um what the school is looking for, they're looking for an additional two point seven million dollars, and the path that we have here included in this memo would be uh one point two million dollar loan from the city's unrestricted fund balance, and that would be reimbursed through housing aid that's gonna come to the city in fiscal year 28.

Uh the establishment of a restricted reserve in the amount of 1.5 million, and that would be used for uh potential overruns associated with um special ed and tuition to private sources, and those are the two components.

Thank you.

So far, so it's one point two, one point five, and seven hundred thousand dollar loan.

That is correct.

Can you say that again, please?

Just to make sure I have everything.

1.21.5 and uh and $700,000 loan.

Uh there's a $700,000 loan and also uh a transfer in fiscal year 26 of about $1.5 million.

Right.

So there's there's two $1.5 million.

One of them goes from Oh, I thought one was $1.21.

No, I can go through them again.

So in fiscal year uh 2026, the components would be um a drawdown of $596,000 from the school fund balance, uh $700,000 loan, and a one-five one point five million dollar transfer from uh the city projected surplus in $26, and then going to $27, there would be a uh $1.2 million dollar reimbursement through housing aid and then a $1.5 million dollar uh restricted reserve account for special ed.

Thank you.

If you want to do that, uh yeah, I'll go to the so we got the uh any other uh comments on the uh receipt of the information all right so all those in favor receiving uh say aye aye any opposed next uh um uh motion uh to approve the resolution addressing the newport public schools projected further funding needs for fiscal year 2027 and continued actions to be taken by the newport public schools for fiscal years 2028 and thereafter just I think you said fiscal year 2027 we item red and look at the resolution for fifth year 2026 yes so number oh it's number two oh uh okay a resolution addressing the newport public schools projected fiscal year 2026 operating deficit of approximately 2.8 million I'm so sorry yes okay sorry this is just a little bit different from the way we normally do it second right uh counsel you want do you want to read the resolution for me to do it um can you give me a uh so I'll I'll just read the resolution so uh we're all on the same page here so whereas the city of Newport has been asked to take certain action in support of the new public schools uh strategic fiscal recovery and restructural plan realignment plan for the fiscal years twenty six twenty seven twenty eight uh so now therefore be it resolved with respect to the NPS projected fiscal year twenty twenty six operating deficit of two point eight million dollars the city is authorized to appropriate the following funds and take the following action number one after the Newport public schools has applied its remaining school fund balance of approximately five hundred ninety six thousand thirty one dollars to reduce the deficit the city may a appropriate the sum of up to one point five oh three nine six nine so one million five hundred three thousand nine hundred and sixty nine dollars from the city's 2026 surplus funds to be paid to reduce said deficit b provide up to a seven hundred thousand dollar loan from the city's unassigned fund balance to the newport public schools to be used solely to reduce said deficit to be repaid by the Newports um public schools at a zero percent interest in three equal amount payments of two hundred thirty three thousand three hundred and thirty three dollars in April of twenty seven twenty-eight and twenty-nine therefore further be it resolved the the above appropriations shall be conditional on the appropriations not being used in the computation of the maintenance of effort requirements established by general general law island 167-23 and made at a time when such appropriations would not be used in such computation and be further conditioned on the approval of the commissioner of education if required second all right motion and second discussion mr chair council swife um I'd like to hear from the school's finance director just to address the um item number b um I'm sorry yes item number b the seven hundred thousand dollar loan that counselors Pinick and segly had asked about good evening city council members um the idea proposed uh to city management about the repayment plan was rear really um a mirror of the previous debt repayment plan that the school in the city um entered into in approximately two thousand seventeen ish um we wanted to contribute something to the deficit not just have our handout and this um three year payment plan would just be divided by three each of the budgets built for the next three years will have a budgeted line out of a payback as part of the general operating budget and if you have such a deficit this year, the next year, how are you going to achieve that?

Well, payment tonight um over the past month and a half.

I think the city and the school department have really taken a positive step forward on restructuring the financial problems that the school department has had.

We're not done fine-tuning the budget.

Every year we go through a pretty in-depth analysis on what every building needs, and I prepare my first draft budget to the school committee.

At that point, for the last five or six years, we've always projected multi-million dollar needs for the schools.

And we've just whittled away at fund balance money or additional federal revenue that came in to help us to get through.

We are no longer at that point, those reserves.

And we continue to make uh strong cuts in our budget.

I mean, I believe there was about 40 people over the past two fiscal years in the school department that are no longer with the school department.

So we do continue to make um strong uh cuts to the budget, but we also need the staff to provide the services to the children.

So I think I know I'm very confident that the resolution as it stands now puts the school department in a very good position as we approach 2027.

We can continue to fine-tune the operating budget and put real numbers in front of the school committee and then the city council when it comes budget time, which our budget time starts in October.

And with with these changes, are the individuals that were laid off going to be brought back?

I don't believe 100% of the FTEs would be brought back.

Um as it all stands today.

But roughly four to six can easily come back, but we still have some continuous updates from the state.

State has not yet finalized their state aid numbers for us.

We have a pretty good number, but we were in the ballpark of that pretty good number in January.

They continue to fine-tune it.

We are in a good place, it's better than the projection was in January.

It's just not as uh strong as maybe we'd like to see it.

Thank you.

I think what's most troubling, at least for me, and I'm sure it's troubling to a lot of people in Newport.

How did this happen?

How did they come up with a $2 million deficit?

Uh, you know, if if, as you say, they're looking at everything every single month.

You know, we found out about it basically in April, and was told cuts and everything else.

I am concerned and I'm concerned about the number of teachers that have been laid off.

It it I've heard from parents, it sounds like they're not getting what they need because of these layoffs.

I'm really concerned about that.

I just how did it happen like boom?

Two million dollars.

If we can go back just a few years when we established an education fund for the school department, okay.

Approximately 24 months ago, we had about six million dollars in reserves.

Yeah.

We've whittled away at that reserve through the school building project, through capital improvements at our buildings, and we had anticipated using that education fund balance to avoid a cliff from the infusion of the COVID-19 money that came in for the and you know, I would say year two or so, we just decided to change course, alter course completely, and we were no longer able to use a fund balance to assist with the operating budget to come down a hill as opposed to a cliff.

When that happened, um, it was late in the 2026 school budget operating budget uh time frame.

We already had some significant material cuts happening to the budget.

I want to say upwards of 35 across the board, admin uh council 94, as well as teachers.

And we thought that was too much.

That was deep enough for the year.

So we adjusted our operating budget, one particular line item, special ed out of district line, because it does it doubled in two years.

It's just one of those, you know, it's it's just a it's a touchy area because it can blow up budget.

Two years ago.

It did, it doubled.

And last year we we made a budget decision to reduce that line in hopes that we would be able to have some attrition or savings with some of the positions that we cut.

Unfortunately, we were not able to realize all of the projected staff savings, some uh paraeducates, for instance, needed to be brought back.

In addition to not having an adequate budget for the special ed begin the year based on the funding we had, um it it started as early as September with a forecasted deficit, and we were hopeful that there would be some savings, some breakage that happens, maybe turnover in staff and not backfilling, we'd be able to absorb some of the impact, but we were not able to.

Those alone two million dollars.

I guess it came as a bit of a shock to see how far out the budget was.

And to hear from the number of parents disappointed about certain teachers or even teachers just take them in general that were let go.

And it's hard to understand in a community like Newport.

Um, and it doesn't sound like the kids are doing as well as they had been in the past.

So I'm just I'm disappointed, but um, you know, I guess we have to accept um what you're stating here.

I would like to see as many teachers as they can that they feel necessary hired back as opposed to upper staff, because I think it's important to the kids, you know, you can have a person sitting in their whatever their office all day long, but it's the teacher in front of the kids that makes the difference, at least in my eyes, Mr.

Chair.

Um, I I believe that there isn't anything in the governor's budget about the the core um cities money, any additional money for that.

Um, do you have any updates on that?

I know that there was gonna be some hearings.

If you are speaking to the blue ribbon study that was done, I don't believe that would be implemented until the future years, so it would not happen in 2027.

But we're now we're considered a core city.

So there's money that comes along with uh being a core city.

So there from what I understand that there were hearings on appropriating money to Packet Providence, Newport, Central Falls.

Is there any update on that?

There's no update on that.

Okay, all right.

She's just she's she's not just going like this.

No, okay.

Okay, but do we expect anything?

Maybe.

Okay.

I think it was last Friday the House finance dropped their budget, and um we did have a slight increase um in the anticipated aid that we're at about 15.6 million right now.

Okay, so as opposed to which is up from what we're at currently, which I believe is 15.4.

Okay, so it's not that much.

Mr.

Chair.

Council Bennett.

Thank you.

Right.

Um, I just have a couple questions.

Um first just want to say that there's a lot of reasons why that deficit exists, including the way we fund our schools and our taxes.

So I just can't let's sit here and think that it's all mismanagement of funds on the school side.

That's there's a lot of reasons why that has happened, and I think that's important to acknowledge.

You don't have to, I will.

Um so how comfortable are you with the repayment plan?

Um, and has there been other methods of repayment considered?

I think if plans hold true the way they are now, and we still and we close out housing aid forms, the the payback that the school will begin to use in the 2028.

I think is a wonderful net to catch all.

If if there was a shortfall in the next 12, 24 months.

Okay.

And then this is probably a question for the city, but if this repayment becomes like a hindrance to the schools, then what?

Then do we look for all the ways?

Oh, do you mean if the if the 700,000 default on its obligation to pay back that?

Not default.

I don't want to use that word, but like if something happened and it was communicated to us that this is becoming an issue, then what?

Like do we will we look for other methods of repayment or yeah?

I mean, certainly council could come to administration asking for options.

Um one of those options off the top of my head is very simple.

Just simply forgive the debt.

Um, and we would likely do that through unassigned fund balance, but that would be a council decision.

Yeah, but there are certainly don't hope it comes to that, but that is that is one option.

Okay, thank you.

Mr.

Chair.

Oh, did you have a yeah?

So what's it?

Thanks.

Appreciate it.

Um I'd like to hear from the school committee members that are in the audience what you think of this plan.

Councillor Smith, Mr.

Chairman.

Uh before such, uh, and thank you for your patience.

Might I ask a few questions while we have uh the school department's director of finance here.

Yeah, go ahead, council.

Thank you.

Uh first of all, to answer uh counselor Segley's Vice Chair Segley's question.

There is uh no extra uh core community core district money.

Uh the governor did not budget that for Newport.

Uh there is an automatic increase for the five communities, Providence, West Warwick, Central Falls, Patucket, uh, and Winsocket.

Uh, nothing for Newport.

The 200,000, roughly 213,000 extra that we see in the budget this year for uh the Newport School Department is because of what is happening at a statewide level, and that is to say, changes to transportation reimbursement has nothing to do with the city of Newport, has nothing to do with the school department, the city, it has everything to do with the school department in the city of Newport, but nothing to do with anything that the school department has done.

Uh, this is a statewide adjustment to the governor's budget.

Uh, Councillor Napolitano Jean, uh, and this is something of a legacy item for you.

I know you've been working on proper funding of the schools, regionalization, uh, and many more items that we could spend days talking about uh and I congratulate you and thank you for that.

Uh so uh I know how this must affect you personally uh to see that the schools are in this shape.

Um I I do not recall when you were uh on the council.

Well, you've been on the council, I do not recall uh any uh any situation.

Oh, there were plenty money wise any situation anywhere near as bad as as what we're seeing here.

But uh when you said we'll just have to accept the answers uh that are given.

Um you're far more polite uh than I am at times.

Uh and uh you know I'm not a jerk, but I can play one at council meetings, so I I would suggest to you that we do not have to accept those answers, which is why I now come to the questions that I'll ask.

Uh first of all, and Mr.

Nolan, you might help us on this as well.

How much was budgeted in fiscal 26 or electricity costs throughout the system?

I think we were at about 500,000.

You budgeted 500,000?

Maybe the number I don't have a you're a little bit off.

Mr.

Nolan?

Is your microphone on?

Check, we have a I think you're tiny.

I think you're a tiny bit off.

Uh and I hope that I am wrong and not you.

Was the number not 174,000 dollars?

Oh no, it was more than that.

What was it?

One second.

I I do have a five, I know.

What's the actual expected number?

That and forgive me, I was wrong.

Uh is the 174,000 that I was referring to the shortfall between what was budgeted the 554 and what is expected to be paid when the fiscal year closes.

So let's say 554, 650, 750, 725 is uh approximately the number expected to be paid for uh energy costs at the schools.

That's ballpark.

Okay, uh who pays the bills every month?

Who pays the utility bills at the school?

I I'll pause for a moment.

Ms.

Nolan, Director Nolan, might I ask?

Mr.

Chairman, if you don't mind.

No, absolutely.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Director Nolan, do you pay the utilities bills on behalf of the Newport School Department?

As far as shared services, uh, all electricity bills are paid through the city of Newport.

Thank you.

Uh that allotment for the bills for the invoices from Rhode Island Energy or electricity bills, uh, you take that in the way you do great math uh from what was budgeted by the Newport City Council to the Newport School Department, correct?

That's correct.

All right.

Uh and you do that on a monthly basis, yes?

That's correct.

Okay.

Uh Mr.

Gonzals, why did you not inform the Newport School Committee and then the Newport School Committee would have been informed, I should hope by or I'm sorry, the Newport City Council should have been informed, I should hope, by the Newport School Committee as to the expected shortfall that we're apparently dealing with here, the 174,000.

It's my understanding that the Newport School Committee uh did not become aware of the 174,000 shortfall uh until April.

And certainly I did not become aware, nor did my colleague uh uh counselor Smythe, who pointed out that there were no emails that she has seen, no communication from the school department that she had seen, none of us have seen by implication, certainly not me.

Uh why didn't you tell the Newport School Committee uh and the Newport City Council that we're running far above what we thought would be the costs?

I I had heard from the superintendent and from others, but super uh superintendent Dr.

Germain testified publicly uh about three weeks ago that it it was because the bills were lost in the mail or something to that effect.

Do you contend that that you didn't know because you never saw the bills?

I believe the uh expenses posted to the school department's um accounts on February thirteenth, and within two or three weeks, I was able to investigate that you know we're way short on budget, and identified that many months hadn't been coming to the correct home for these new accounts at Rogers.

Um so they they weren't paid.

I they didn't hit our accounts until mid-February.

That's when I um Mr.

Nolan has something to say about Director Nolan has something to say about that.

I I assume so as part of the electric bills, I can I can walk you through the process.

These are these are direct pay bills that come in each month.

So my team will download the bills and process them and pay them.

So there were a number of months that Rhode Island Energy was not able to get to a meter, and there was there was not a bill to be paid.

How many months?

I believe there were three months.

Three readings, not two.

I believe I believe it's three.

I can I I don't have that right in front of me, but I can go back and check.

That's that's all right.

So for three months, Rhode Island Energy was not able to read uh what they would then assess the school department.

The following month, did they send you a bill uh or send the school department a bill or notify any uh person of responsibility that we couldn't get to your meter for three months?

Here's the bill for the cumulative four months.

And I'll pause by saying that if Rhode Island Energy wasn't able to get to my house uh to read my bill, first of all, I'd be concerned in the second month, no later than the second month that that I haven't seen a bill or uh that Rhode Island Energy had some problem telling me what I owed.

Uh but by the fourth month uh when Rhode Island Energy said your bill is normally 250 a month, but now you owe us a thousand, I'd be pretty damn concerned.

Help us out to understand uh where the ball was dropped and why.

Yeah, all I can tell you is uh the way that bills are processed is like I said, they go through a direct pay.

Uh they are pulled from a portal by my by one of my team members and and paid and processed and posted to General Ledger.

Director Nolan, you do a wonderful job as I was telling uh Mayor Holder and Councilor Napolitano earlier tonight.

You do a wonderful job with the finances of the city of Newport.

You have forever.

I am not directing uh my great concern about this to you.

If you don't know what the bills are, you can't pay them.

You pay them.

That's correct.

You didn't budget that money that was now apparently 174,000 short of what we needed.

Uh so I just wanted clarification from you.

The only thing that I was a little confused with is the reading of the meter.

I thought it was two months rather than three months.

And I'll double check.

I that doesn't matter.

That really doesn't matter.

I I put this on the on the school department.

I cannot believe uh that this type of uh of irresponsibility was allowed to happen.

Next subject, uh, and thank you, Director Nolan, Mr.

Gonzals.

Who made the decision?

Uh well, first of all, what was in fiscal twenty-five for the Newport School Department?

What was the out of district placement line item?

Uh what did you budget?

Approximately, I think our expenses were one point nine.

No, no, no.

I didn't ask you.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I beg your pardon.

I did ask you that for fiscal twenty-five.

It's about 1.9 million dollars for out of district placement in fiscal twenty-five.

When you developed the budget for fiscal twenty-six, you somehow decided uh that the budget should contain about a million dollars less for out of district placement in fiscal twenty-six than it did in fiscal twenty-five.

What was that decision based on?

Did you somehow have information that we would have a lot less students being placed out of district, or did you just uh make that number up?

As I suspect, because you didn't want to, the administration and the school committee did not want at the time to make tough decisions about where to cut.

Uh you you cut that by about a million dollars.

I'd like an explanation as to why.

I would just um repeat the share what I said uh earlier that we had already developed a budget that was cutting approximately 40 people from the school department.

So this was a budget exercise for us to hopefully find some breakage and you know impact aid could come up an extra quarter million, and it would have been less impactful to make a cut like that.

Or perhaps we would have went back to two year ago numbers for the school department and we would have been within budget.

With all due respect, I appreciate the answer.

That that's nonsensical.

You didn't answer my question.

You're talking about impact aid and you're talking about other things.

I asked directly, what made you think what made the school committee think that a line item the year before, which was approximately 1.9 million dollars, could be reduced by about a million dollars.

What you did was you reduced that number saying that the 30 sum or more, uh, or actually it's less, out of district placement students sent from Newport to other districts, or sent from Newport to other specialty uh educational facilities like Harmony Hill, for example, in uh Northern Rhode Island.

You made the decision uh to cut that line item by a million, and I think uh that there was no reason or rhyme behind doing such.

I think you just chose to roll the dice uh and um put off, like apparently you did with the electricity or the energy bills as well, put off uh the inevitable until frankly it's too late.

April at the earliest for us now.

Uh I I do not buy, uh, and I'm not even gonna say forgive me for saying this.

Uh I do not buy that explanation at all.

Completely irresponsible.

Last thing, Mr.

Chairman, before I uh I yield uh to my colleagues.

Uh in uh fiscal twenty-one.

The United States government, the United States of America, the state of Rhode Island, the city of Newport, and the school department were facing an absolutely unprecedented nobody knew how to handle, so to speak, uh event, that is uh the COVID coronavirus.

Uh so what did the United States government do?

The Congress of the United States, beginning on July 1st, uh, if not sooner, uh, began distributing billions of dollars to governmental entities throughout the United States, states, cities, towns, school departments, water authorities, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

One of the things that the United States government, the Congress of the United States, bipartisan, uh told the recipients was do not take this money.

Do not take this one time money for an event we thought we'd get out of within months that lasted years.

Do not take this one time money and spend it on legacy long-term needs.

Spend Providence Fire Department, Newport Fire Department, Providence because they got the most spend the money that we give you on buying new trucks, on upgrading fire stations.

Do not hire 50, 60, 70 new uh firefighters with the millions and millions and millions of dollars that we have given you.

The money that trickled down through the state and eventually was passed on to the city, which was eventually passed on through our budgeting process, if not directly from the state, and in some cases the federal government to this, the school department of the Newport School Department, to the Newport School Department, was for among other things something called ESSER, ESSR funds.

Uh Councilor Napolitano and Councillor Segley are well aware of this, having served during those fiscal years.

Uh, most difficult time, I'm sure, and in perhaps your careers, but um I'm going on and on.

You were specifically told, and I'm going on and on for a purpose.

You're specifically told not to use these funds for long-time funding for legacy hires for bringing on new uh hires that will cause someday a need for not only an increase uh in maintenance of effort, but what you're doing effectively through this process uh tonight, which is asking for an additional, effectively an additional 4.5 million dollars from the voters from the taxpayers of the city of Newport.

Tell me I'm wrong that you didn't use any of those federal dollars to hire new administrators and new whatever you want to call it, quasi administrators.

I don't give a damn what you call it.

You have administrators and then you have others who are classified as administrators, but are not your traditional, if you will, principals, vice principals, uh, your own position, Mr.

Gonzals, directors of finance, etc.

Uh these are quasi quasi administrators who you hired during that process saying we've got plenty of money.

We've got all sorts of money because the federal government gave us this money.

And now guess what, my colleagues?

The money's gone.

They spent it on the wrong thing.

They spent it on legacy hires, long-term hires that will require uh keeping years and years and years of Newport residents, city council, however you want to describe it, spending above and beyond the maintenance of effort.

2.7 million dollars for fiscal 27 and a 1.2 million dollar current shortfall if you use your entire reserves.

It is totally and completely irresponsible what you all did.

I blame the last three school committees.

Uh what you are and I don't blame everybody on the school committee.

Uh I blame I blame the majority who voted to do this spending.

Tell me that I'm wrong, that you didn't use that money.

Mr.

Chairman, who who who runs the meeting?

The the audience or you?

I do.

So I'm as I'm asking, let's let's keep this.

How about keep it civil, Council?

How about who would you like me to blame?

You're asking, you're here tonight asking for 4.5 million dollars from the residency city of Newport.

Tell me I'm wrong.

Did you use that money?

Carlin.

I'm not gonna ask again, please.

You've asked the question.

Let him.

I didn't ask the question.

I did a preamble.

I want to know.

Am I wrong?

Did you use that money?

Did you use that money to hire legacy employees?

Yeah, I apologize, but I'm not sure I follow everything that you usually say.

Did you use the ESSER money?

Did you use the federal government money to hire new teachers, new guidance counselors, new administrators, new psychologists, anything but what the federal government told you to use the damn money for?

Council Collin, the language, please.

I'm not saying so swear, but it's not necessary to be using right now.

Thank you.

I think it's important to note that Newport Public Schools only ever applied in a grant to use our funds COVID-19 money in the school department.

So our entire plan was approved first by the school committee and then by the Department of Education, and that included a variety of uh operating items.

Mr.

Chairman, colleagues, I I think that the Newport School Department uh and the Newport School Committee, with great respect, if we're not allowed to criticize uh like others are allowed to do of us, then uh we should pack up and go home.

I think that you have been incredibly fiscally irresponsible uh and now the rooster is coming home and asking for the money, and I would suggest to my colleagues that that is something uh with the with the exception gene of you and Councilor Kamzavarovan who are not running for re-election, uh, if we go into this election, we need to explain to our constituents why we are picking up that 4.5 million dollar bill for your fiscal irresponsibility.

Thank you.

Uh Madam Superintendent, did you want to come up?

Thank you.

Thank you.

City Council, thank you for hearing me this evening.

Um, I'm a I'm confused.

Um, so Mr.

Carlin, I heard you, you know, thank you, Mr.

Nolan, for explaining how the electric bills come in and how they come in electronically.

Oh, they're going to a 6 30 performance of Thompson Middle School choir right now, so some of my staff will be leaving.

Um, so I'm a bit confused why it was okay when they didn't the bills didn't come into the city, and that was okay.

It wasn't anyone's fault here, but my director, and I will say my director was at fault because he didn't get the bills on time, and for whatever reason, yet they get paid through the city electronically.

Yeah, you want to correct me?

Yes.

Okay, thanks.

I'd like to make something perfectly clear.

The the bills are direct pay, they come in through a portal that my team will process.

They get posted to GL, it is up to the school department to review that GL to make sure everything is posted correctly on a monthly basis.

Mr.

Nolan, does the school department uh review the general ledger with you every month?

No.

Okay.

So when I said or asked the question uh of the school department of the superintendent three weeks ago uh why they were not aware of the increase in electricity or energy costs, and the answer paraphrasing was uh that we didn't get the bill.

Do you find that to be a bit absurd?

There was no there was no bill to be at because it's my understanding that Rhode Island Energy was unable to get to the meter to get a proper review.

You said it was for three months.

I believe I two or three months.

Okay, so why then, Director Jermaine, uh Dr.

Germain did did you explain to the council uh three weeks ago that for seven and a half months the bills were being sent to the wrong place?

We're we're having a conflicting uh explanation.

We're having a conversation about something that is very confusing, that is electronic billing, that I was under the impression they were misdirected and called me old school.

I thought it was about the mail, and it wasn't about the mail.

So excuse me for that.

The out of district tuitions, as far as your next point with Director Gonsalves, was why was the line reduced?

I believe he tried to share with you that we were hoping we would have some breakage in some direction, but let me be perfectly clear.

What does that mean?

Breakage indirectly.

Breakage means that perhaps a family that moved into the district that had students that had high need costs may move out of the district, and those costs would go away as the children leave the district.

But did anything did anything give along, Council Carl?

We have a high um, we have a lot of movement in our district as far as families.

So that is a very big possibility.

It can cut both ways.

We can have a family that moves in with children that have a lot of needs, and we can have a family that moves out with the uh children that have a lot of needs that are high costs.

But as I started to say, let me be perfectly clear.

Director Gonsalves makes recommendations and suggestions.

It is me, and it is the school committee that makes those final decisions on whether or not the budget will be what the budget will be.

Did everyone on the school committee accept that recommendation?

No, and you'll hear some voices saying that, but the majority of the committee agreed, and we moved for on and we moved forward.

We have depleted every single penny we have.

We did have an education fund, we did have a contingency fund, we did for the first time set up something so that proactive planning and budgeting could be done for the school committee, and time went on, and as Director Gonsalves tried to share, we were asked, and we did participate, we had a school building project that was going on, and over 2 million dollars of that was put to help with the building project.

A building project that during COVID, like other school districts, thought saw 35% increases in their materials and in the building costs.

That was something unexpected.

You want to go all the way back to COVID and hiring people?

Yes, we did hire people.

We hired people uh based out of need, every congressman, every senator I saw, every representative I saw.

Are you using that money for the schools?

Are you using that money for the classrooms?

We did.

And as time went on, you are absolutely correct.

We could not continue to support that with the other costs that came in during the building project.

We had a plan, but we were not able to execute that plan fully.

So now here we are.

I find it ironic that I have my director getting scolded for hiring staff and personnel when we're fighting tonight to try to bring them back so that we can have our building staffed.

So I just want to be really, really clear.

We are trying every which way, working with the city, and I appreciate the administration, Director Nolan, who's cleary over there, who helps.

Everyone is working together as a team.

What's very disheartening is to come here and instead of talking about business, we try to point fingers and put blame.

And I heard the word blame tonight.

We try to blame people for why we're in this situation.

This is not a new situation.

I arrived in this district when we had over a million-dollar deficit working with the city, we got it back together right before COVID, we were in tough shape.

Go back and look at 1718, 1819, and then we did get an infusion of dollars.

We thought hard and we thought long, we got every plan approved by the Department of Ed.

Everyone saw how we were spending our funds.

So I'm gonna be really clear.

We did everything by the book, we were smart, and unfortunately it didn't work out the way we planned.

But we are here tonight to try to get a deficit reduction plan passed, which is very clear, and I appreciate again the city administration for helping and working with us, and we also need to think about the future, and I would like to, if we could speak about the future and how we can work together.

And if you and I don't want to go there, but you and I and everyone in this room knows we have a lot of expenses in this city.

The percentage of money that goes towards the schools in this district is not comparable to high performing districts or other districts.

I'm not saying change it tonight.

I am not saying change it tonight.

I'm a taxpayer.

I want to work together.

I think we can work together to make it work so we can have the best of both worlds.

But spending time blaming and pointing fingers is not going to make it work.

Decisions have been made.

Please let's move forward.

Thank you.

Mr.

Chairman.

Hold on.

One more time.

Does any other council have anything they'd like to add or any questions or comments?

Council Sugley.

I'm sorry, I thought Councillor Smythe wanted to hear from some school committee members.

We do.

I just have something I just wanted to add about.

We have a council goal first, please.

Thank you.

Um Mr.

Chair.

I also just wanted to add about the ESSER funding as someone who's been working in the schools for multiple years, that it went to a variety of things, including a lot of nonprofits who were helping to fill in the gap for what was missing.

It went to repairing fences, it went to equipment, went to a lot of different things.

So it wasn't just about hiring administrators and people who the schools wouldn't be able to sustain once the funding was gone.

There were a lot of one-off things that happened to help the kids with the needs that they have during the time that ESSER funding was allocated.

So I just feel like that's really important to add.

Mr.

Chairman, question for uh Director Nolan, Mr.

Gonzals, the superintendent, whom whomever.

Fiscal 24 regarding out of district placement, uh, what was the line item for that?

What I'm trying to get at here is in fiscal twenty-six, uh, you eliminated about a million dollars in out-of-district placement funding.

Saying uh, as the paraphrase again, as the uh superintendent just said, uh, because we were hopeful that with the transient population that we would lose a lot of uh, not lose, but that we would not be responsible for a lot of those students uh in fiscal twenty-six that we were in fiscal twenty-five.

So I'm trying to compare fiscal twenty-four, twenty-five, and twenty-six and figure out uh you know why the significant drop in money other than what I can see as just a wish, there's no real substance behind thinking that you were not going to place that many students out of district.

Can somebody tell me what the fiscal twenty-four ODP line item was, please?

1.7 million, Mr.

Leary.

Okay.

Does the school uh director of finance, Mr.

Gonzals, whatever the title is, or Mr.

Nolan, director of finance for the city disagree with that number?

1.7 million in fiscal 24, 1.9 million in fiscal 25, an upward scale, uh, and 938,000 in fiscal twenty-six.

Once again, I say I think that this was deliberately done in order to keep uh the administrators on when you say well, we're doing everything we can uh here tonight and otherwise to keep our uh our staff intact for fiscal twenty-seven alone.

Never mind the 1.8 million shortfall we're seeing in fiscal twenty-six.

You laid off, you sent seventeen notices to teachers, and one administrator got laid off one fiscal twenty-six budget process.

I suggested I suggested a uh amendment, or I suggested actually that uh the school that the Newport City Council not vote to fund the schools at the recommended uh at the four percent maintenance of effort increase that you recommended that you asked for until we received a guarantee uh that uh administrators would be the first to go, so to speak, before teachers, psychologists, uh, social workers, and others.

And my original proposal was approved.

Uh approved by a five to two vote by the council.

And when we adopted fiscal twenty-sixes allocation to the Newport School Department, uh, we adopted an allocation without a guarantee from you as a school department that you would uh lay off.

Sacrifice, it's good that's a terrible terrible description, but that you would lay off administrators before uh before teachers.

And I I warned you about this during the negotiations in June of 25.

I warned you, and here we are in June of 26, and you laid off 17 teachers for June or for fiscal 27 and one administrator.

Mr.

Chairman, could we just move forward with what else is on the agenda?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, you know, we we've had multiple conversations about this.

We had multiple workshops, uh, budget meetings, and so this information is nothing new that we are discussing tonight.

Obviously, there are issues that need to be dealt with, and I think that council, school committee, city administration, school department, that we need to work better together with a better partnership, and if that means that we need to start meeting on a quarterly basis to have some type of joint workshop to discuss a lot of these issues and how we are going to avoid this happening further down the road that we need to do that.

But we do need to get back on track with what we are here tonight, and get the students and the teachers what they need to go into a school year successfully.

So I I'd like to recommend that that we move on that we can hear from school committee members or parents, teachers, whoever are here tonight that that want to say something to speak either against or for what is being presented, but can we please move forward?

Thank you.

Well, right now we're on the resolution about fiscal year 2026.

We're not about going down the road yet.

So and how are we gonna get 2026 balanced?

So Mr.

Chairman, can we get a clarification on that?

I the what was presented to the council and to the public in terms of a docket uh notice uh is incorrect uh regarding number two.

I do not believe that the uh Newport School Department is facing a current two point eight million dollar shortfall.

If I am wrong, let me know.

Mr.

Nolan by all the indications that I'm receiving, it's a projected 2.8 million dollar deficit that they are um going to have in fiscal year 26.

How did we go from what was explained to the council two weeks ago 1.9 million to 2.8 million in 16 days?

Uh I believe so I can go back to the letters that went to um from Superintendent Jermaine.

Um, and as far as the uh structural fiscal recovery plan that was presented to to the city, um I believe that that was at the 2.8 million.

So I'm looking at a a memo from the school committee on May 1st uh that they're indicating that they're projecting a 2.8 million dollar deficit in fiscal year 26.

That was not what was described orally at the meeting, the second hearing of the budget uh of the city's fiscal twenty-seven budget.

We we were consistently told it was 1.8 to 1.9 million.

Uh fine.

All right.

So to be perfectly clear, then what we're asking, what's being asked uh of us as the city council of the taxpayers of the city of Newport, uh, is uh we're being asked for three or I'm sorry, five point five million dollars in addition to the maximum amount that the school committee asked for and we gave.

Is that correct?

They're asking for an additional five point five million dollars from the the voters from the taxpayers.

Can anybody answer that question?

If it's two point eight and two point seven, I mean I didn't do so well at Rogers High School in math, but I at least got a a D, and I think that comes up to five point five million dollars that we're being asked for tonight from the voters.

The projected deficit for fiscal year twenty six that I've been presented is two point eight million dollars if we add that to the uh additional twenty six twenty-seven money the structural gap that they currently have right now at two point three million dollars but that comes two point three not not two point seven forgive me so it's five point one million dollars that's right so we're asking the voters for five point one million dollars tonight uh be by way of these two resolutions on top of what the city council passed uh in its budget which was the maximum amount that the school committee could ask for from the city correct correct thank you so as a resolution states so after the the school fund balance of look we'll call it six hundred thousand dollars that'll bring it down to the two point two mr chairman we were told by the superintendent that they spent every nickel of what they had reserves and everything we we were told that some 10 minutes ago right there is no reserve well this must be the end of the reserve this is the what what is available so there the school's fund balance as of June 30 2025 which is our most recent audit is 596 thousand that's what they have available to pay down the current deficit right and one last note Mr.

Chairman uh question from director nolan uh direct nolan uh does the newport school department have the means other than the city to pay back the city do they have well they they certainly do they have a means in future years that they could work into their budget to pay and where are they getting that money from that would have to be included in their operating budget.

So what you mean by that Mr.

Nolan is that the money to pay back the city will come from the city is that correct?

It's well I mean you if you look at the school's budget it's it the components the majority of the funding comes from the city but then there's also federal funding and state funding and also grants that that comprise of their budget.

So should we loan the city or the schools or should we uh allocate 5.1 million through whatever manner uh if we look at paying that money back from the school department to the city we would either have to take the money from the city allocation to this the schools from the feds which is very little maybe 1.3 million a year or from the state there is no independent means by which the Newport School Department can repay the city of Newport for a loan correct that is correct thank you all right is there anyone uh school committee uh that wants to come up and have any comment on what we're currently talking about which is the twenty twenty six fiscal year.

Thank you bowling vice chair of the school committee and uh head of the finance advisory so um there were people tonight interested in how do we pay that money back right and and it's a legitimate concern how do we pay that back because it takes away from the budget we have now so just saying that 2.6 when we pay it back this year that's bringing and we've already explained that we can bring back maybe four to six teachers on layoff but that two point six would represent another one we we use the number one oh five as a common number for a bringing someone back with that's all the benefits and retirement and everything.

So it could bring back one and a little over one and a half or two and a half teachers if we didn't if we didn't have to pay it back just throwing that out Charlie is the uh Mr Chairman uh actually that first of all I apologize for calling you Charlie Mr.

Chairman uh question from Mr.

Bean uh the money that uh is being asked for here tonight uh uh via those two resolutions tell me why that's not considered an addition to maintenance of effort or perhaps it is in other words uh we raised the allocation by one point one five million for fiscal twenty-seven why would the department of education not consider uh the total five point one million dollars in additional money from the city a part of maintenance of effort well with respect to the resolution you're now on um that deals with a specific statute that allows a municipality to appropriate money to uh reduce or eliminate a deficit uh of a past year's expenditures so that specifically I think it's safe to say that the present resolution you have before you that that would not constitute um a uh um or be computed in the maintenance of effort we also have a advisory opinion from the council for the department of ed that agrees with that that finding um on the second one mr collin second um resolution um the resolution itself says it's going to be conditioned on it not being part of the maintenance of effort um there needs to be a finding that what we're doing is a non-reoccurring expense and the commissioner of education has to specifically approve it as not contributing to the maintenance of uh effort so um we are uh that issue is before the um the legal council and the uh commissioner at this time and we're waiting for a specific uh approval or how they're going to respond to that but um yes that is an issue and that's why we built in the resolutions that it's conditioned on it not being part of the maintenance of of effort the only other thing i would point out um there is some room for the city it says up to these amounts so if for some reason the the school's deficit um for the fiscal year ending um the the present fiscal year 26 is less than then that would mean we would appropriate uh less money um so you do have that um some of those safeguards there i appreciate that and i understand the fiscal twenty six implications eventually whether we fix it tonight not fix it but whether we address it tonight or address it through the courts or address it in years to come uh eventually the courts uh or the department of ed or the legislature or another city council will say uh well we we have the obligation to pay the debt of the Newport School Department for fiscal twenty-six uh but the reasoning behind simply putting into the fiscal twenty-seven resolution this will not cut uh count against maintenance of effort is uh I think a little bit insulting both to the council uh to the voters of new the residents taxpayers in Newport and to the legislature uh suppose we just decided any council uh that uh we're gonna increase your uh and and a smaller community not providence uh suppose we decided we're gonna increase your your funding uh by ten million dollars a year but we're gonna write into uh our funding resolution that this will not count as maintenance of effort any uh school committee and city council who wanted to do that could simply go around the rules that the legislature clearly set up uh in the most recent education formula I mean you we have a a maintenance of effort requirement for a reason to simply say we're gonna give you two point eight million dollars or two point seven million or two point three as as Mr.

Nolan said two point three million uh extra for fiscal twenty-seven, but it won't count towards maintenance of effort.

Uh I I anxiously await legal counsel from the department of education explaining that one.

Well, that's not what we are doing with the resolution.

The resolution says that the city's obligation to do so is conditional on it being found not to be part of the maintenance of effort.

And if we do get an approval from the commissioner of education on fiscal year 2027, then it would be a fine uh approval by her that it's a non-reocurring um appropriation and not part of the maintenance of effort.

So we're not just a clearing aid as such.

At some point, can we take that position and say it isn't and argue it?

Um if there are the issue comes down the road next year, sure.

But we're not doing that.

Again, there's no uh in my mind, at least there's no question that the city has an obligation to pay the shortfall for for fiscal twenty-six.

But when we use the word obligation, there is no obligation with regard to a budgeting process for fiscal twenty-seven.

And in fiscal twenty-seven, what what's being asked for here is two point three million dollars in addition to what we've already allocated, which is one point one five million dollars.

And uh I mean, is there any reason you would believe, notwithstanding that the commissioner of education has to give her opinion or his opinion if there's a different commissioner uh on whether that's an increase in maintenance of effort.

Not withstanding that, is there any reason you would you would believe, Mr.

Bean, that we would not be back in fiscal twenty-eight with the same scenario?

We would still have the same budgeting.

We would if if the school clear came back to us and said, Well, our you know, uh, wouldn't we still be in the same budgeting situation in fiscal twenty?

Thank you.

We're gonna get to 27 and 28.

Right now we're focused on 2026.

So we need to get past this resolution first, and then we're gonna go on to the future fiscal years.

So uh we're gonna call this to a vote.

Mr.

Chairman, can I have the resolution read back, please?

Thank you.

Sure.

All right.

So I'm just gonna preface, I'm not gonna read the whole thing verbatim.

Uh so in order to respect to the deficit of 2.8 million in 2026, the city will authorize the following uh appropriate the following funds, take action, which is uh the NPS will apply a remaining school fund balance of approximately 596,031 dollars to reduce a deficit.

The city will appropriate a sum of 1.5 million three thousand nine hundred and sixty nine dollars from our twenty twenty-six surplus to pay uh to be paid to reduce said deficit and then loan seven hundred thousand dollars, which will be paid zero interest in three equal amounts in April of 27, 28, and 29.

Second, all the motion is so all those in favor, raise your right hand.

Any opposed, raise your right hand.

Okay, move on to the next resolution, please.

Thank you.

Okay, next uh motion to approve a resolution addressing the newport public schools projected further funding needs for fiscal year 2027 and the continued actions to be taken by the newport public schools for fiscal years 2028 and thereafter.

Do I have a second?

Motion and second.

We have discussion, Mr.

Chairman, uh, for your last comment and thank you for or per your second or last comment.

Uh and thank you for directing me towards the uh resolution number two when I was actually asking about resolution number three.

Now we're on resolution number three.

Mr.

Penn, what makes us uh if as I had asked, the uh actually this is not fair to ask you your legal counsel, uh Mr.

Nolan, uh what makes us think that uh should the the uh should the uh director of uh the Rhode Island Department of Education deem that additional funding uh for uh fiscal 2027 from the city council to the Newport School Department is not considered maintenance of effort.

Do you see anything that leads you to believe that we will not be here a year from now with the same situation?

We have a structural deficit clearly of two point seven million.

Are we wiping that?

We we are using, as I referenced 35 minutes ago, we are using one-time funds for legacy spending if we do this.

And we are only putting off the pain until a later point.

What makes you think, Mr.

Nolan, that we will not be back here next year if significant spending decisions are not made by the Newport School Committee for Fiscal 27?

I agree that we have a systemic issue that on paper would you would say yes, that that should contribute to the maintenance of effort.

However, given the school's proposal of looking for this funding, one-time funding in fiscal year 27, and then coming back to us, basically giving the school department fiscal year 27 to identify areas through a staffing audit, identify facilities, identify cuts that they can make to their operating budget that they will that that gives them a year to basically come back to us and say, okay, this is what we're projecting.

We're coming back to you in fiscal year 28 with a four percent increase, for example.

So that that in that sense, I do look at it as one-time money because it's going to give that school department uh an opportunity to fix whatever the systemic issue may be.

Like we have done in the last three fiscal years to no success.

Let me ask you two additional questions.

Number one, is there a guarantee within this resolution?

Whoever wrote it, is there a guarantee uh that uh with the money that the city may provide to the school department for fiscal twenty-seven?

All teachers who have been issued layoff notices for the school year twenty-seven, twenty-eight, will be brought back into the city into the school department's employee.

Part two, do we have any within this resolution guarantee that I'm going to use my own wording here?

Excessive administrative hiring, excessive administrative staff will be eliminated if we give you this money.

Do we have either guarantee?

Based on the current resolution, no, we do not.

Colleagues, I would suggest to you uh before we even discuss uh a 2.3 million dollar allocation to the Newport schools, uh we address those two issues that I just raised.

Last question for now is there anything in this resolution which would transfer uh fiscal for lack of a better word, fiscal power, fiscal authority, from the current school department finance director, school department finance office, whatever you want to call it to the Newport to the City of Newport via your office.

Is there anything in this resolution which would say uh that you're gonna take control of the finances going forward?

No, there is not.

Colleagues, I would suggest that also is a consideration before we allocate.

Thank you, Council Carlin.

So I'm gonna turn it over to Council Nepal.

Can I make one clarification?

Yes, please, director.

I'm looking at a ton of numbers, a ton of different pieces of paper.

I just want to clarify that the projected the approximate um projecting funding needs, it is the two point six million dollars, not the two point three as our three hundred thousand additional.

Sooner or later we're talking about real money, Jim, but I appreciate uh that clarification.

So it's two point six we're asking for, not two point three.

Thank you.

The resolution and make it amendments.

Yeah, all right.

So I'm just gonna read the resolve on this resolution just so everyone's kind of has a hopefully hopefully can understand it because there's a lot here.

Um so with respect to the Newport Public Schools projected further funding needs for fiscal year 2027 to be approximately two million six hundred and ninety-one thousand five hundred twenty-three dollars twenty-three dollars, cities authorized to provide further appropriations to take the following action in addition to the four percent maintenance of effort increase adopted in the city's budget for fiscal year twenty twenty-seven, which is approximately one million one hundred and ninety-six thousand two hundred and thirty-two dollars.

So, number one, the city may provide up to $1,191,523 loan from the city's unassigned fund balance, which would be without interest and which would be reimbursed by the receipt of future housing aid revenues expected in fiscal year 2028 or thereafter.

And two, the city may establish up to a 1.5 million dollar restricted reserve fund from the city's unassigned fund balance to be used to offset potential overruns associated with the Newport Public School tuition to private sources special education account by way of a transfer to a restricted account for that purpose approved by the city with any amount not used to be transferred back to the city.

Any reserve funds expanded uh to offset such overruns would also be reimbursed through future housing aid revenues in fiscal 2028 or thereafter, and like the last resolution above appropriations shall be conditional upon appropriations not being used in computation of the maintenance of effort requirements.

And all right, Council on Napolitano.

Yes, and I have some um changes to number one, the city may provide up to 1.19 million, 523 loan from the city's unassigned fund balance, which would be without interest and reimbursed with the receipt of future housing conditional upon restoration of the educational staffing, the Newport School Committee and the superintendent of schools shall certify in writing to the city council and city administration that any additional city funding for FY27 and FY28 shall be used to reinstate and rehire teachers laid off as a result of the school department's fiscal shortfall.

They may further certify that such funding will maintain continuity of instruction and minimize adverse impact on students and educational services, and B implementation of the financial oversight and reporting structure, the Newport Public School Finance Director shall report directly to the city's director of finance on matters involving city appropriations, budget administration, financial reporting, forecasting, and fiscal controls during fiscal year 27 and 28.

This reporting structure shall continue in fiscal year 29 and thereafter, if Newport Public Schools require supplemental city assistance stabilization funding or other extraordinary municipal support beyond the annual four percent maintenance of effort increase.

I move passage, second.

All right, motion and second any discussion.

Yes, Mr.

Chairman Council.

I seconded it because uh a lot of the resolution or a lot of the amendment uh that Council Napolitano is offering is good.

Uh what I want to ask uh you, counselor, and and anyone else who would like to answer it, uh, is uh first of all, with regard to the transfer of uh the authority on fiscal matters from the school department to the city, uh why are we retaining or why are we allowing the Newport School Department to well?

First of all, uh if anybody can answer this from the Newport School Department, uh do you have a uh you have a you have a fiscal advisor, a finance director.

What's the cost for the finance director?

Is it a full-time or a part-time uh position?

Can anybody answer that, please?

It's a full-time position.

It's 120,000 per year.

The hours are not typical.

I believe this is about the fourth time I've brought uh explained this.

And the other part of it is we saved 40,000 going to this model for the school department.

I do have a question on the um staffing.

Just I don't know when to propose before Mr.

Chairman.

Before respectfully, before any other questions are asked it four times, but uh, sure, maybe I've I've gotten different answers each time I ask it.

Can any member of the school committee can any member of the school committee answer the question?

Is the position of director of finance a full-time or a part-time position?

Last time at the school or last time at the at the city's budget hearing, second reading, I was told it was a part-time position.

Council Cy was here uh and and he said I'll paraphrase uh great, we have a school department finance director, but you can't ask them any questions until after 15 past four in the afternoon or uh before six or up until six in the morning.

You can ask them questions.

Is it a full-time or part-time uh position?

Members of the school committee.

Anyone on the school committee want to answer that question?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Right.

Hold on, stop.

We're not gonna be yelling out answers from the crowd please.

If you want to say something, please come up to the podium.

Thank you very much.

It's as full-time as we need it.

We've never not been able to get a hold of him.

You know, he he's uh directly reports to our superintendent whenever needed, and um we have regular meetings with him, the finance advisory, and it has not been any, you know, it's very unit's unusual, but we're saving money doing this, and it's very difficult to get really competent uh finance people that do school finance.

Mr.

Chair, Council Smith.

Does the director have another full-time job?

Or is or is this his only full-time job?

He does work other places, yes.

Thank you.

Is it a is it a full-time job?

Yes, Council Segley.

Hold on, Mr.

Chair.

I hold on.

Council Segley.

I have a question.

I uh would we have if we were to take over the the finances, let's say, um, would we need someone with a UCOA background?

Absolutely.

You have to have UCOA, you have to have the he's CPA, you have to have all the certificates he has, and I know there's talented and certified uh people within your own department.

I do believe your finance department is wonderful, does a great job.

I also believe they have a heavy lift, and adding school finances is a very heavy lift.

So that's the only question I have for that.

You know, I have no problem.

I just, you know, Director Gonsalves and I are fine.

Want to meet with Jim and talk to Jim and everything, that's fine.

We have absolutely no problem with that.

But not at all.

But the city is not equipped to deal with the educational type of um accounting that the city itself that I can't answer.

That's you know, the grant I I believe that that's the case.

That's yeah, so but the you the UCOA piece is a big piece of that.

It is a big piece.

I do believe Miss Cleary is aware of it and she knows it as well.

But yeah, it is a big piece.

I just I just had a clarifying question for Ms.

uh Ms.

Napolitano.

When you said to bring back everyone on layoff, does that mean if they so we have contractual obligations, and right now with a declining student enrollment, I'm making this up.

If right now I have six grade threes, and they're within the contractual limit right now, and then a year from now, or when possible, I am I supposed to and the student enrollment goes down, and I only technically need five or four teachers.

Are you saying you still want all the layoff teachers brought back?

That's I just want to clarify.

Given that circumstance, I'm okay.

I just wanted to have you really leeway there, and I would like to see the teaching staff back.

Yes.

Yes, and I just I just wanted to.

I we care about administrators, we hear about um teachers.

I think we have to realize 17 teachers, it's on my phone over there.

But um, I believe if you look at the teaching staff that's been laid off or impacted by all this, it's thirteen percent.

If you look at the administration, I'm sorry, it's seven percent, and for the administrators, it's 13, 17%.

We there's a smaller number.

So naturally, there's a larger number of teachers, over 200 something and 17.

Um, nobody likes layoffs, nobody wants to lay teachers off.

Um, but we have to follow the rules contractually.

Last ones in, first ones out.

We're a very unusual business, which it's not necessarily based upon evaluations or about some other certifications you may have.

It's based upon when you're hired and your seniority number.

How many chairs how many teachers do you really I know what you said already, but um that can come back on with this funding?

I thought you said four to six.

I believe I'm hearing four to six, four to six right now.

Okay.

So council Napolitano, would you like to um amend your resolution to say that uh to be not as um to certify and writing that and any of what shall be used to reinstate and rehire?

As many teachers as possible to your or something to that effect.

Yeah, I want to be able to give some leeway by the same token.

I believe that there is some teaching step that should be re-hired and come back.

I think the kids need them.

So counsel uh Mr.

Chairman, Council Napolitano, and to Council Segley's point, uh, presumably we'll be giving two point seven seven million more.

Uh well, let me pause.

Jim uh Direct Nolan, the that's all right.

Uh the one point six million that we talked about earlier uh when you made the the correction of three hundred thousand dollars, that has nothing to do with fiscal twenty-seven, correct.

So let me let me I'll I'll lay down for you.

So fiscal fiscal twenty-seven, there's projected to be approximately two two million six hundred ninety-one thousand dollars.

Okay, so it is fiscal twenty-seven.

All right, so it's about two point seven million that we're being asked to give to the school department, and now we're being told only four four teachers roughly are coming back.

Gene, I would I would suggest you stick with your original resolution and also uh this nonsense about well, you know, we can't get enough uh attention to uh people who want to be finance directors.

Uh my understanding is you had over a dozen who wanted to be uh interviewed for an interim superintendent's position.

Interim superintendents.

You mean tell me you can't get more than twelve people or can't get 12 people.

We can't find anybody who wants to be uh the school's finance director for 10 grand a month.

That's absolutely absurd.

So I would suggest that you you keep your original resolution with regard to the 17 uh laid off teachers, consider adding in uh some language regarding administrators, and certainly take away that position regarding uh finance director or take away that uh position of overseeing the finances for the school department and send it back or send it to the the city of Newport to our finance department.

Well hell, that'll go a long way, not a long way, but that'll go a decent amount of the way to pay back the loan for fiscal 26 we just gave.

That's 120,000 less.

If we have to give you, Jim, 50,000 more, that's a 70,000 dollar savings.

Gene, you gotta do counselor napolitano.

I I would suggest you gotta do those things at least to get my support.

Thank you.

I I just want to ask a question.

That money is to be reimbursed from in future years, okay?

So we we have so the 2.7 million dollars.

Yes.

What's being proposed in the resolution is uh um approximately 1 million one hundred and ninety-six, um, excuse me, one million one hundred and ninety-one thousand would be a loan from the city's unassigned fund balance.

Yes, right, and that would be be repaid with the what we're projecting to be housing aid for the Pell Rogers construction project in fiscal year 28.

The remaining money, the 1.5 million dollars, would be a restricted reserve would be used for their special education and out of district um mine item in their budget.

Mr.

Chairman Gene, what what would the uh thank you, uh Chairman?

Hold on, thank you, Mayor Harold.

Gene, uh Ms.

Nolan.

Uh what would the Rhode Island Department of Education think about using reimbursement money from the state from the legislature for building of schools, Rogers and Pell, originally 98 and a half million dollars for Rogers and about uh 4.1 million for additions to Pell.

What would the Rhode Island Department of Education and the legislature think about taking reimbursement money and using that reimbursement money for anything other than paying down the bond or the bond interest for that matter, but the bond principal or giving it back to the taxpayers?

What what the hell do we have this type of setup from the Rhode Island Department of Education for?

Uh if they are gonna give us reimbursement funds for building schools and say, do whatever you want with it.

Why don't we just take that money and uh why don't we build uh the city of Newport City Council coffee hut out on Broadway?

If we can use the money for anything else, I think number one, we're being deceptive uh for, or two, the taxpayers of the city of Newport, and number two, uh I would question whether the Rhode Island Department of Education and certainly the legislature would appreciate uh what we're doing.

They they would not I believe look kindly on us taking that money and doing anything but paying down the bond premium with it.

Director Nolan, you want to sure I I can explain how so every year we we have to include in our budget in our annual budget our our principal and interest payments, all right.

We've been paying principal and interest on the Powell Rogers uh project since 2023.

What's going to happen in fiscal year 28 when we in fact go to Riot, we submit our form 105, um, we will receive catch-up payments for debt that we've already paid.

Um could that be used to pay down debt?

Absolutely, but I also I believe that it's available that catch-up money is available to be used outside of debt payments because uh future debt payments will be covered by um future housing aid that will match our our debt service schedule.

It's the only thing that the money should be used for, the only thing to pay back the debt we've incurred the premium and any interest.

You have all heard me say before that we should not use the bond money.

The administration came to us asking for bond money, which was originally designated for things other than uh, for example, what the utilities department asked for with respect to a few million dollars from the bond, and I said no, uh we should not because we told the voters this is what you're voting for.

This is what the money is going to be borrowed to do, and to take that money and do something completely different than what the bond money was told to the voters was going to do, is uh borderline deceptive, but uh at best, uh it it's uh it's just not right.

So I just want to make sure I can clarify.

So the 98.5 million dollar borrowing for the Pell Rogers that that's what we're speaking of.

It's it's not the infrastructure bank or the infrastructure borrowing that we that's correct.

And and I used that as an example because I think they're very similar.

Uh the administration had come to us and said we will use X amount of money from the bond, the infrastructure bond, to do X work for the utilities department.

This money was never asked for or asked for of the voters to do utilities work, it was asked for of the voters uh to address issues uh at the reservoir and issues of capping in the north end.

So I believe that what we're dealing with here is very, very similar.

We tell the voters what we're borrowing the money for, use the money for that, not for something else council yeah, if if I would use your logic, um when we got the premium bond, because of the great work in the department of 14 million we gave that to the school department there were cost overruns should we have given that back to the taxpayers absolutely no question about it it cost you 14 million dollars less for the project than what you told the voters you would need to borrow because during COVID and because of uh former assistant or former uh interim city manager and full time director of finance Laura Citrin and Mr.

Nolan himself and the great finance department because they made uh very good decisions as to where to invest that money we came up with uh a 14 million dollar windfall and indeed counselor napolitano that should have gone back to uh the taxpayers of Newport it should have gone to pay down the premium but that's a long time ago I just want to make sure you understand I'm not contradicting myself here um no chair I I think that the um amendment should say to reinstate and rehire as many teachers as fiscally feasible um so I don't know how counselor Napolitano feels about that to say reinstate and rehired as many teachers as fiscally feasible can we vote on that or do we have to are you making a motion yes I'm making a motion is there a second second motion and second Mr.

Chairman hold on council napolitano do you yeah I I would like truly from the number of people I heard from I think there really needs to be some teachers hired back.

You know we can't I I can I don't want to put fisticuffs on you but as much as possible I do believe Mr.

Chair I believe that that's what they said that there'd be four to six as many as possible to reinstate but you know we're trying to create a to fix a structural issue and in order to bring back all of those teachers we're just going to put more burden on the the finances so I understand where everyone is coming from but in order to be reasonable we as a we're we don't have the information in front of us to know exactly how many teachers can be um brought back I would love to say to bring back all of them yeah sure okay but i it's not possible there is a there's a structural deficit and so uh I think we have to look at will some of them be taken yes four to six okay I don't know what else to say but this money we can't say no to this money because we need to fix this this structural deficit I don't know I don't know what else to say I mean it's it's it's it's all in black and white Mr.

Chairman and the the school the school department all right council segly is the school on one second so I'm I'm just gonna make this point technically it does not say to rehire all the teachers laid off it just says to rehire teachers laid off so if you want to play semantics of how that's worded it could be some it could it could be all but to me that says just the rehire teachers does not say all the teachers it just says rehired teachers like that were laid off okay it just seems that it is implied that if we thank you uh for that clarification uh I was going to before you said that I was going to say Gene don't budge hold your ground but since the mayor made that clarification I would like to amend uh and we can use Robert's rules and interpret it anyway either I amend the amendment or I amend the original.

Uh my point is uh I'm not voting for this unless a few things are done, but first and foremost, non-starter for me.

Uh I'm not saying a few, I'm not saying as many as fiscally possible as Lynn Sagley wants, or as the vice chair I should say wants.

Uh all, or you don't have my support.

All right.

So we have the uh council Segley's motion uh on the table first.

Uh uh I make that in the form of a motion, I'm sorry, and I asked for a second.

Thank you, solicitor being for that uh uh that guidance.

Can I ask for a second of that please on Council Carl Carl's motion?

Are we still uh debating the uh the amendment that I proposed?

Well, we there was no second.

Yeah, so there but we are still on that item, correct?

There was no second, but uh that doesn't that does not shut off debate automatically as the chair's correct discretion.

So uh I I tried folks, uh you you heard what I tried to do, bring back everybody.

I'm voting against this.

Uh and I think anybody that that does otherwise uh is only playing games with with all of you teachers and others who have been laid off.

Thank you.

Okay, so can we vote on the uh council motion uh to change the language?

If you you know, I'm gonna drop my motion because if if it's if it is not implied in your um statement, then I'm good with that.

I mean how well I'm fine to give the leeway, yeah.

However, you know, I really want to see teachers back there.

So I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm going to uh withdraw my motion um be and um agree with Council Napolochano's Mr.

Chair, amendment.

Council Smith.

Can somebody tell us exactly what we're supposed to be voting on right now?

Because a lot of words have gone back and forth.

So I just want to be clear.

We were just about to vote on Council Segley's amendment to Council Politano's amendment.

Okay, which withdraw which was dropped.

So now we're on the table right now is still Council Napolitano's amendment to the original resolution, which is uh two parts.

We can vote on them separately together.

I think we can do it together, it's fine.

Yeah, because I yeah, I have a question on item B.

Okay.

Which are good.

Um so it for the finance, our finance director.

Having I I believe that the intent of item B is to have the school's finance director rolled up into the city's finance office, correct?

Or is it just for certain years to have an additional reporting process between the school's finance director and our city's finance director?

Uh based on what I heard on the amended resolution was that there would be uh reporting from the school to the city for any additional appropriations, and then we would report back to council how those how those additional appropriations were spent.

Okay.

So it's my understanding.

It's just additional meetings between both finance offices to to determine what's happening and to to update council, correct?

That's that's the understanding.

Okay, thank you.

It's basically opening up lines of communication between both finance departments.

So we we don't have one facting in silos and Colin, you want to come up.

I have a lot to say, but I just want to address this one item.

Um do you know how Middletown handles their schools?

And their municipal budgeting and finance departments.

Is anybody do no?

Do you not go?

Take out.

Does anybody know?

How do they do it?

They report appropriate.

Similarly, the revenues and there.

But it's handled at their town hall, not at their school department level.

Yeah.

Well, that's my understanding.

So if they can do it, we can do it.

We can figure it out.

The system is set up.

You know, the OCO, the OCOA accounting um is complicated, but we also have technology today that can unravel some of that complication.

And because we have the technology, we should be looking at saving money.

So I would suggest, and I love that um Councillor Smythe mentioned how we should at least meet quarterly, definitely.

But I do think this what you're voting on right now is a little too vague.

I think we need to do a little more homework to cut some corners.

Because as we shrink, and I think we need to think about that sort of um ten thousand dollars a month is a lot of money, and we that's what we've been spending, and we don't have an in-house finance director.

Ronnie does a great job, and that's nothing against Ronnie.

I'm just looking structurally.

Where can we find money?

That's a place we can start looking.

So I don't know if you can amend that or you know, do some research with Middletown, but I think you should look into what Middletown is doing.

They actually have a much larger student enrollment than we do right now, so it's you know it's it's doable.

Ms.

Chairman, I just want to start just my intention was uh just to make sure the communication was flowing.

It had nothing to do with assigning responsibility to our department.

I felt because of the way everything was delivered to us that maybe not everybody got all the information back and forth, and particularly when it comes to the schools, I think it's important that there is a relationship reporting to our finance director so that we can incorporate whatever they're saying into, you know, our our annual budgets.

Mr.

Chair, it was just for the uh trying to get people to honor a communication, a direct communication from uh your office to our office.

Mr.

Chair, city clerk, madam clerk, you want to turn the clock off.

Thank you.

Okay, um thanks.

Um I think the the wording in uh part B is okay.

Um because we can come forward with another resolution um to uh require the quarterly meetings.

We can come back and um say, you know, in more specificity, how we would want this to happen.

But for now, we don't have time to do homework.

I mean, we're just gonna let's we need to we need to work on we need to do this.

So um I I'm that's where I am.

So I think we should just pass counselor's amendments.

Um I just want to ask everybody that's been sitting here for almost two hours.

Is there anybody else that has anything that you that you would like to ask or say or come forward?

Then so this would be on the amendment.

This is on the amendment.

I still vote on the amendment.

Vote on the amendment and and then people can come forward if they have.

Okay.

Okay.

Mr.

Chairman, on the amendment, please.

Council Crawl.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Bean.

Uh I first of all let me say I tried uh I offered a secondary amendment uh to require bringing back 17 teachers.

Uh I did not get a second on that, as you all saw.

So my question is we give the 2.7 million dollars if we give the 2.7 million dollars, Mr.

B and to the uh school department.

Uh is there any way within current state law uh that the Newport City Council can dictate that that money not be used to go and do other things?

For example, we all know the expectation is that the money will be used to bring back uh laid-off employees.

Am I correct in assuming Mr.

B if if we give the money to the school department, they could spend it any way they want?

Um I'm not gonna say that they can do whatever they want because there may be certain restrictions in their in their budget process or in state law that would prevent them from doing that.

But yes, you are correct that certainly um on this on this one on this resolution, we probably uh provide them one literally one point two million dollars.

Um there are some conditions on that, but after those conditions, if they're you know, once we give it to them, we determine if they meet those conditions.

Once we give it to them, I would say you're correct.

I mean, there's no no guarantee.

Now, on the second one in terms of the special education uh restricted account, it is we're asking them to um establish a restricted account for this, but they will be able to draw on it, and so you are um if they do the restricted account, I would think that there would be some re you know, that would be restricted and they wouldn't be able to do whatever they wanted with it, but um still we you know we don't have really control over it.

Mr.

Chairs, so I will uh continuing mr mr.

Chair, thank you, and thank you, Mr.

B and continuing then uh I will offer offer uh a secondary amendment.

Uh and my secondary amendment is that uh uh the money be conditioned upon the newport school department keeping a ratio of one to one administrators versus laid off school teachers, and I would ask for a second.

Second, so just real quick, I do have a quick question on that.

But going back to the the first point about what the school department can do with the money, I am gonna take a leap of faith and imagine after all this we're going through that if we put this resolution through to help the school department financially, that they would be smart enough to go by what we are asking them to do in a matter of good faith, knowing full well that you'll be back here again next year looking for money and uh you know uh a percentage, and if they were to go against our ask, though, Mr.

Chair?

Well, it it it it reality it does.

So you're on the school committee, you should so on the amendment.

It would be in good good faith.

Yeah, on the on the amendment though, Mr.

Chairman.

Although I appreciate what you said, what you said, and uh certainly we would expect that uh what my amendment, which was seconded, will do uh absent a court telling us we can't do that, uh, is uh insure that the money will be uh used for bringing back uh laid off teachers.

And the reason I say that, and I you know, I'm essentially trying to find an end round uh uh to do the same thing I asked for a few minutes ago that I didn't get a second on.

We have 23 administrators in the city in the school department from what I understand.

Uh we have 23 administrators, listen, I mean we can argue the numbers all day long.

What I'm saying is if you want this money from us, you need to keep of the 17 teachers that you laid off, you need to keep as many of those on as you have administrators.

If you have 17 administrators, I don't care if you have 23.

If you have 17 administrators, all 17 come back.

If you have 25 administrators, all 17 come back.

If you have 16 administrators, 16 of the 17 come back.

Uh, what I'm doing here is I'm trying to get as many teachers back as possible because uh cooperation is uh I I don't think we're getting the best cooperation as possible.

But I did get a second on my amendment.

Council Smith, yeah.

I have a question for the city solicitor item number one.

If we vote to approve the recommended changes that counselor Napolitano has proposed, doesn't that make that that two million contingent upon those particular things?

So so we are still holding the school department's feet to the fire for for that money if we implement those amendments, correct?

Right.

Well, so if if the amendments are adopted, and I'm taking a look at it, um, they'll certify in writing to the city council and the city administration that um any additional funding for 2027 and 28 shall be used to reinstate and rehire teachers laid off.

So we we would need that certification from them.

Um but once we give them the money, we give them the money.

Um so we can't, I mean, we can't claw it back in other words.

Maybe we could later on indirectly, but Mr.

We wouldn't do it before that certification.

What if we gave them half of it?

And then and then, you know, I I I don't I don't know I'm just all right.

If they if that way, I mean we could make them accountable that way, but I do believe that it's not necessary because we have uh the finance director and the school finance director working together on this, and and the city will know exactly what's going on.

All right, Miss Winslow.

How you doing?

Thanks for your patience.

Stephanie Winslow, five roll and roll, Newport School Committee.

And I think I speak for probably a lot of the audience when I say my heart is pounding.

I'm exhausted, I'm angry, I'm devastated, I'm I'm so tired of trying to do this work in a city that wants to nickel and dime its school department.

And I know that's not true of all the counselors up here, but it's evident tonight that certain counselors really just want to make us feel pain, more pain.

You know, teachers have the hardest job in the world.

The administrators that try to support them have the next hardest job, and I can tell you that being on the school committee is the hardest selected office.

I'm sick and tired of it.

Please run, run.

We we could use some help.

I don't know what you think we're gonna do with the money, like build a swimming pool.

I would love that, but we're probably just gonna hire people back, and I know that everybody here just wants you to vote now so we can go home to get back to the business of educating the kids.

Here, thank you.

I'm James String, Chairman of the Screenport School Committee.

Um, we need the money.

So if you tell us, you know, you pass this to light and you put some conditions on there, we'll do everything we can to follow those conditions.

We are we're not in a position where we can come in and dictate the terms of that.

You guys are so as long as I'm chairman, I'm sure I can get three other people to agree with me that we will do whatever you need us to do.

And as far as the uh finance director, I know we we've heard a lot of talk about that tonight.

As everybody knows our superintendent's retiring.

So on July 1st, we're gonna have a new superintendent.

We also have a principal of Rogers High School that we have to replace.

If you're trying to tell us that we need to have a new finance director at the same time, that is going to be a disaster.

So please, if if anyone wants to make an amendment to do that, please do not do that.

Maybe sometime down in the future, but now is not the time to do that.

Um while I'm up here, does anybody have any questions for me?

I do.

Mr.

Carlin, I guess.

Mr.

Dring, how did you vote on the uh fiscal 26 school budget?

I voted to approve it.

Thank you.

The second time.

Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Chair.

Mr.

Chair.

Um Councillor Napolitano, would you mind rereading the first amendment?

Um, the restoration of the educational staffing, the Newport School Committee and Superintendent of School shall certify in writing to the city council and city administration that any additional city funding for FY 2728 shall be used to reinstate and rehire teachers laid off as a result of the school department's fiscal shortfall.

They further certify that such funding will maintain continuity of instruction and minimize adverse impact on students and extra educational services.

Thank you.

Um, Council of Palestine, at any point, did you suggest hiring a new finance director in your amendments?

I'm sorry, I can't.

Did you ask to hire a new finance director at any time?

No, okay.

Thank you.

Mr.

Chairman, we go.

All right, so let's take a vote on uh Council Napolitano's amendments to the resolution, which uh just basically are the ones she just read, and uh, and then making sure that the finance director for the Newport School Department reports uh directly to the City Director of Finance on matters involving city appropriations, all those in favor of Mr.

General, point of order, please.

Yes, Dr.

A point of clarification, perhaps the solicitor can answer.

There are two live amendments on the floor, both of which have been seconded.

Uh what is the uh per Roberts or per however we'd like to do it?

Uh what is the appropriate since both amendments the latter, the later and which would be um council at collins.

Thank you.

That's what I thought.

Thank you.

Oh, that's right.

He was it was second by councilman.

Uh so that's to make sure that is to have the language of all teachers get hired back, correct?

No, it is uh my uh recommendation, my uh resolution was to have a one-on-one, a one-to-one ratio.

Should the Newport, should the City of Newport uh lend the money to lend the money to the Newport School Department?

We must have a one-to-one ratio of uh administrators versus teachers who were laid off uh for the 27-28 school year.

And before we vote, uh since there was some skepticism earlier, Miss Nolan, uh if I might ask uh, or any member of the school committee who wants the answer, or anybody who wants to answer.

Mr.

Rice, maybe you want to answer.

Uh, how many administrators does the Newport School Department employ now, right now?

Who can answer that question for me?

Yeah, who would have to?

Sorry.

So, so we have members of school committee disagreeing with members of the administration.

Why, Mr.

Carlin?

Because they have separate contracts, they're under contracts that are called administrator assistant or administrative, your fake administrators.

No, they're not administrators, they're not in the they're not in the union because they work hours beyond the contractual time, and some of them are in confidential roles.

So we have some people that are not administrators meaning.

If you're calling an administrator, we have two at the high school, a principal and assistant principal.

We have two at the middle school.

We have three.

We have a principal, assistant principal, and we have an MTSS coordinator.

I will throw that in as an administrator.

All right.

So we've got two, two, three, seven.

Then we have the superintendent, we have the finance person, we have the director of student services, we have the director ML, both required by federal and state laws, and then I have a director of teaching and learning.

Let me ask the question in a different manner.

How many employees of the Newport School Department are not members of a union?

I cannot tell you that off the top of my head.

I would have to go.

Does your director know the answer?

Most likely.

I would be surprised.

How many non-union employees work for the Newport School Department?

We have several people that we have contracted services with some of our um nonprofit organizations that work for us as well.

Mr.

Chairman, I wish to withdraw my amendment and add the following amendment for which I'll ask a second.

I wish to amend the resolution of counselor Napolitano or amend the administration's resolution to say, should the city of Newport City Council, City of Newport Administration, loan the money to the Newport School Department.

The Newport School Department, Newport School Committee must keep as many laid-off teachers for fiscal twenty for school year 27-28 as there are non-union employees in the Newport school department and I ask for a second.

We're being told nobody knows how many non-union employees are a second.

I mean I don't care how you classify.

Mr.

Chairman, I don't care how how you classify them, whether they're administrators or quasi-administrators.

Council Carlin, okay.

Do we have a second?

There's no second.

Okay.

That's it.

Okay, so now we're back to Council Napolitano's amendments to the resolution.

All right, raise your right hand.

All those in favor.

Any opposed, raise your right hand.

Five to one.

Motion to approve uh the resolution as amended.

Second.

Motion and second.

All in favor, raise your right hand.

Those opposed.

Mr.

Chair, I just want to also add that uh resolved is um that there will be an uh independent operational and staffing audits infrastructure and facility consolidation opportunities that we'll be looking for and continued evaluation of enrollment trends and program alignment.

So um I'm hoping that we uh can continue work on the solar panels to um save money on the electric bill.

I'm hoping that we can look to as much as we can consolidate services such as mowing and snow removal.

Um so we are all the same city, and the money comes from the taxpayer, and so I I would like to see um us working together.

Um, it's I don't think that there should be blame to be uh going around, and um I just hope that we can fix this structural deficit um with these other um these other components move to adjourn.

Hold on, Mr.

Power, did you want to say something since you've been here the whole time?

What do what are we what item are we on where Mr.

Power can speak to us?

I'm asking him to come up and speak, Council Collin.

Thank you very much.

Um, with the uh we just heard about the solar panels.

If there's I'd just love to hear a timeline of how that would happen, because as a taxpayer in Newport, we're all taxpayers.

That's sixty-five thousand dollars a month that goes out of our pocket that we could be using for whatever we've been using seven hundred thousand dollars a year.

I just like to know if it starts here, when do we solve that problem?

That's $700,000.

People argue about $100,000, we're going to solve that.

We're going to have a presentation by a company at the next council meeting.

So, um, so I think that you can ask the questions at the next council meeting.

All right, we have a motion to adjourn.

Is there a second?

Second motion and second.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Well, what wait a minute, what?

Let me see.

You can't you keep this too.

Yeah, we voted on it.

I think what you want.

I think we said everything's been said and have further discussion now.

Okay.

You want to stay longer?

We've had there was a there was more than enough time for people to go.