#MiddletownRI town and school officials pledge Monday night to work together to solve a projected educational budget shortfall from the state, saying anything else wouldn't be in the best interest of students - and the community as a whole.
TOWN, SCHOOL LEADERS WORKING TOGETHER
ON SOLUTIONS FOR $660K EDUCATIONAL SHORTFALL
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (JANUARY 27, 2025) – Town and school officials are working closely together to find reasonable solutions for a significant anticipated drop in state aid for Fiscal 2026.
On Monday night in Town Hall, the Town Council and School Committee sat down for the first time publicly to go over the projected revenues for the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year.
Much of the discussion focused on news out of the State House recently that the community could expect about $660,000 less in educational aid, numbers that haven’t been finalized yet.
Town and school officials agreed the best way to work through the forecasted shortfall was sticking together as a team and making smart, targeted choices that won’t impact the quality of education in the classroom — and beyond.
“At the end of the day, it’s up to us to figure it out,” council President Paul M. Rodrigues said. “We can control what we can control and put our heads together and figure this thing out for the best outcome for the children and the best outcome for the taxpayers. That’s what we need to do and I’m convinced we can do that.”
Everyone on hand seemed to agree, saying it was time to sharpen their pencils and do what needed to be done to make sure the Middletown schools continued their momentum.
“Transparency, especially during discussions of fiscal matters, is a critical component to establishing trust and the spirit of teamwork between the school district and the town,” school board Chairman Gregory Huet said. “The School Committee and the Superintendent will continue to explore every avenue to improve transparency in the spirit of teamwork moving forward.”
“We’re predicted to have a lean year, but it’s my intention to remain focused on student success,” Superintendent Billy Niemeyer said. “I appreciate my responsibility to run an efficient, effective School Department that has positive outcomes for students. As a team, we make a concerted effort to work towards a more efficient, more effective school district and we’re making strides in this direction."
Heading into this budget season, Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown has urged department heads to be realistic with their requests.
During closed-door meetings with staff, he’s told everyone to hold their numbers to a 2 percent increase — or less.
Not a hard cap, Brown has reiterated the mantra that Middletown needs to be focused on the realities facing its residents and businesspeople in a tight economy.
He has said it was not the year to propose new programs and purchases unless they were absolutely necessary or revenue neutral.
Towards this end, Brown has noted the town continued to need to streamline and consolidate operations wherever possible without a reduction of service to the community.
Among the places where this has occurred include the hiring of new Shared Facilities Director Ed Collins to oversee town and school buildings and grounds as well as merging the municipal and educational finance offices. The construction of a new shared middle-high school and consolidating upper and lower elementary schools fits this model too.
Proposed budget submissions from each department were due to the finance office before the 2024 holiday break.
Since then, the finance staff have been scrubbing each line item, making sure the asks were necessary, not simply nice to have.
Complicating matters is the fact that contracts for every union — minus those representing fire and police — are up for negotiations.
To prepare parents and staff for what’s ahead, Niemeyer sent an email out late last week outlining the cause for the $660,000 shortfall.
Niemeyer pledged to do everything possible to make decisions based on what’s right while also being more efficient while supporting students and teachers.
Like Brown and his team, Niemeyer has been working closely with the principals and School Improvement Teams of each building, a major shift for the district from past practice. The goal of those efforts were to avoid duplication and unnecessary spending while making sure the needs of each student were served.
In coming weeks, the School Committee will hold a series of public meetings to go through its numbers before presenting its figures to the town in mid-March. Under state law, town officials do not have line-item oversight on the educational budget, just the bottom-line number.
From there, the Town Council will receive the first draft of the proposed Fiscal 2026 budget in early April. That triggers a series of budget meetings for council members to review the totals, including public hearings tentatively slated for May 21 and 28.
For a copy of Monday night’s presentation to the council, go to https://www.middletownri.gov/DocumentCenter/View/17713/Presentation-Rev-Conference-FY-2026-1272025-FINAL-V2 online.
To view the Revenue Manual itself, visit https://www.middletownri.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/264 online. Information about the School Department budget is on pages 165-167 of the Revenue Manual.
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-PreBudget26
About Middletown
The Town of Middletown is a vibrant municipality located on Aquidneck Island, known for its scenic beauty, historic landmarks, diverse economy and strong sense of community. For more information about all we have to offer, visit MiddletownRI.gov online.
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