IT'S TIME TO MAKE A STAND,,,WARREN NEEDS TO STOP THIS SPENDING SPIRAL,,,,,THE SCHOOL BUDGET IS OUT OF CONTROL,,,,THE MUNICIPAL IS ALSO. LETS PUT A STOP TO THIS MADNESS.

The biggest shock of the evening was learning that the school dept. would not provide their budget to Mr. Gordon and the town council. They had to pull teeth to learn what the school dept. is spending money on. The school dept.'s lack of transparency is alarming and they are financially irresponsible. Every year they ask for a 4% increase like spoiled children. They need to run themselves like the Foster-Glocester school department. This year, recognizing the poor local economies, Fo-Glo DECREASED its budgets by 0.24%. (Source: http://www.fg.k12.ri.us/files/790056/20120322082801154.pdf). B-W should be trimming the fat every year like a responsible business would.

Well, not only did they have to be forced to give the budget, they redacted the actual numbers behind it, giving the Town Council all of the line items, with nothing but zero's next to them.

What amazes me is that at no time last night did those arguing for the increase actually try and justify it. Someone attempted to say that by percentage, we aren't spending enough, but per student, we spend the 3rd highest in the State. I refer to the following article: <link href>"http://www.golocalprov.com/news/chart-ris-high-schools-2012-from-1-to-51/"</>; Even though both of our neighbors, Portsmouth and Barrington, spend $1000's less per student, they are getting better results.

This argument that we just need to spend more and everything will be all right just doesn't make it anymore. If anyone can show some sort of correlation between our spending and our results, I'm listening.

Now the schools here will sue Warren.

Lets face it taxpayers actually work for the schools not the other way around. .

Yes! Democracy played it's role to the fullest last night! It was wonderful to see so many passionate townspeople in the right place at the right time! Whether I agree or not with the vote is secondary to the wonder of a democracy! Disorganized democracy as it was, it was still democracy!

We keep hearing that the residents of Warren can't afford an average of approximately $55/year total increase to fund the schools and the municipal budget. There is a strong distinction that needs to be made between RESIDENTS and TAXPAYERS. Taxpayers are property owners, residents are both but many live in the apartments and homes of the taxpayers/property owners.

As for the town council, shame on them for not attending the meetings of the uniform chart of accounts, they were invited! There is where they would have seen line by line what the expenses go toward in our school system.

If time isn't spent to project forward for success, by revitalizing the downtown, and educating the children to the best of our ability we will be in this same situation for years to come and the chance of anyone wanting to live as TAXPAYERS, not just residents, in this quaint small town will diminish.

I'm terrified to see what taxes may be if Warren actually had to pay for a full independent education program on it's own! Is that where we may end up? Who knows with the risks we are taking as a town!

Tracey,

With all due respect, people shouldn't have to attend a meeting to learn about the school expenses. This should be publicly available, as Foster-Glocester does here: http://www.fg.k12.ri.us/files/790056/20120322082801154.pdf

The issue here is not the $55. The issue is unequal voting rights: the Town of Warren has no say on the budget. Taxation without representation.

Once this is fixed, there are more issues to discuss. But, let's not talk about what to do with the money until we get the right to have a say where our money goes.

If in fact the $55 a year total increase includes residents and is not just taxpayers, than that figure of $55 is low. Also, the argument that it's only $55 is quite naive. Warren has MANY Senior Citizens that are on fixed incomes and $55 is a lot of money.

We are supposed to trust that our School Committee is watching the bottom line of our School Dept, just like our Town Council is supposed to watch the bottom line on the municipal side. However, both sides work for me and when I or anyone else asks to see the numbers, they should get them, period. Sending 900 pages of line items followed by $0's isn't not acceptable.

I think last night was projecting into the future. It sent a clear message that it's time for the Bristol-Warren School System to produce results with what they have. Throwing money at their problems is not working.

Tracy, there is no big secret in interpreting the UCOA. It is not really about transparency for us. It is simply making all the school systems report in a similar manner and good general accounting procedures. For the record, our previous Town Manager did go to the first meeting and it was explained to us. I wont even get into the time WE spend in meetings. This is an unnecessary meeting if you understand basic accounting principles. Every expenditure has a column, this does not tell you what each package of paper costs as someone stated last night. It simply is a way for the state to compare school systems.
As for the report we finally received, it does not take a genius to figure it out either. There were many rows of 0's. Had I printed it out, or sent it to someone, I would have used the option to not print out the lines with zero balances. Again does not take a CPA to figure that out. I have that option on my accounting package at the office. To the defense of the school department, it was not all zeros, but the majority of the report was, and that seems a bit suspect.

To me, it's not the $55, it's the fact that with Bristol having six votes to Warrens three, this has to end. If voting for the level spending that the Town Council wanted, Bristol is sure to bring us to court. Hopefully, there, we can have the chance to change the six to three and have equel representation. As long as we just get this one item changed, I won't care if Bristol wins and we are forced to pay the amount they want. I live in Warren, and I am sick of being told that my taxes are going up each year because the School Commitee, run by Bristol, wants more money..

Warren actually ;loses out on state aid because the average income of both towns is higher where as Warren alone would be lower meaning a higher subsidy from the State. Bristol would get less on its own and so Bristol gets more aid than they would on their own.

That should be calculated into the equation in fairness.

It's about time Warren and Bristol get into a spat. It's been over 20 years since our High Schools played baseball and football against each other. Ah! the good old days. Gone forever.

The people of Warren say "It's not about the $55.00 it's that we don't have equal representation" so then I ask, why then don't you do something constructive to try to fix the issue you are griping about? The only answer that I have seen or heard is that it is easier to complain than to try to correct. Well that is where we differ, I believe that you shouldn't complain if you don't want to be part of the solution. What you did was tantamount to speeding down Water Street, getting caught and then refusing to pay the fine because you don't think the speed limit is fair. You have options available to make changes but seem to ignore those options. Let's not forget that about 20 years ago you voted to become a part of a Regional School District. When you did so, did you bother to read the Legislation? I believe that is what established the level of representation on the JFC and the School Committee. If you are unhappy with that now, you should look to change the legislation instead of violating it. As a parting comment, I hope all of those senior citizens remember that those children whose education they do not want to support will someday potentially refuse to subsidize their elderly housing because they couldn't get a job paying enough to afford it. The one true thing about politicians is that when they look for cuts in their budget, the kids are an easy choice because they can't vote! Good luck with what you have initiated but beware of what you ask, you may actually get it!

Kudos to the residents of Warren for, not only showing up at the financial meeting in numbers that surpassed the quota required, but also for realizing that there comes a time to stand firm. It is not easy to make the tough decisions, not easy at all. Let us hope that the Warren voters will represent a microcosm of events all over the state, and the country.

We support their Town Councilors for standing steadfast and unanimously supporting what is best for THEIR town.

It is hard to understand Mr. Barboza's statement that "The officials in Warren failed to present accurate information to their voters," when the JFC not only had to be forced to submit the actual budget to the Town of Warren, but when they did, they redacted the actual numbers behind it, giving the Town Council all of the line items, with nothing but zero's next to them. Is that an example of "accurate information"? You can't make this stuff up, as they say! What is there to hide? Why the intrigue?

I hope that Warren residents come out in droves and support their fellow-residents vote! Jump on this blog! Write a letter to the editor! Give them a call!

It is gratifying to see people come out and be heard about the issues that are important to them. It's the only way changes are made!