By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — In an unexpected move, the state education commissioner has denied the Pawtucket School Committee's two requests for waivers from state mandates that were made in an attempt to address a gaping $8 million deficit for the next fiscal year.

“This seems to be an annual thing. The statute says we have to ask for waivers (before taking any future Caruolo action) and then the state says they can't grant them,” noted School Committee Chairman David Coughlin.
In a Sept. 16 letter to Deborah A. Gist, Commissioner of the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Coughlin outlined the factors behind the city's shortfall, and said the School Committee had been advised by the School Department business manager that the School Department cannot adequately operate the School District with the approved budget and be in compliance with existing law. Consequently, Coughlin wrote Gist, “the School Committee resolved on Sept. 15 to direct me to request exemptions, alternatives and/or waivers from you.” The requests are being made pursuant to Rhode Island General Law 16-2-21.4.
Among the waivers being sought by the School Committee was permission to provide school transportation “only to the most vulnerable children, i.e. special education, kindergarteners, etc. based on case by case decisions.”
The potential savings for this limited waiver would be $1,269,801, wrote Coughlin.
The second request of Gist was that she add $6,775,479 to her supplementary Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) budget for Pawtucket's total special education outplacement cost. Coughlin wrote, “We ask that you support this action which would provide a basis for Pawtucket's Legislative Delegation to fight for these funds when the Supplemental Budget reaches the Legislature.”
Additionally, Coughlin asked Gist for any suggestions for cost savings ideas that could be implemented immediately.
However, in an Oct. 5 letter to Coughlin, Gist wrote that the school transportation issue is mandated by a statute (RIGL 16-21-1) of the General Assembly. She added that the scope of the statute has been defined by a decision of the state Supreme Court, and that the Pawtucket School Committee's request “must be denied since this waiver request greatly exceeds my waiver jurisdiction.
As to the second appeal, Gist pointed out that this was “not a waiver request at all, but rather a request for an additional $6,775,479 in state funding.” She added, “Such funding requests must be submitted to the General Assembly by Pawtucket's own legislative delegation.”
To Coughlin's request for suggestions about other possible avenues that might assist Pawtucket in balancing its budget, Gist pointed out that, as Commissioner, she cannot waive state law, federal law, federal regulations, state regulations relating to special education and health and safety, collective bargaining agreements and public utility charges.
Concluded Gist, “In sum, it is apparent that the waiver mechanism can provide little in the way of practical relief to Pawtucket's budgetary difficulties.”
Coughlin said that with these waiver denials, the next step is for the School Committee to vote on whether or not to ask the City Council for incremental funds to close the budget gap. He said he expects the committee to take a vote on this matter at the Oct. 13 meeting.
If the city council turns down the School Committee's request, Coughlin said the committee would then have to consider whether or not to file a Caroulo Action. Without a Caroulo Action or some type of infusion of additional funds, he said the School Department will run out of money by May or early June.
Coughlin noted that in an unprecedented move, he and other committee members have sent letters to the state Congressional delegation, including Senators Jack Reed, Patrick Kennedy and Sheldon Whitehouse, seeking additional school funding from the federal government.
On a related matter, Coughlin has raised a point about the latest teacher's contract, which was given approval by a slim 4 to 3 margin at the last School Committee meeting. While it has been ratified, the new contract has not yet been officially signed by each of the School Committee members, Coughlin said. The signing was planned for the Oct. 13 meeting.
Coughlin maintains that figures provided by Schools Business Manager Thomas Conlon during contract negotiations concerning the number of teachers who were employed were inaccurate, thereby inflating the amount of savings that the committee members were told would be realized under the new three-year contract prior to the committee voting on it.
Coughlin said that according to recent figures Conlon provided, the savings in the first year of the contract is now estimated to be at $1.89 million instead of $2.1 million, and the cumulative savings over three years of the contract is now estimated to be around $3.8 million rather than $5 million.
Coughlin said that School Committeeman Joseph Knight has asked that this topic be put on the agenda for discussion. He said, given that the contract is not yet signed, the committee could reconsider its decision to ratify the pact. He added that with the news about the lesser savings, there is the possibility that one of the four committee members who voted for the contract could change their mind.
In response, Conlon told The Times that the figures he gave the school committee were accurate during the summer months when the negotiations were underway. However, he said that due to retirements, resignations and other factors, there are now 40 fewer teachers in the system, thereby skewing the savings from the contract lower than what was originally estimated. “Every year we adjust the budget to actual conditions,” Conlon stated.    
Coughlin said he has heard the explanation, but still thinks that the School Committee should have been given updated figures by the time of the Sept. 15 vote on the contract.