Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

As a precaution, West Warwick School Committee said this week it plans to file a lawsuit against the town to demand more money.

The lawsuit, also known as the Caruolo Act, is allowed under a state law and gives school districts the option to sue their communities to get more money than they have been allocated in the municipal budget.

The school district has already slashed about $500,000 from its current budget, but has asked the town to pick up the remaining $3.5 million deficit.

On Tuesday, the committee reauthorized its lawyer, David. G. Lussier, to complete the final paperwork, which should be ready for filing next week, member James Williamson said.

Williamson said the board is concerned about filing in a timely manner. Last May, the Cranston School Committee filed a so-called "Caruolo" action seeking an additional $4.5 million, but the suit was denied.

"It's a time issue as it relates to the decision fr0m Cranston. We did our best to get educated. We don't want to make the same mistakes. One of their issues was the timeliness of the filing.

"In case we are unsuccessful in trying to make headway with the financial problems internally with the town. We can always withdraw it," Williamson said. "We are going to continue to work very diligently. We will continue to work with the town and council and continue to look for avenues of relief."

This is the second time in less than a year that the school board has sought a Caruolo action against the town. The last time, both parties settled out of court last October for $1.1 million.

 Tags  Cranston school committee West Warwick

Leave a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.