Johnston mayor announces town takeover of school department

JOHNSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. announced Friday that the town will takeover the Johnston School Department.

Polisena said the takeover is necessary as the school department ended last fiscal year with a nearly $1 million deficit and is projected to have a multi-million dollar deficit in the current fiscal year.

“Consecutive deficits are unacceptable and against state law,” the mayor said.

“While the Town recognizes the Department faces unprecedented mandates from the State, I believe we are at a critical point where the Town needs to intervene and take over the Department before the problem becomes irreversible,” he added.

Polisena said the takeover will entail consolidating the school department’s business office functions.

He said the first course of action will be loaning the school department funds to balance the past deficits and then appropriate more than $2 million to the school department in the upcoming budget.

The town will also hire a consulting firm to perform a fiscal and operational audit of the school department.

ABC 6 News has reached out to the Superintendent and School Committee Chair and are awaiting a response.