Rhode Island

RI City Council Eliminates Deficit in School Budget

The Newport City Council has passed a financing plan that brings the 2017-18 year school budget into balance and eliminates a lingering deficit.

City Manager Joseph Nicholson told councilors that the Newport School Department had a deficit of $1,727,394 in its operating and capital fund budgets for fiscal 2018. The Newport Daily News reports the department also had a positive balance that helped pay down part of the deficit, and the city's municipal budget had a year-end surplus of approximately $900,000.

The council voted unanimously Wednesday night to transfer $450,000 from the surplus to clear the school department's deficit. The department will need to repay the balance in coming years.

School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain says the department has outlined a series of cost-oversight measures for future reference.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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