With early voting having started Wednesday and Election Day less than three weeks away, a group favoring the $350 million ballot question to build new Toll Gate and Pilgrim High Schools has stepped up efforts to gain voter approval of the bond. In coordination with this effort, the School Committee and administration will hold an informational meeting from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24 at the Veterans Middle School cafeteria. Aimed at voters, speakers will address the impact of new schools on education, finance, and athletics.

Despite projections of how the borrowing of $350 million would impact taxes – $1 per $1,000 of property valuation that would be phased in over five years – questions over the reliability of the numbers, plus the advisability of building the schools now raises the specter the bond won’t pass. Traditionally Warwick voters have overwhelmingly supported school bond issues.

This time, there’s an effort to see that the bond fails.

Robert Cushman, who served terms on both the City Council and School Committee, calculates that the added cost of schools coupled with projected increases in city costs could push property taxes up by 25 to 40 percent over the next five years. An analyst for CVS, Cushman has outlined the financial pitfall the city faces at two public hearings. While saying Warwick needs new schools, he argues approving the funds to build them now is a mistake without first addressing other financial issues facing the city.

Cushman is not alone in urging voters to turn down the school bond. Local activist Robert Cote, who works as an inspector on numerous building projects and sees the cost of materials, questions if the schools could be built for $350 million. Cote, Cushman and others have mounted a campaign to defeat the bond, handing out fliers door to door.

School administrators responded this week, saying Cushman and Cote are spreading disinformation. Superintendent Lynn Dambruch and Assistant Superintendent William McCaffrey accused Cushman of making it appear the school bond would be responsible for a 25 to 40 percent increase in taxes when, in fact, Cushman based his projections on overall city increased costs, not just school costs. Cushman confirmed that is the case.

Even though inflation has pushed up material costs, assuming they can even be bought, Dambruch and McCaffrey say this is the time to move ahead. They reason nothing is to be gained by waiting and a lot stands to be lost. On top of their list is state reimbursement of 52.5 percent of the school costs, which Dambruch said gives Warwick two schools for the price of one.

In a discussion with school administrators last week, McCaffrey said in the weeks leading up to the election their goal is to “get the truth out there if the bonding is not approved the schools will still need to pump $75 to $100 million into the schools (Toll Gate and Pilgrim).” He cited Toll Gate football field that remained flooded following last week’s rain. Other issues the department will need to address are the HVAC at the two schools and systems to support new and advanced technology.

Dambruch stressed the new schools are designed to change teaching environments with natural lighting and spaces for collaborative learning. McCaffrey said failing to pass the school bond would be “giving up on the future of the city.”

With the support of Building Warwick’s Future headed by Lara D’Antuono, executive director of the Warwick Boys and Girls Clubs and Jo-Anne Schofield, president and CEO of Mentor RI – government entities are not permitted to spend public funds to promote voter passage of bonds – “Yes #4 Kids” fliers were mailed to all Warwick voters. Two additional mailings are scheduled.

In response to criticism over the performance of Warwick schools, McCaffrey said the district is undertaking its first major curriculum revision since 2013. Modules in math, ELA (English language arts), science and health costing as much as $1 million each have been or scheduled to be purchased.

“They’re moving the district,” McCaffrey said.

Cote questions the numbers and cost projections. With a decline in students and based on the state guide of square feet per student and enrollemnt projectsions he said the “functional capacity index” of the proposed schools is 69 percent, meaning they are larger than what the state requires as a minimum.  Also, in calculating the impact on taxes, Cote said “they have conveniently omitted” the cost of carrying the debt which jacks the total of the schools at $525 million over the life of the bond. Further he said if Toll Gate is to be rebuilt it would be on ledge that would require costly site preparation in addition to system to deal with radon. He accuses both the School Committee and City Council of failing to vet the information provided them before voting to have the bond on the ballot.

Cushman argues the city has failed to look at spending projections over the next five years. He notes that Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur wanted a five-year financial forecast from the city before the vote. He said what the city provided didn’t go into any details on taxes. He notes that the current teacher contract calls for increased teacher salary costs of $8 million.

“Where’s the five-year forecast for schools…I don’t know what’s on their (school administrators) minds.”

Schaefer said he provided Ladouceur with a five-year forecast in June. Ladouceur said it didn’t the line-by-line breakdowns he wanted to track municipal expenses going forward and to his way of thinking isn’t useful.

On Tuesday, Schaefer said state law outlines what the city is required to do to define the impact of the bond on taxes.

“We followed what we’re required to disclose,” he said.

As for Ladouceur’s beef that he hasn’t been provided a five-year financial plan, Schaefer said, “he didn’t like the answer. He wants to change the assumptions.”