Newsbreak - February 24, 2003

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Highlighting News Stories for Our Town for the week of February 24, 2003

Newsbreak for Walpole

The Week – Feb. 24

The Year – 2003

Tragic and Horrific

The news came to us on Friday morning with a sudden and terrifying alarm. A fire broke out at a rock concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, that consumed the building and took the lives of some 96 people who were unable to leave the building in time.

It is another in a series of tragedies that have hit this area over the last year.

Grief is overshadowing the lives of many people in the Rhode Island area.

We extend our prayers and consoling thoughts to all the people affected.

Budget Crisis and the Schools

The school department and the school committee are now dealing with another fiscal crisis. Their budget that would provide for the same level of services to the schools is about 2 million more than what is available in the overall town budget prepared by the Town Administrator.

Given this reality and the impending cuts in state aid, the school committee will consider strategies for reducing their budget.

Since nearly 80% of the budget covers labor costs, it seems that a reduction in staff will be recommended.

This probability will very likely precipitate a call for creative funding to sustain current staffing levels.

And, thus, we enter into another years of debate on budgets and funding and priorities.