Transparency
Where Warwick’s school dollars go.
“Every dollar accounted for” only means something if you can check it yourself. This section puts every dollar Warwick Public Schools has reported spending since July 2016 in one place, down to the individual accounting line, built entirely from public records: the district’s filings with the state, its own general ledger and monthly reports, the city’s audits, and the budget books the School Committee votes on.
It is also a working version of the reporting I’ll push for once I’m on the committee, so where a number isn’t public I say so, and everything links back to the document it came from.
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Where each dollar went in fiscal 2025
All district funds, including grants and the lunch program. Select an area or any line below to open it in the line-by-line explorer.
How the spending changed, year by year
All district funds, fiscal 2017 through 2025, in the same five areas.
The numbered markers above the bars count the events listed under “What moved the budget” for that year; select one to jump to them. Hatching marks the part paid with federal pandemic relief. Fiscal 2026 and 2027 aren’t shown here because the district hasn’t yet published them by purpose; see Budget vs. actual for those years by accounting line.
Show as a table
What moved the budget
The decisions and outside events that changed what Warwick’s schools spent or received, fiscal 2015 through 2027. Each one links to the record it comes from.
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What state and federal law requires, and what it pays for
Some of what Warwick spends is required by state or federal law. This section shows only requirements with a documented cost to Warwick, split into those with no dedicated money and those that are partly funded. Some of these overlap (out-of-district busing is partly special education, for example), so they shouldn’t be added together.
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Go deeper
Every line
About 24,000 accounting lines across nine years. Slice them by purpose, building, job title or program, see how each one changed year by year, and search for anything.
Open the explorer →Schools
What each building costs to run, and what that works out to per student.
See every building →Budget vs. actual
Eleven years of audited results, last year’s preliminary numbers, and where this year’s budget stands.
Compare budget and spending →Money in
How much comes from city taxpayers, how much from the state, how that has changed, and what federal pandemic relief paid for.
See who pays →Neighbors
Warwick’s spending per student next to eight nearby districts and the state average.
Compare districts →Sources and method
Every document behind these pages, and how the categories were built.
Check my work →Every figure here comes from a public record: the district’s filings with the Rhode Island Department of Education, its general ledger and monthly reports to the School Committee, the city’s audited financial statements, and the budget documents the committee votes on. Figures are as reported and are not adjusted for inflation. If you find a mistake, email dan@herseyforwarwick.com and I’ll correct it and note the correction. Sources and method →