District signs a deficit reduction plan with the state Auditor General

What happened

Coventry schools have been running a deficit that the district must now pay down under a formal plan agreed with the Rhode Island Auditor General and the town. The committee approved the plan in February 2026 and a corrected version, rewritten by the district's lawyer to match state law, at a special meeting in April before the Town Council's budget hearing. A roughly $1 million surplus from 2024-2025, on top of $140,000 the town had already put toward the deficit, goes straight to the shortfall. Monthly meetings with the Auditor General return to quarterly once the plan is in place.

Why it matters to families

A deficit plan is a promise to the state about how a district will get back into balance, and it limits what the schools can spend on anything else until it is met.

The evidence

The February 26, 2026 approved minutes record the superintendent describing months of work with the town and the Auditor General, the Auditor General's support for the draft plan, the return to quarterly rather than monthly meetings, and a 6-0 vote approving the Deficit Reduction Plan. The April 21, 2026 minutes of a special meeting record a 4-0 vote approving a Resolution for Deficit Reduction Corrective Action Plan, held before the Town Council budget hearing after the district's attorney required changes to reflect Title 16 law. The October 23, 2025 minutes record the expected surplus of approximately $1 million plus $140,000 from the town going toward the deficit, with a $333,000 reserve buffer. The plan document itself was not filed with the minutes.

The source