By Ethan Hartley

For the second consecutive meeting of the East Providence School Committee, Superintendent Dr. Sandra Forand brought forth concerns about the district being close to dipping into the red as schools reopen for the year, and the city approaches the end of its 2025 fiscal year (which runs from Nov. 1, 2024 to Oct. 31, 2025).

“We’re losing sleep over it every night, looking at line items where we can save money,” Forand told the committee on Aug. 12. “Unfortunately, there’s just so many needs and so many expenses coming at us from every direction and it’s getting harder and harder to make it work without making cuts. And nobody wants to make cuts.”

The budget pinch she described is driven particularly by the expense for substitute teachers. While the district budgeted $800,

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