PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Tension over requested funding for Providence schools is still ongoing.

It stems from a request by Superintendent Javier Montañez for an additional $10.9 million from the city for the district to prevent major cuts.

Mayor Brett Smiley held a news conference on Thursday , alleging that Montañez gave him an “ultimatum” and only 24 hours to respond.

Smiley proposed an extra $1 million, while also calling for a third-party audit of the district’s finances and for the state to provide $3 million.

Montañez sent a letter Friday to Smiley responding to the calls for an audit and extra state aid, as well as accusing him of not meeting about the funding issue sooner.

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In his letter, Montañez also compared growth in budgets between the district and other departments since 2020, citing that funding only increased by $5.5 million for Providence schools.

“I’m 100 percent sure if those legal obligations or financial obligations were met we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Montañez told 12 News in an interview Friday. “The actual gap that we have is 10.9 million and that’s what we need in order to meet our students needs.”

The next School Board meeting will be on Wednesday, Oct. 16. It’s expected parents and teachers will be testifying to get more funding.

A spokesperson for Smiley didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Montañez’s letter.

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