WEST WARWICK — Town Solicitor Timothy A. Williamson said he plans to ask the Superior Court to postpone the start of the School Department’s lawsuit seeking $1.4 million more in local operating funds for the fiscal year that just ended.

The suit, called a Caruolo action, is scheduled to get under way on July 21, but Williamson said a fiscal consultant to the schools had yet to provide certain documents under the discovery process — which was to have been completed on Tuesday of this week.

“We’ll probably be seeking an extension of time because we’re not going to have enough time to provide what they’re going to give us to our experts,” he said.

“Deadlines can always be extended because everyone wants to make sure that all sides are treated fairly and equitably …,” said Williamson, particularly because of the suit’s possible consequences for other communities.

But the schools’ lawyer, David Lussier, said he would object to a postponement request. The town has been given all the documents to which it is entitled, he said. “We’re ready to go.”

The School Department filed the lawsuit in April, contending it was not given enough local money to cover contractual and other mandatory expenses.

The schools hired B&E Consulting to determine the so-called “Caruolo number” that would be sought in the lawsuit. On May 27, the consultants met with members of the Town Council to go over the calculations.

After that meeting, Williamson said, the consultants were supposed to provide the town a breakdown of their analysis in a format that meshed with the schools budget. In the meeting, the consultants presented only a summary of their findings, he said.

“They just picked things out, and to tell you the truth, you can’t make rhyme or reason out of what they gave us,” Williamson said. “It was one of their internal documents. It’s difficult to prepare a cross examination and prepare our witnesses without that information.”

Representatives of B&E Consulting could not be reached yesterday afternoon. Lussier defended the company yesterday, saying that town officials received all the proper documentation.

“They got all of that two months ago,” he said. “They got a report last month of everything, and we’ve given them every item of expenditure as required [by law]. We’ve given them all of that. [Williamson] has all of the information we have. We’ve given them everything we have. I keep hearing that they don’t have enough information. I can’t figure that one out. They have a lot of work to do, and I don’t think they’ve done it.”

tbuford@projo.com