Brenda Viscone, of Cumberland, and Sue Tessier MacKensie, of Woonsocket, participate in the 2003 Mardi Gras party.

The Providence Journal / SANDOR BODO

WOONSOCKET — The Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts says it will cancel the city’s annual Mardi Gras festival, due to money problems.

In a strongly worded statement, council member Paul “Jack” Lawhead blames the Beacon Charter High School, which was founded by the council, and by extension the Rhode Island Department of Education, for the cancellation, saying the school has refused to repay the council money it was owed, making it impossible to sponsor the annual celebration.

But in an interview yesterday, Lawhead said the cancellation of the elaborate $32,000 annual festival is due in part to financial debts from other places.

“We are owed a considerable amount of money from a number of sources, and we’re hoping to collect those,” Lawhead said.

He refused to say how much money the council is owned or by whom.

Council of the Arts Chairman Ralph Coppola confirmed the cancellation yesterday, reiterating Lawhead’s comments about the financial troubles.

The annual festival is a beloved tradition in Woonsocket. Its formal balls, queen of the festival contest and children’s events draw participants from around Northern Rhode Island.

Lawhead said the council hopes to revive Mardi Gras a year from now, provided funds become available.

At the heart of yesterday’s announcement appears to be a simmering dispute between the council and the Beacon Charter School, which limited its ties with the organization after the state Board of Regents declared that the school had badly mismanaged its finances under council leadership during its first two years of operation.

Last year, the state declared that Beacon be allowed to reopen with financial and enrollment constraints. Since then, the council and Lawhead in particular have complained that they were unfairly characterized as incompetent throughout the state’s inquiry.

But how that disagreement with the state relates to the council’s financial woes remained unclear yesterday.

As for the connection between those financial problems and the Beacon Charter School, principal Robert Pilkington argues that the disputed money is owed to a separate organization and not to the council.

“I don’t see where the Beacon school is the cause of Woonsocket not having a Mardi Gras,” he said.