Providence set to boost funds for public schools after superintendent accuses mayor of ‘shortchanging’ kids
The proposed $2.5 million increase is less than what the district has claimed it needs to balance the school budget and avoid more layoffs. City leaders are set to allocate $2.5 million more to the Providence public school system this year amid a dispute between the mayor and superintendent over school funding. The additional allocation is on top of the $3 million increase proposed by Mayor Brett Smiley in April. The state-run school district has already cut 290 positions and is closing two schools at the end of this year, among other budget cuts. Much of the budget cuts are due to expiring COVID relief funds, which have to be spent in the next three months. However, district officials have blamed the city for years of underfunding. The district argues it is owed an additional $27 million from the city under the requirements of the Crowley Act governing state takeovers.
gepubliceerd : 3 weken geleden door Steph Machado in Politics
The state-run school district has already cut 290 positions — including vacant jobs — and gave pink slips to dozens of teachers . It is also closing two schools at the end of this year, among other budget cuts.
The additional allocation, expected to be considered by the City Council finance committee on Thursday, is on top of the $3 million increase proposed by Mayor Brett Smiley back in April. The school department has claimed it needs another $11 million on top of Smiley’s proposal in order to avoid further cuts.
PROVIDENCE — City leaders are set to shift $2.5 million more to the Providence public school system this year amid a war of words between the mayor and superintendent over school funding, and threats of more layoffs.
The district did get a boost last week when legislative leaders opted not to implement a school funding cut proposed by Governor Dan McKee, which resulted in increases to school districts across the state, including $11.7 million to Providence.
But school district officials said they had already accounted for much of that money because enrollment went up, and said a roughly $11 million gap remains.
Much of the belt-tightening is due to expiring COVID relief funds, which have to be spent in the next three months. The district used some of the money to hire social workers and pay teachers to work a longer school day, but the funds can’t be used for personnel after Sept. 30. (The longer school day is not expected to continue.)
But even as they warned about the fiscal cliff, district officials have also shifted blame in recent weeks to the city, pointing to repeated years of level-funding by previous mayors and councils.
In a late-night YouTube video posted by Superintendent Javier Montañez last week, he pointed the finger directly at Smiley.
“The mayor’s proposed budget shortchanges Providence public schools by more than $27 million,” Montañez said. “This is on top of years of chronic underfunding by the city. It threatens vital school programs and services that put our students’ success at risk.”
In response, Smiley’s office said Montañez’s demands were “unproductive,” and the district should have been planning for the fiscal cliff caused by the expiring federal funds.
“Knowing that this funding is running out, the district should have been planning in the same way the city did for these cuts,” spokesperson Josh Estrella said last week. “No one disputes that PPSD has been historically underfunded for decades. But at the same time, no one can remedy that overnight, which will require responsible and transparent budgeting.”
Previous city leaders including former Mayor Jorge Elorza and former Council President John Igliozzi also frequently sparred with school officials over funding, balking over requests for additional money when the district was running a surplus.
The district is also in the middle of a court fight with Smiley over the school funding issue. The district argues it is owed an additional $27 million from the city this year under the requirements of at law called the Crowley Act that governs state takeovers. (Providence has been under a state takeover since 2019.)
Despite the war of words, Smiley and Montañez took a smiling selfie together Tuesday night on stage at Central High School’s graduation.
Dozens of parents and students testified at a City Council finance committee hearing Tuesday night urging the city to increase funding to schools. The additional funds being proposed on Thursday were negotiated between the council and the mayor.
In order to allocate the additional $2.5 million, the council’s revised budget assumes a higher tax collection rate (94.25 percent instead of 94 percent), and will cut several new positions and raises proposed by Smiley, according to June Rose, the council chief of staff.
Among other changes, the council’s revised budget also proposes to delay next year’s 16-week Providence police academy to begin in May or later, resulting in savings in this budget because the new fiscal year starts July 1.
The additional $2.5 million will be a separate line item from the city’s annual “maintenance of effort” appropriation to the district, Rose said, which is $133 million this year. State law makes it difficult for districts to decrease the annual appropriation the following year once it is increased.
“This $5.5 million total increase—the largest in at least 15 years—reflects our councilors’ deep investment in the success of our students and our schools,” Council President Rachel Miller said in a statement.
Rose said the council specifically wants the school district to use the additional $2.5 million to reverse some of the staff cuts, particularly in the area of social-emotional supports for students.
The district has told nearly 60 teachers they will lose their jobs at the end of the 2023-24 school year, including social workers, physical education and health teachers, social studies teachers, early educators and more.
Zack Scott, the deputy superintendent of operations, told the Globe last week that if the budget gap isn’t closed, further cuts could include additional staff layoffs, a teacher hiring freeze, and canceled athletics and extracurricular activities.
Steph Machado can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @StephMachado.