PPSD in Peril: Notes on a Dire District

As we approach the five year anniversary of the Providence Public School District relinquishing control of its oversight to the Rhode Island Department of Education, the state of affairs seems more dismal than ever for this institution. Promising signs of slow progression and silver linings dot the landscape, but the gears of bureaucracy grind slowly. It was recently announced that the PPSD has a $10.9 million budget gap, leaving them to consider drastic measures like spending freezes, layoffs, and cutting sports programs. This has all led to a contentious face-off between Superintendent Montañez, Mayor Brett Smiley, and the Providence City Council. The Council, for its part, has funded PPSD when feasible. I was present at a city council gathering where $1 million in funding was being released mid-meeting, behind closed doors in a separate antechamber. In a more recent meeting, another $2.5 million was approved by the Council to go to the PPSD. This comprised $750,000 from a PILOT deal with Lifespan, $250,000 from a parking agreement with the Rhode Island School of Design and $1.5 million in reallocated American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

This money comes with a caveat, however: The PPSD would have to agree to a third-party audit of its finances. With or without a caveat, Superintendent Montañez has made it very clear that this isn’t even close to what is needed, and in fact has not even agreed to accept the funding, as of this writing. Community organizations including Parents Leading for Educational Equity, the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education and the Providence Student Union have rallied behind him. Montañez has gone as far as giving Mayor Brett Smiley a 24-hour ultimatum to provide the necessary funds, which proved unsuccessful. The Mayor has echoed a viable request for a third-party audit, questioning how the massive deficit was reached to begin with. While the parties exchange jabs, peripheral to this for the first time in sixty years, the PPSD will have a partially elected School Board. The city is split into five regions for this, with voters selecting one in each. Mayor Smiley will appoint another member from each.

By the time you read this, victors will have been chosen. I vividly remember the events of 2019 leading up to the state takeover of our city schools, and the scathing Johns Hopkins report that preceded it, shedding light on just how poorly Providence public schools were performing. I am a product of the system myself; at the time my son was a middle-schooler in the system and I was active in the PTO. This would eventually have me sitting on a Community Advisory Board where I got to weigh in on the topic. After that, I played moderator for meetings held by the Rhode Island Department of Education. The overwhelming majority of PVD constituents loudly opposed the takeover. Less control and more red tape did not seem like the solution, but it was universally agreed upon that the PPSD was in shambles and needed some sort of oversight. What that entailed, no one was sure. Five years later, almost to the day, the PPSD is in dire straits once again. Let’s agree that all of the parties seated at this current political table have a vested interest in seeing the District thrive and accommodate our city’s precious young people. But what was the point of the takeover? They say that when dollars enter the conversation, diplomacy exits. Hopefully our city officials can agree to mutual terms that don’t threaten the education of our future leaders. •

Photo: Mayor Brett Smiley