As someone who has worked at various levels of government, I’ll be the first to note that in many cases, providing more financial resources can help to solve a problem.
In the case of Providence’s chronically underperforming schools, however, I am not convinced that is the case. The R.I. Department of Education’s demand for more funding is troubling, particularly when they refuse to provide accountability on how money is spent, or even a tangible plan to create much needed systemic reform in Providence’s schools.
For the past year, I’ve chaired Providence’s Recreational Advisory Board. I’ve witnessed firsthand how the Recreation Department positively impacts the lives of thousands of children each week on an incredibly lean $3.5 million annual budget. Programming includes after-school enrichment, sports leagues and activities, homework laboratories, and a variety of other offerings that supplement the work being done in the classroom. These programs are vital to providing Providence’s youth with much needed out-of-school experiences, and many city residents depend on them as an outlet for their children.
Should the city be forced to meet the demands of RIDE — and now the courts — by making budget cuts to other departments, I fear the implications to critical city services like recreation.
RIDE and Providence public schools owe it to the residents of Providence to provide accountability on how these dollars would be spent.
I’ve also served on the Mount Pleasant High School Community Advisory Board for its curriculum redesign for the past several years. This experience has given me a unique perspective on the inner functioning of Providence public schools and RIDE. What I’ve seen is that while more money can always be utilized for upgrades in facilities, paid for primarily through bond funding, money is most often not the solution needed to change school culture. That type of desperately needed change across the district must come through leadership and accountability — something RIDE and PPSD have been slow to provide to leaders at the school level.
Do our students deserve more from our city and state when it comes to their education? Yes, they certainly do. Is more money the answer? My experiences tell me it is not, and there needs to be some soul searching — from our leaders at RIDE, the city’s public schools, and now the courts — about what is truly needed to turn our school system around.
Making unaffordable demands on the city that will force draconian budget cuts to other vital services is not the answer.
Tony Simon is chairman of the Providence’s Recreational Advisory Board, a member of the Mount Pleasant High School Community Advisory Board, and former city chief of staff.