Fung Takes Heat Over Charter School

Mayor Allan Fung’s goal to open a mayoral academy in Cranston drew heated opposition from Cranston residents, teachers and public officials inside the crowded council chambers at City Hall on Thursday night.

The hearing was held by the Department of Education to take public testimony on the proposed network of five charter schools that would service students from Cranston and Providence.

Much of the outcry against the proposal revolved around a recent controversial in which he said the bar had not been set high enough for Cranston's students. Another concern is the potential impact on school funding for the existing public school system in Cranston. Others complained about a lack of communication between the mayor's office, Superintendent Peter Nero, the School Committee and City Council.

Striking a conciliatory tone, “I want to take a moment to talk to all of you and actually apologize,” Fung said. “I want you to know that I am a product of the public school system and if it came across that I’m trying to denigrate the school system, Superintendent Nero, principals, teachers, active staff, that’s not what I was trying to do.”

“What I was trying to show is room for improvement,” said Fung.

In his op-ed, Fung cited national testing statistics that showed Cranston scores average in the state and Rhode Island scores average in the country. Meanwhile Massachusetts and Connecticut’s scores are outpacing Rhode Island, with Massachusetts being first in both reading and math in the country. Education Commissioner Deborah Gist cited similar stats when she Cranston in February.

Fung said that improving education now is what the Rhode Island economy needs in the future.

But those gathered at the public hearing felt he was going about it in the wrong way. Instead he should be investing in Cranston Public Schools not new charter schools that when built will only service 1,800 students. Many of those students would also come from Providence, according to the proposal.

“As a taxpayer I don’t give any special deference to whether you happen to have a title in front of your name, sir,” said Joanne Spaziano, a Cranston science teacher, “I happen to have a title as well, I’m a teacher, and I’m proud of that. I pay your salary, I want what’s best for my services. I know the school department is underfunded by $3 million and now you want to take money away from that and funnel it to a charter school? 17 of 18 our schools are high performing and you want to take that away too?”

The proposal calls for the academy to open in August of 2012. That opening year it will start with Kindergarten and first grade and then add additional grades as the students move through the system. The schools will eventually service K-12 students. Because the schools will only take 1,800 students, a lottery will be implemented to choose students at random from Providence and Cranston.

Funding for the schools will be drawn from the Providence and Cranston school districts based on the percentage of students that each city sends to the school. Additional funding will come from charitable donations received by Achievement First, a network of 19 charter schools in New York and Connecticut.

A number of parents, teachers and supporters from Achievement First gathered in the audience and lauded the academic program put forth by the company in its schools.

Dacia Toll, co-CEO and president of Achievement First, said that the school would create a culture “where it’s cool to be smart.”

Laurie Barden, a parent of a student at Blackstone Valley Prep, the first mayoral academy in RI, said she knows her son “is getting the best education the state.”

Patricia Cunnigham said her son Cole, who has a learning disability, made the transition to Blackstone Valley Prep easily and “he began to thrive.” She said with the help of educators at BVP she was able to “raise the bar” of his education goals.

City Council President Anthony Lupino had strong words against the proposal.

“This whole meeting is a crock,” Lupino said. “If this is the record that’s going to the Board of Regents, I’d burn the tape now.”

Lupino said he supported a resolution asking the General Assembly to accelerate the Funding Formula because he believed that it would help Cranston.

"I didn’t know that I was being duped because it was going to accelerate funds to a charter school,” Lupino said.

Some speakers accused Fung of playing politics with their children. They argued this was about propelling him to higher office, or that he was trying to establish his post-mayoral legacy and not really thinking about the kids.

“This is our city, not the Mayor’s city,” said Matt Sheridan, a Cranston teacher, “This is our tax money, not the Mayor’s. The children are the pawns in an extremely political game. I do not approve of this Charter application.”

Responding to the criticism,  Fung said the mayoral academy is not about politics.

“My name is not going to appear anywhere in that school,” Fung said. “It’s about the kids.”

He said he expected harsh rhetoric at the hearing.

“I heard many of the union members were gathering up their troops and the people we heard from tonight were teachers in the school system and their family members,” said Fung, “I saw quite a few of my own union members here.”

Mayor Daniel McKee from Cumberland, who helped establish Blackstone Valley Prep, attended the meeting in a show of support for Fung.

“I took the same heat,” said McKee, “Change has its enemies. There are some people who believe that we should just get on an old set of tracks and they’re looking to make that happen.”

“If they can get enough push back to stop an initiative like Mayor Fung is proposing, then they protect their territory,” added McKee.

The mayoral academy would include a number of new education ideas. Its proposal includes a longer school day and year. All teachers would not have to be certified and they would not be union members.

As a result said McKee, “We spend 400 hours more per year in learning time on the same dime” as the general public schools.

Superintendent Peter Nero, who already made his opposition to the school clear in an published on Wednesday, asked “Why would we spend all that time trying to remove [kids from Providence] from Cranston [Schools] when we’re going to have them in Cranston?”

School Committee Member Janice Ruggieri criticized the lottery system the proposed school would use, asked AF to use newer testing statistics in their report and said that a number of questions still remain about this proposal.

“It seems to me if you’re making a proposal and this is something the city should review; then all the information needs to be available,” said Ruggieri. 

A second public hearing has been scheduled for May 31 at 6 p.m. 

Editor's Note: The original version of this story noted that Blackstone Valley Prep is an Acheivement First School. It is not.