Peter Nero: When I was Superintendent in Cranston, Fung Underfunded, Defunded and Demoralized

By Peter Nero
Former Cranston Superintendent

On November 4th, Rhode Islander’s will go to the polls to select a new Governor. While there are a number of important issues facing the next Governor, public education is one of many priorities. I am writing from my personal and professional experience of which 34 years were in Cranston, the last 6 years serving as both assistant superintendent and superintendent of schools, while the gubernatorial candidate served as Mayor.

In the winter of 2009, I inherited a failed Caruolo action in which the Court demanded that a deficit reduction plan be developed to pay back the city over $7 million. The School Committee agreed with the City Council and the Mayor to pay the city back approximately $1.3 million each year over the next five years beginning in 2010. Realistically, the only way to pay back the loan was to cut programs and eliminate staff. Over a period of time the district eliminated all programs that were considered to be the “nice to haves” and keep only programs described as “must have”. As a result I was forced to totally eliminate several outstanding programs which included the Talented and Gifted Program, middle school sports, elementary and middle school strings and instrumental music. We eliminated nearly 300 positions, including guidance counselors, social workers, reduced the number of foreign language programs taught, academic teachers, teacher assistants, librarians, secretaries, bus drivers, trades people, custodians, and administrators!

In the spring of 2011, members of the school committee and me sat with our unions. Realizing the devastation taking place, the memberships were willing to come to the table and agree to a “global settlement”. The global settlement would have resulted in unprecedented concessions, saving the school department and city several millions dollars. The only requirement was in anticipation of the savings, the deficit reduction plan be eliminated that year and not in 2015. When I broached the Mayor with the scenario, he called it “Extortion!” He then followed up with, “Now why would I want to void the deficit reduction plan now?” Apparently he didn’t realize that it would be good for our kids. While the City Council and the School Committee were willing to agree to a settlement, without the Mayor’s endorsement, we could never approach the Court for consideration.

How unfortunate for the children of Cranston! It will be years, if ever, before all the programs lost will be restored to where they once served as prominent reasons for why we were an outstanding school district. One day, when the Mayor was on the talk show circuit, when asked what the per-pupil expenditure was for Cranston students, his response was he didn’t know! He also didn’t know how many of our schools were at the poverty level based on free/reduced lunch, which grew over his tenure as Mayor. Despite the economic growth that he purports, presently, 40% of Cranston students, by federal regulation, are considered at the poverty level.

So when Allan Fung touts in his political advertisements, ‘he will do for Rhode Island what he did in Cranston,’ remember what he did to Cranston Public Schools, which was to underfund, defund, and demoralize. Think about that before you vote.