School Committee Votes In Opposition Of Mayoral Academy

In an unsurprising move, the Cranston School Committee unanimously approved a resolution voicing their opposition to Mayor Allan Fung’s proposed mayoral academy at a special meeting on Wednesday night.

Chairperson Andrea Iannazzi and Frank Lombardi had already made their feelings on the proposed academy clear in in front of thestate Department of Education. If approved, the academy would create a network of five charter schools to serve approximately 1,800 students from Providence and Cranston. Students would be selected by lottery.

“How can [the mayoral academy] work when we need money now to keep our high performing schools, high performing,” said Lombardi, who, along with Iannazzi has said that they would not support this charter school until the Cranston Public schools were "properly" funded.

“This proposal going through at this time is a financial nightmare for Cranston Public Schools,” said Iannazzi, who maintained that the school would “siphon” funds from general Cranston public schools.

Three members, Steven Bloom, Janice Ruggieri and Stephanie Culhane, said that they had visited Blackstone Valley Prep, the first mayoral academy in the state and found it to have admirable qualities. But they wouldn’t support a mayoral academy in Cranston because they felt the proposal process comes at the wrong time and in the wrong way.

“Now is not the time for this school to come to our city, maybe some time down the road,” said Culhane, “Maybe with a bit more sincerity I may be convinced that this is about the kids and not about someone wanting their name on the side of a building.”

“I am very disturbed about this process,” said Bloom, noting the op-ed published by Fung, “I cannot understand how the cheerleader for this city can cheerlead and entice other people to Cranston if he’s bashing on our students, our teachers and our schools.”

Ruggieri noted that there are three major differences between the Cranston Public Schools and the mayoral academy in Cumberland. She said the academy had more time in classrooms, full day kindergarten and funding for curriculum programs and infrastructure.

“If Cranston had these three things, I can’t imagine what we’d be able to do,” Ruggieri said.

She added, “It’s a shame on Mayor Fung that he didn’t make sure this opportunity for our kids is done correctly.”

The proposed mayoral academy would be run by Achievement First, a Conn.-based charter school operator. Despite having to go through a rigorous approval process, which has included two public hearings in Cranston and another one scheduled Thursday night in Providence, many community leaders believe that the academy being built in Cranston is inevitable.

Former school committee member Jackie White declared “I think the Department of Ed. Has already made up their minds, this is happening folks,” at the public hearing on May 31.

Former Board of Regents member Angus Davis argued at the first public hearing on May 26 that attracting high quality charter schools to Rhode Island was a tenet of the state’s Race to the Top application, which secured $75 million in funding from the federal government.

Achievement First’s board of directors for Amistad Academy recorded in their minutes on April 6, 2010 that Dacia Toll, president of AF, reported that, “The Rhode Island Commissioner of Education [Deborah Gist] and several other state and local leaders have been aggressively courting Achievement First and are willing to do whatever it takes to have Achievement First launch an elementary school in the Providence-Cranston area in August 2011, where there is a tremendous need.”

Superintendent Peter Nero said at the meeting that he thinks “there is a conspiracy here.”

Despite this, Iannazzi said, “This mayoral academy is not a done deal.” She asked Cranston school administrators that were present to send letters to the Board of Regents opposing the deal.

Lombardi asked the administrators to personalize their letters because the debate is being portrayed “as the mayor’s office against the School Committee and that can’t be.”

“Inundate them with your letters in opposition to this charter school,” said Lombardi.

The third public hearing will take place tonight, Thursday, at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School, 375 Adelaide Avenue, Providence at 6 p.m. The Board of Regents will meet on June 16 at 11:30 a.m. to discuss and possibly vote on the charter.