School rehab costs ?test lawmakers

GETTING TO WORK: Head custodian Chris Osborne works at Wilbur & McMahon School in Little Compton, which managed to get $11.1 million worth of work done for safety and maintenance issues, despite a moratorium on school construction. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
GETTING TO WORK: Head custodian Chris Osborne works at Wilbur & McMahon School in Little Compton, which managed to get $11.1 million worth of work done for safety and maintenance issues, despite a moratorium on school construction. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

The list of school districts with buildings in need of renovation hasn’t been updated since 2013, but a moratorium on school construction will be lifted in May.

But by law, lawmakers say, that moratorium really cannot be lifted without any funding appropriated or accounted for to allow Rhode Island to do more than safety and maintenance work on many of its outdated schools. The moratorium does not apply to health and safety needs.

Changes to existing laws are needed, they say – to fund that revenue stream or a bond referendum, two possibilities being explored in the Senate and House.

Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said in an email response to questions that continuing the moratorium “is not the solution to containing costs.” Instead, she argues, she will work with the General Assembly to figure out the best ways to invest in the schools, which she called “an investment in Rhode Island’s future and economic strength.”

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Are taxpayers, already staring down a near $200 million deficit, willing to see changes to the law as proposed by Sen. Ryan Pearson, D-Cumberland, that would take slightly more than half of 1 percent of the 7 percent sales tax and dedicate it to school construction? Alternatively, would taxpayers support a possible $100 million bond referendum as envisioned by Rep. Kenneth Marshall, D-Bristol?

Lawrence A. Girouard, co-chairman of Rhode Island Taxpayers, says that while Rhode Island is not competitive economically and educational performance is part of the reason, the latter needs to be improved before money is invested in facilities, unless the need for renovations is for safety reasons.

“I would like to see some effort by the educational system to start improving before we’re spending more money on schools,” he said.

Diverting some of the money from the existing sales tax, or even from the income tax for high-wage earners, as Rep. Aaron Regunberg, D-Providence, was exploring, “is like a shell game,” Girouard argued. “Then what happens to the people who got short-changed on the other end? Taxes will go up.” Regunberg ultimately abandoned the income tax idea.

The 2013 Public Schoolhouse Assessment produced by the Rhode Island Department of Education ranks every school in every district, based on needed repairs.

Some of the biggest needs are in metropolitan districts like Providence and East Providence, and also in towns like Pawtucket and Central Falls. But one of the towns, Little Compton, had roofs in desperate need of repair at the Wilbur & McMahon School, which serves kindergarten through Grade 8, and managed to get $11.1 million worth of work done as a safety and maintenance issue, despite the moratorium, said Superintendent Kathryn M. Crowley.

Yet, other districts are not so lucky.

Regunberg, a freshman legislator who works part time in the schools in his role at the Providence Student Union, says he hears from students all the time about facilities that aren’t up to par.

“This is an issue that I think is a moral necessity for Rhode Island,” Regunberg said. “We have buildings with mold and asbestos and leaks in Providence, but I know there are schools across the state where there are similar issues, particularly the urban ring schools, but not only [them]. It’s unsafe and sends a very real message to students that your education doesn’t matter.”

Providence Superintendent Susan F. Lusi said in an email that lifting the moratorium is a “top … priority for us.” The average age of city buildings is more than 60 years, she said.

Pearson led the Senate Task Force on School Housing Aid that last April released a report that framed a 10-year plan based on findings that suggest “pay-as-you-go” would be sound fiscal policy. Targeting, to start, 0.57 of the sales tax as a funding stream is what he has proposed this legislative session.

The task force also recommends setting up a School Construction Authority that would be charged with prioritizing need.

“The broad case is there,” he said. “We look forward to the House and governor’s options and from what I’m hearing we’re all very close. The nuances are where the differences are rather than the major, substantive issues.” •

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