The cities of Providence and Pawtucket will no longer have the authority to require their teachers to live in those communities if Governor Lincoln C. Almond gets his way. The governor has introduced legislation to eliminate residency requirements for all school employees in Rhode Island, a requisite that has been very much alive in the two urban cities. Almond has put a particular emphasis on education in Providence and Pawtucket because of the amount of state funding that has ended up there in recent years.
“The state has been redirecting more and more state aid to urban areas like Providence and Pawtucket,” said Lisa Pelosi, spokesperson for Almond. “Right now the state is providing more than half of their (education) budget, so we feel the state has more of a vested interest these days in the cities to do well.”
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The state paid 57.5 percent of Pawtucket’s education budget and 54.3 percent of Providence’s school budget last year as part of its attempt to assist urban schools in Rhode Island.
Almond’s fight to eliminate residency for school employees was part of a package of bills aimed at enhancing teachers’ performance. His other proposals include extending the school year by five days for teacher training and improving the entrance exams for teachers.
Introduced in the early 1980s to bring middle-class professionals to the cities, the residency requirements have been opposed ever since by the school department and teachers unions. They say it has been a detriment to bringing the most qualified personnel to the school systems, particularly professionals with hard-to-find skills, like special needs and bilingual teachers.
”It is hard enough to draw teachers to the school because our pay scale is not competitive with other districts. The residency requirement has always been another obstacle in bringing staff for the hard-to-fill areas: school psychologists, physics and chemistry teachers,” said Interim Providence Superintendent Robert A. DeRobbio.
DeRobbio said the residency requirement does have many goods points, including keeping teachers in touch with their students, but staying competitive is a major concern.
Woonsocket was the only other community in recent history to require residency, but they gave it up last year.
If the state adopts a law it will involve erasing referendum votes made by residents of Pawtucket and Providence.
Providence City Councilor Balbina A. Young said unless the state plans on taking over the city’s schools, Almond should keep his hands off the residency issue.
”I think the Governor and his staff should do their homework, because they are absolutely wrong,” said Young, a 10-year council veteran. “Residency does work, because we have not had any request for waivers of the residency requirement in some time. If people want to teach our children, get a nice salary and benefits they should live in the community that is paying them.”
Young said during her 10 years in office she has yet to hear a valid reason from a potential teacher to why she or he should get a residency waiver. She added that the majority of teachers in the system now are grandfathered, meaning they can live anywhere because they joined the schools before the requirement.
She said the contention that it is difficult to attract qualified teachers because of the requirement is false. Young said is the inability by the schools and the state to recruit teachers that has been the problem.
Young added that the neighborhood she represents – upper south Providence and the northern Elmwood area – is a good reason for residency requirements.
”We don’t have any police or firefighters living in our neighborhood as it is. Right now we do have some teachers living here, but I would say if the residency requirement wasn’t in place they would move away,” she said.
Young said, “I don’t know if the state has the legal right to do this, but I can say we will fight it. The people of Providence voted for this and we have the obligation to fight it.”
The requirement was first enacted in 1981, but was later repealed only to be approved again by voters six years ago.
Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. called the residency requirement “a double-edged sword.” He said the aim of any city is to have people who work and live in the city, making contributions professionally and personally.
However, the mayor and the school system on the next few years must face hiring approximately 500 new teachers to fill vacancies caused by retirement and new schools staffing needs.
”If we find out that living in Providence is an impediment in hiring those teachers, we should be open to a legislative enactment,” Cianci said. He added that he expected the city’s minority population to be the most outspoken against Almond’s proposed bill.
”For the number of minority groups concentrated in the city this requirement gives them more opportunities to be hired in the city,” he said.
Pawtucket Mayor James Doyle said it was the voters of Pawtucket who approved it and he doesn’t see any reason to reverse their decision.
”It is not a perfect situation, but I think it is working. We have people who would not have moved here before who now do,” he said. “The crux of the matter is we would rather have people who are employed by the community become a viable part of the community after work.
Like Young, Doyle answers complaints from the school department that it is difficult to find people to fill the teaching jobs with a suggestion: Look again.
”I have found that if they search a little harder they can usually fill the position,” he said. He also said the ability to offer waivers might become more readily used.
Joseph A. Almagno, executive director of the Providence Teachers Union and a former Providence superintendent, said in Providence at least it is nearly impossible to get a waiver, which has had a direct impact on who joins the system and who doesn’t.
”We have documented proof of individuals willing to take positions, but go elsewhere because of the residency issue,” he said.
He said people who want to spend a career in the Providence schools better find a house they are comfortable in.
”Because of the retirement provisions you need to work 28 years in education. So coupled with the residency requirement you need to make a 28-year commitment to stay in one place,” he said.
Almagno said the rules have put the city in the awkward position of policing its employees.
”The city council has been cracking down on this issue, because it is widely known that teachers, along with firefighters and police, are not complying. Enforcement of this rule is difficult,” he said.
He expects the matter to end in a legal battle between the cities and the state.
”I don’t know if the governor’s position will withstand scrutiny by the court. I really don’t know if the home rule charters can be changed by the governor,” he added.
