CENTRAL FALLS – About $30 million in funds for the second round of the state School Building Authority’s Facility Equity Initiative is now available for underserved school districts across Rhode Island to help with school construction and rehabilitation costs.
Gov. Daniel J. McKee, along with Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, R.I. Office of Energy Resources Interim Commissioner Chris Kearns, and R.I. Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Associate Director Tomás Ávila announced Thursday the new funding availability. State officials said that when the initiative launched in 2021, it provided funding to five districts with the highest reimbursement rates. Central Falls, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Providence and West Warwick received at the time close to $13.4 million in funding for 26 projects in 17 schools that serve more than 11,000 students, including new science labs, media centers and community rooms, state officials said.
Now along with those districts, five additional districts – Burrillville, Cranston, Coventry, East Providence and North Providence – will also be eligible for funding from the Facility Equity Initiative, state officials said.
“My administration is focused on making sure Rhode Island students receive the high-quality education they deserve – and that includes ensuring that more students thrive in modern classrooms,” McKee said in a statement. “It is also exciting that we’re expanding the Facility Equity Initiative to support projects in districts that are most in need.”
Infante-Green said in a statement that the state has applied an equity lens to school improvement efforts, making sure marginalized school communities benefit from the influx of school construction funding the state is providing.
“By investing in our schools, we’re tearing down low expectations in education and raising the bar for our kids and families,” Infante-Green said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
