Report: R.I. schools need $627.5M fix

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Education 2017 State of Rhode Island Schoolhouses report forecasts $627.5 million in high-priority construction and repairs needed to keep students and teachers warm, safe and dry in their classrooms.

The report also showed that to bring all school buildings into ideal condition, it would cost the state $2.2 billion.

“Every generation of Rhode Islanders has worked hard and made sacrifices so the next generation has more opportunity than the one before. But most of our classrooms and school buildings haven’t been improved in 25 years,” said Gov. Gina M. Raimondo in prepared remarks. “We must make a once-in-a-generation investment in our school buildings to address immediate health and safety needs in every district, and to give our children the 21st-century classrooms they need to compete in the world today.”

At a press conference held in Warren, Raimondo also signed an executive order creating the Rhode Island Schools Task Force, which will consider district feedback and public input to develop an action plan.

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The group plans to report its reccomendations to the governor by December 2017.

The task force, which is co-chaired by Gemneral Treasurer Seth Magaziner and Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Ken Wagner, includes the following members:

  • Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director, Rhode Island Kids Count
  • Joseph Dewhirst, chairman, R.I. Health and Educational Building Corp.
  • Department of Administration Director Michael DiBiase, School Building Authority Advisory Board
  • Patricia Flanagan, pediatrician-in-chief at Hasbro Children’s Hospital and professor of pediatrics at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
  • Frank Flynn, president, Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals
  • R.I. Sen. Hanna Gallo, D-Cranston, on behalf of the state Senate
  • Jamestown Town Administrator Andy Nota, on behalf of the League of Cities and Towns
  • Larry Purtill, president, National Education Association of Rhode Island and member, Council of Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Michael Sabitoni, president, Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council and Business Manager, Laborers Local 271
  • Barry Ricci, Chariho School District superintendent, on behalf of the Rhode Island Superintendent’s Association
  • Neil D. Steinberg, Rhode Island Foundation CEO and president
  • Kinzel Thomas, Providence School Board, on behalf of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees
  • John Hazen White Jr., chairman and owner, Taco Comfort Solutions