Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The City of Providence raised your taxes this year to close a $15 million budget deficit our schools were facing. $10.6 million accounted for out-of-district tuition. Now, a proposal heading to the City Council would cost the district an additional $51 million over the next five years.

This Thursday, the City Council will vote on whether to lease Carl G. Lauro Elementary to Excel Academy Charter Schools. If approved, this would permanently shift students and funding away from our public schools. In Rhode Island, funding follows the student but districts have fixed cost. Providence would be giving away a critical building, at a time when we need it most.

Here’s what’s at stake:

• $10M–$51M in losses to Providence Public Schools in the next 5 years.

• 2,186 students could be pulled from the district, draining state and local funding.

• Less support for multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and students in need.

This means less money for Vartan, MLK, Nathan Bishop, Hope High, and Classical. Loss of public control over a building that could serve as a center for special education, mental health, or career & technical education programs.

My fiancé Abby works with kids with autism as a Board-Certified Behavior Therapist. We have to fight for all students to have a quality education. 

In 2016, former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, appointed by President Donald Trump, visited Excel Academy in Washington D.C. and publicly praised it as a “shining example” of a school meeting the needs of its students, parents, and community, as quoted in a Salon article and also referenced in Grid.org. However, just a year and a half later, the same school was shut down by the D.C. Charter Board due to poor academic performance.

We have to fight big box charter expansion that are working to shift education as a public good to private interest. Democracy is on the line. We need your voice.

I made a quick 2-minute video with representative David Morales who’s been a strong advocate on this issue. Watch it to learn more.

Below is the chart from the 2020 approval for Excel’s expansion. The reason $31M has increased to $51M is because the cost per pupil has gone up in the last 5 years. Federal ESSER funds have dried up. The district also faces federal cuts from the current Trump administration.

Call your City Councilor today and tell them to vote NO on the Carl G. Lauro lease. Join us on Thursday at Providence City Hall at 6pm as well and say no to increasing the district's deficit.