Mayor Taveras Vetoes Elected School Board Plan
Monday, July 30, 2012
Providence Mayor Angel Taveras has vetoed an attempt by the City Council to add a question to the November ballot asking voters if they wish to move to an elected school board, GoLocalProv has learned.
The veto came Friday, a week after the Council overwhelmingly voted in favor of moving forward with the ballot question even though City Solicitor Jeffrey Padwa advised that, because a public hearing on the matter hadn’t been held, the resolution could be considered invalid.
Narducci, the Council’s Deputy Majority Leader, has made an elected school board his top priority since last year when the Mayoral-appointed board voted to close four public schools. Narducci has accused the Taveras administration of “shaking down” board members to convince them to support closing the schools.
Before the vote took place, Narducci and Councilmen Kevin Jackson and John Igliozzi spoke in favor of allowing voters to decide whether they want an elected school board. Narducci and Jackson have long argued that an elected school committee might better protect the interests of students and neighborhoods in the city.
But critics say elected school boards too often place politics ahead of policy when it comes to decision making. Councilman Sam Zurier, who was appointed to the school board under former Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Jr., argued against the proposal in a recent letter to his constituents.
“I oppose this change for two basic reasons,” he wrote. “First, an appointed school board encourages members to act in the best interest of children, who do not have the right to vote and whose education can be compromised by the adults who are involved in the system. Second, the appointed school board’s members make decisions based on the collective interest of all of the students, rather than to advance sectional interests at the expense of the collective. In contrast, the proponents of elections are seeking to create voting districts, which would result in a fragmented school committee with members focused on the issues of their local district and particular schools, perhaps to the detriment of the well-being of the school system as a whole.”
Now the question is whether the Council members have enough votes to override Taveras’ veto.
Narducci had nine co-sponsors for his resolution, which would give him the ten votes he needs to bypass the Mayor’s wishes. But one co-sponsor, Bryan Principe, is on vacation out of the country and would not be able to attend a meeting in time for an override.
It is unlikely Narducci would be able to convince Solomon, Yurdin, Zurier, David Salvatore or Terry Hassett to support the plan.
Providence and Central Falls are the only two communities in the state with an appointed school board.
The Taveras administration did not return a request for comment.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dmcgowan@golocalprov.com. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
Comments:
anthony sionni
8:47am on Monday, July 30, 2012
I agree ,let the voters decide if they want an elected school board!
Also,politics are involved now in appointing the school board,so I say they should be elected,then we can vote them out if we so choose!
John Ward
8:48am on Monday, July 30, 2012
I don't see where the Mayor has veto authority over charter anmendment proposals in Providence. Can someone point out where that is mentioned in their city charter?
barnaby morse
9:04am on Monday, July 30, 2012
Let the voters decide. Appointed boards are by default beholding to the appointer.
Joe Public
9:06am on Monday, July 30, 2012
Taveras wants to continue to follow in Cicilline's footsteps. Remember when Cicilline dragged his appointed board into a series of secret meetings, demanding that they appoint Col. Brady before the public even knew the last guy was quitting? Never mind that that was a violation of the Home Rule Charter and the Board's policies on public involvement in superintendent selection. (The Mayor has no role in the School Board other than to appoint its members with Council approval.) Taveras just wants puppets whose strings he can pull.
tom brady
9:11am on Monday, July 30, 2012
Banana Republic. Providence and Central Falls. Two excellent examples of appointed school boards. You can't make this stuff up. GoLocals #3 best place to live!! HA!
Gary Arnold
9:15am on Monday, July 30, 2012
I don't think the RI public really cares, just look at the cronies that are voted in on the political side.
Brad Marston
9:27am on Monday, July 30, 2012
The appointed school boards have done great harm to the children of Providence:
1. Recess has been eliminated at many of the Providence elementary schools. Anyone who has kids, or teaches them, knows that this is a crazy thing to do. It does allow politicians to grandstand about how tough they are -- but harms the children.
2. Pasadena has a similarly sized and diverse school system, yet it costs only about $11 k / student. Providence spends nearly $17 k / student. Appointed schools boards, not being accountable to the voters, tend to let costs rise. (Fortunately the budgetary authority of the Providence school board was eliminated last year.)
3. Many families in Providence protect their children from the Providence public schools by sending them to independent schools. This drains the public schools of parents who would otherwise be involved -- a crucial asset to any school. Yet the Providence school board has shown no interest in reaching out to parents who have left the public school system.
Dewdrop Spencer
9:41am on Monday, July 30, 2012
An elected schoolboard would HELP the students in Providence and stop the Mayor from controlling the schools. We all know that since "Buddy" appointed schoolboards have done nothing but do what the mayor wants, he is acutally the chairperson, he tells them what to vote for and what not to vote for, this didn't start with Cicilline, it goes back further.
Interestingly, the Mayor os a big supporter of Charter schools, so how much does he really care about the "leftovers" (the neediest students who don't get into the charters)?
tom brady
10:09am on Monday, July 30, 2012
Good points Brad. Appointed school boards = privatization and higher costs.
Aaron Regunberg
10:56am on Monday, July 30, 2012
I'm going to repost this piece I wrote about why Providence needs an elected school board.
http://www.golocalprov.com/news/aaron-regunberg-providence-needs-an-elected-school-board/
Very disappointing to see Angel so forcefully continuing the dictatorial practices begun under Buddy Cianci.
Larry Anderson
10:56am on Monday, July 30, 2012
Whatever the merits of this issue, Mayor Taveras, in this humble citizen's opinion, does not have the right, under either the Providence Home Rule Charter or the RI Constitution, to veto a proposed charter amendment approved by the City Council.
Section 1301 of the Providence Home Rule Charter reads, in its entirety:
"Amendments to this Charter shall be proposed by the city council and adopted by the people of the city in the manner provided by the Constitution of the State of Rhode Island."
And Article 13 ("Home Rule for Cities and Towns") of the RI Constitution reads:
"Section 8. Amendments to charters. -- The legislative body of any city or town may propose amendments to a charter which amendments shall be submitted for approval in the same manner as provided in this article for the adoption of a charter except that the same may be submitted at a special election, and provided further that in the case of a town, amendments concerning a proposition to impose a tax or for the expenditure of money, shall be submitted at a special or regular financial town meeting."
There are other provisions of Article 13 regarding the definition of a "legislative body," but nothing in the Constitution appears to give a mayor any say in the approval of proposed charter amendments and their presentation to voters.
This provision of the RI Constitution seems to be routinely ignored by other municipalities, not just Providence.
Harold Stassen
11:20am on Monday, July 30, 2012
BIG disappointment Mr. Mayor, but then after further thought, no big surprise. You are simply continuing your term of Cicilline-3.
Why is it every other city and town, except Providence, has an elected school board? While not a perfect situation, it is better than having appointed members who serve the Mayor's interest first or risk being not reappointed when their term runs out. When Cicilline was Mayor, it was a never ending parade of new appointees, ensuring no continuity or benefit of institutional knowledge.
tom brady
1:03pm on Monday, July 30, 2012
I expect to see Taveras, Solomon, Yurdin, Zurier on the not list this week. So much for Democracy.
Gary Jerejian
4:47pm on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
No Mayor will give up the power to appoint individuals to committees and boards. Unfortunately the Mayor has decided to continue his former bosses practices and that doesn't stop at appointments. More of the same