Charges and Countercharges Levied Over Charter School Expansion
Saturday, November 19, 2022
State Representative Joshua J. Giraldo this week issued a scathing statement critical of the Cumberland Town Planning Board and Cumberland Town Solicitor for what he said was "disenfranchising families from attending and participating in a public meeting" -- and the Town Solicitor has fired back.
Following a planning board meeting this week regarding Blackstone Valley Prep’s application to expand their high school, Giraldo -- who is the chief of human capital at Blackstone Valley Prep -- said the following.
"Just over 100 BVP supporters including parents, students and teachers attended the meeting and were respectfully waiting to testify. During the meeting, the Cumberland Police arrived and I learned that the Town Solicitor [Kelley] Morris personally contacted the Cumberland police department to have the meeting cancelled due to capacity concerns," said Giraldo (District 56 – Central Falls).
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"When questioned as to what the capacity the fire code allowed for or how much overcapacity the space was, neither the police officer or the town solicitor knew (shortly after it was discovered the capacity of the space was 120 people, less than the approximately 110 that were estimated to have been there)," he continued. "The town solicitor and the police officer informed [me] that all the families waiting in the hallway, many of them live streaming the meeting in Spanish, had to leave or the meeting would be cancelled. After all the families willingly and peacefully left the hallway, the officer took a count of the 69 people that remained in the room, almost half of the maximum. Before the police arrived no one on the board or the town staff raised concerns related to overcrowding or mentioned it being an issue."
“I was stunned to see the Cumberland Police arrive at the hearing out of nowhere stating they were instructed by the chief of police to shut down the meeting due to overcrowding. I was even more appalled when I learned that it was the town solicitor that had called for the shutdown with no evidence of overcrowding, no warning, and without any communication with the public. It is a shame that not a single board member spoke up on behalf of the residents and public that were inexplicably forced to leave the meeting. They could have easily moved public comment to earlier in the agenda or opened an overflow space to address any capacity concerns. Instead, they neglected to act and sat idle as families, many of them Spanish speaking were escorted out of the building. These hard-working families that took time out of their day to participate in the democratic process were denied that right,” stated Giraldo.
“Why were the police called on this crowd I wonder? A few months back at a similar meeting, I witnessed a husband and wife testify on a separate issue before the planning board. They were irate, belligerent and were swearing up a storm in front of other families and children. Both the planning board and the solicitor allowed them to finish their comment, with no calls to the police. What was it that made the town staff feel they needed to have a police officer come and escort peaceful families out? Was it that they were annoyed by the overflowing of support for BVP’s proposal, or by the Spanish translation happening quietly in the hallway, or that they’d have to come face dozens of Cumberland residents upset with them? No matter what the reason was it clearly was not due to overcrowding” said Giraldo.
“Respectfully, I am asking town leadership to investigate this issue further. It is an absolute disgrace that the town shut down the voices of these families. I’m asking that the town solicitor publicly apologize for calling the police and that the board look closely at their policies and practices to ensure this never happens again” added Giraldo.
Town Solicitor Fires Back
Morris issued the following statement in response:
"I was quite surprised to read Mr. Giraldo’s press release regarding the events of Tuesday evening that contains a multitude of inaccuracies. Importantly, the Town staff and Planning Board have accommodated Blackstone Valley Prep’s several changes to its proposal to expand their facility over the past year+ during ten (10) public meetings, including six (6) meetings before the Planning Board. Never during those six (6) meetings did we have such a crowd as we did on Tuesday night.
When I arrived at the meeting venue, I saw that the meeting room was filled to capacity with an overflow of attendees in the hallway and down the stairwell. Thinking of the safety of all individuals, I contacted the police department to assess the situation. I had no intention of cancelling the meeting; however, when the police officer arrived, he determined that the space was over fire capacity and told me that it was his intention to require that the meeting be cancelled. By this time, Mr. Giraldo joined us in the hallway and stated that he did not want the meeting to be cancelled and that he would ask BVP supporters who did not wish to speak to walk across the street to BVP’s Elementary School where a screen was set up to project the meeting for those who wished to watch.
The police officer stated that he would not remove any individuals, but if individuals chose to leave voluntarily, that would be their choice. The Planning Board has the authority to continue the meeting to another date, but instead accommodated Mr. Giraldo’s request to move people to another venue with access to the meeting video.
The Planning Board then recessed while Mr. Giraldo spoke to BVP supporters and did not re-start the meeting until I confirmed with him that the individuals who left the building were settled across the street (he called over in my presence to confirm).
To answer Mr. Giraldo’s questions directly, I respond as follows:
The police were called because there was overcrowding in the building in hallways and stairways that could cause a hazard in the event of an emergency to themselves and others. I would do that in any situation as a public servant.
I don’t have any recollection of the couple who allegedly swore in front of the Planning Board. The police did not and refused to demand that anyone leave the building; in fact, Mr. Giraldo was the person who directed the individuals across the street to the elementary school.
Contrary to the statement regarding Spanish translation, planning staff worked with the CEO of BVP earlier the same day to provide the Spanish translation to anyone who needed it at the CEO’s request. Personally, I was impressed with the many students who spoke passionately about their school to the Planning Board. The Planning Board did not adjourn until after 11:00 pm, when every person who wanted to speak, both in-person and virtually, had the chance to address the Planning Board without time limitations.
It is very disappointing to me that Mr. Giraldo has resorted to mischaracterizing the events that occurred on Tuesday night in what appears to be a strategy for a challenge to any potential negative outcome.
Having said that, the Town takes these allegations seriously and will not risk such a challenge, however inappropriate. Therefore, the Planning Board will re-notice, re-advertise and provide a full hearing again on November 30 in the largest venue that is available in Cumberland."
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