Providence Mayor Brett Smiley wants the General Assembly to return Providence’s public schools back to local control. He is also asking the state to raise the city’s tax levy in order to fund the school system. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
When is the right time for the state to return Providence public schools to local control? Mayor Brett Smiley says this summer.
Smiley outlined his administration’s housing and education proposals for reporters at a City Hall briefing Monday, a day ahead of the start of the General Assembly 2025 legislative session. Chief among them: Requesting the state to end its five-year reign over the Providence Public School Department starting July 1, the start of fiscal year 2026.
“We’re ready, it’s time,” the mayor said.
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) took over the Providence school system in 2019 after a Johns Hopkins University report documented systemic problems including infrastructure issues, low staff morale, and high levels of student disengagement.
The takeover was set to expire last year, but the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education in August instead extended state control through 2027. The takeover could end sooner if grades, graduation rates and standardized test scores improve.
Smiley’s relationship with RIDE has been tense as the city must pay $15 million to its public schools. That amount was determined in a settlement to resolve a funding dispute after a Providence Superior Court judge in November ruled the city is legally obligated to pay a certain amount to its schools under the Crowley Act, the statute that authorized the state’s takeover.
The city will need to increase taxes over the state’s annual 4% cap in order to meet the settlement, Smiley said. He estimated the city has $14 million in expenses beyond the existing cap that still needs to be covered.
How much the city will need to increase property taxes is still being determined. Smiley said his office expects to have an estimate after a citywide property revaluation wraps up later in January.
To raise additional revenue, Smiley wants the General Assembly to apply the state’s 7% sales tax to all commercial parking fees — along with giving municipalities the option to opt into such a program.
Smiley anticipates such a tax would generate around $1 million for the city annually. Should the state approve the request, it would not take effect in Providence until Jan. 1, 2026. Cities such as Hartford, Philadelphia, and Seattle tax parking at commercial lots.
There are no plans to increase meter rates in the city, the mayor’s office said.
Smiley on Monday declined to name which lawmakers the city would tap to sponsor legislation to return control of the schools to the city and other initiatives.
“We think there is a strong appetite in the legislature,” Smiley said. “We are anticipating some pushback from the Department of Education.”
Sen. Sam Zurier, a Providence Democrat who chaired a study commission on the plight of the city’s public schools, told Rhode Island Current Monday night that he’s discussed the idea of local control with the mayor’s office, but would like to see more details before moving forward.
Zurier said he has reservations about relinquishing the state’s takeover by July.
“That doesn’t sound feasible to me,” Zurier said.
Smiley also wants the General Assembly to update the Crowley Act, which was first codified into state law in 1997. The law requires school districts under RIDE’s control to increase funding by the same percentage as the state’s total school aid.
His administration’s proposals include clarifying how much municipalities must pay toward funding schools, limiting the state education commissioner’s authority over withholding state aid, and requiring fiscal oversight during any future takeovers.
“We’re doing this because we think we have sort of lived through the pain and the next community shouldn’t have to,” Smiley said. “It’s the right thing to do — it will help whenever a district finds itself in a takeover in the future (to) be able to do so in a way that has less ambiguity, that is fair, that is equitable, and is reasonable to both the school district and the community.”
Help for revitalizing the Superman building
Smiley’s legislative plan also asks the state to update its existing Rebuild RI tax credit in order to allow applicants to receive more public support for housing developments — namely to spur redevelopment of the vacant Superman skyscraper across from Kennedy Plaza.
Gov. Dan McKee’s administration announced in 2022 that High Rock Development would handle the $220 million project meant to convert the former office building that bears a resemblance to the home of The Daily Planet newspaper in the 1950s TV show where Clark Kent worked into 285 residential apartments. The property has sat vacant since 2013.
Smiley said the developer is seeking additional public subsidies due to inflation and rising construction costs.
“That building is an anchor on downtown Providence that is threatening to drag the rest of downtown under with it,” the mayor said. “I cannot overstate the importance of that building.”
Smiley is also proposing the state update its existing tax subsidy meant for developers who make some of their housing units affordable. The law allows property owners to pay 8% of the previous year’s rent collected as its property tax bill, but only applies to buildings that have been rehabilitated.
The city wants to include new construction to the language, along with a new category of treatment for commercial buildings entirely converted into housing, such as empty office spaces around Providence’s financial district.
“We have a problem with a glut of commercial space,” Smiley said.
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