Providence Public School District Spokesperson Nicholas Domings spoke out this weekend about the growing controversy generated by Tweets from The Providence Public Teachers Union ….
From The Desk of Nicholas Domings, Spokesperson for Providence Public Schools:
Maribeth Calabro and Jeremy Sencer have once again shown their true colors by running to social media to advance their own agenda of sewing turmoil, rather than addressing the longstanding critical issue of school facilities with District leaders like true thought partners. This hostile and unprofessional approach by union leadership has undermined progress in Providence for years, and is incredibly disrespectful of our students, families, and educators. Had they bothered to reach out before tweeting, union leadership would know that the plan to take two run-down facilities offline next year will not result in any teacher layoffs and will instead result in thousands more Providence Public School educators and students in the modern facilities they deserve.
Yes, Providence Public Schools and RIDE are proud to say that next year, two crumbling schools will finally be taken offline as part of a comprehensive plan to dramatically increase the number of students and educators in modern facilities. It is disgraceful that it has taken this long to get our students out of buildings that were constructed over 100 years ago when Grover Cleveland was in office. Out of respect for PTU members and families in the affected buildings, as well as the School Board, the plan was – and still is – to provide full details to these groups first and release information to the larger community shortly afterward. Given union leadership’s intentionally disruptive actions this weekend, the communications rollout plan will now begin early this coming week. Until our educators, families, and the School Board are fully informed, we will not be commenting any further on specifics.
Please also note that PPSD and RIDE have been engaging community members for several years on school facilities. And since passage of the $125 million school facility bond by Providence voters on November 8, 2022, RIDE and PPSD have been actively engaging community members on addressing the district’s severe building deficiencies. This campaign has included six community engagement sessions within the last month, both in-person and virtual. Direct messaging to all District families and paid advertisements invited community members to join these sessions. The District also launched a new website outlining the opportunities afforded by this historic investment in our schools and has provided recordings of engagement sessions on the website for any community members could not attend.
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