A Scholarly Debate Over the Providence School Board

From the School Board to City Hall
From Former Providence School Board President Keith Oliveira’s perspective, the fundamental disagreement between him and Mayor Elorza, which prompted Oliveira’s resignation in January, comes from the level of jurisdiction each expects the mayor’s office to have over the school board. “I believe the school board should be independent and have appropriate latitude to make its own informed decisions that are in the best interest of the students and families that we serve and the district as a whole,” Oliveira says. “In my view, the mayor considers the school board to essentially be an extension of the mayor’s office and that the school board shall implement decisions made by the mayor and his staff.”

Oliveira adds that while serving as president, he encountered continued political interference from Mayor Elorza on numerous school board decisions, an obstacle he dealt with less during Mayor Taveras’ term. “We had alignment with Mayor Taveras,” Oliveira says, “between his office, the school board and Superintendent Lusi because we had a shared vision and a shared understanding of each of our roles.”

Like Oliveira, former Providence Superintendent Dr. Susan Lusi resigned from her position in 2015. “I am certain that her resignation was due, in part, to the micro-management of Mayor Elorza’s office,” Oliveira says. “She was the expert leading the Providence schools, not the mayor. As a well-respected education leader she would not serve under such conditions.”

Providence City Councilman and former Chairman of the City Council’s Special Committee on Education Sam Zurier has this to say about the appropriate level of mayoral oversight in regards to the school board: “I believe that the relationship should be limited to sharing his general philosophy, offering information from time to time about particular projects and answering questions without telling the school board members what to do on any specific issue.”

Zurier adds that while school committees are recognized under state law as having a direct responsibility to provide children with a quality public education, mayors and city councils are responsible for providing the funding for education – not setting educational policy.

Also interesting is the fact that while most Rhode Island towns and cities elect school board members, Providence (along with Central Falls and Woonsocket) does not. “In Providence,” Zurier explains, “the school board is selected by the mayor and confirmed by city council. This provides the elected officials – especially the mayor – with significant moral authority in relations with school board members that does not exist elsewhere.”

Mayor Elorza explains that – since taking office – he’s made efforts to allow all stakeholders to provide input on plans regarding education. “I have visited schools throughout the city every week to speak directly with students and teachers, held community conversations in different neighborhoods to hear from residents and have invited the public to join the selection process for our next superintendent,” the mayor says, adding that he’ll continue to look for ways to promote the participation of all who have an interest.

“Mr. Oliveira’s decision to resign ahead of the loss of his leadership role with the school board was unfortunate,” Mayor Elorza says. “I plan on continuing to work collaboratively with the school board to make the reforms necessary to make Providence schools the best they can be.”

Christopher Maher, the Interim Superintendent of Providence Schools, stands behind Mayor Elorza, saying that the mayor has demonstrated “great willingness to collaborate” with Maher, the school board and other interested parties. “I have joined the mayor at many of his weekly school visits and community meetings,” Maher says, “and I have had the pleasure of participating in important conversations with our youth and members of the community. These inclusive events, which allow everyone’s voice to be heard, demonstrate that we are already working in a system that promotes collaboration. Throughout this process it is heartening to see so many members of the community who want to see our students succeed in the classroom.”

How Should Parties Work Together?
With student success at the forefront of everyone’s mind, the question that remains is this: Is there a better way to build a system to improve school performance and if so, how should various parties work together collaboratively?
In February, Mayor Elorza announced an overhaul of the School Department’s central office. The initiative would move staff out of central administration and into schools so that they could better support students, parents, teachers and administrators. “These changes bring the central office into the 21st century and better enable the School Department to meet the current and future needs of our public schools,” the mayor said in a statement.

The reorganization allows academic policy experts to spend the bulk of their day in schools to better understand challenges in context and provide solutions that are site-specific. Among several other changes, the overhaul also creates a multilingual call center for parents and community members to ensure that all receive the same prompt service.

At the time this issue went to press, the mayor’s proposed changes to central administration were in the process of being submitted to the Providence City Council for consideration.

Oliveira feels that in order to build a strong system, it’s crucial that the board is given the authority to make its own decisions. “School board members serve as trustees of ensuring that all students are served well,” he says. “The important decisions made by the school board should be singularly focused on their best interests absent the political interests from the mayor’s office.”

And while Oliveira does believe that collaboration between the board and the mayor’s office is essential to success, he maintains that board members must be allowed to exercise their own judgment and to, at times, respectfully disagree with the mayor.

Is It Possible to Work Harmoniously?
Although meaningful change won’t happen overnight, Oliveira believes that it is possible for the school board, superintendent and mayor to work harmoniously in the best interest of the public. “My governing philosophy as school board president was to make decisions that were student-centered, family-friendly and collaborative,” he says. “Ideally the school board and the mayor should have a shared vision and shared understanding of the strategic direction, strategic priorities and expected outcomes.”

As far as whether or not there’s a recipe for the correct level of mayoral oversight, Oliveira says that any mayor should have an interest in ensuring the board makes wise decisions that align with that shared vision. “That is collaboration,” Oliveira says.

“Over the past five years, the school board has made some very important decisions that have served our students well,” Oliveira continues. “We acted to create new learning opportunities by opening new schools like Broadway Middle School and two smaller high schools, Evolutions and 360. We expanded access to AP courses. We defended our students against RIDE’s hurtful NECAP high school graduation policy. We changed our discipline policy to be less reliant on out-of-school suspensions. I’m very proud of our work.”

Zurier notes that it’s not uncommon for school board members to step down before the end of their term. “It’s understandable that these transitions occur shortly after a new mayor takes office,” he says. “The new mayor wants to carry out his or her campaign platform, which typically include promises of dramatic change. On the other hand, the school board and school department has typically developed its own plan, which it wants to continue.”

The Common Goal
While some level of conflict is inherent to any collaborative effort of this magnitude, school board members, Mayor Elorza, Superintendent Maher and other interested parties share one common goal: to meet the educational needs of our city’s students.

And with the challenges of serving a diverse, urban population comes an increased need for all parties to get on the same page in order to get things done in the swiftest and most efficient manner possible. “The biggest challenge is creating a culture of high expectations for all kids and a common belief that all kids can achieve,” Oliveira says.

It’s a sentiment that’s echoed by Mayor Elorza. “Education was my path out of poverty,” the mayor said in a statement. “I want to ensure that every Providence public high school student has the same opportunity to succeed that I did.”