March 29, 2024

News Briefs

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School Superintendent Crowley Gets Contract Extension:
After an interim period of time, East Providence School Superintendent Kathryn Crowley has been rewarded with a contract extension totaling three years. Crowley was brought to East Providence at the end of 2015 after the retirement of Kimberly Mercer. Crowley has been credited with turning around teacher morale in a system which saw teacher salaries and benefits drop to among the lowest in New England.

It's no secret that East Providence teachers and other school employees have been working with low morale for several years. After prior school committees with help from some prior council members worked to make teachers among the lowest paid in New England and slashed benefits, teachers morale hit rock bottom. And it wasn't just the salaries. In general teachers and staff felt they were not respected at all. Many young promising educators left the system and others who wanted to stay were denied promotions and administrative advancement.

"This new administration has done more for education in East Providence, in a short time, than the previous administration did during its' full tenure here," veteran high school Social Studies teacher Richard Martin told the Reporter last January. At the time Martin was praising the efforts of brand new Superintendent of Schools, Kathryn Crowley. He also is pleased with his new principal Shani Wallace.

Many other teachers and staff have echoed similar sentiments since the school committee hired Kathryn Crowley as Superintendent. "I think people will be very pleased with Mrs. Crowley," school board chairman Charlie Tsonos said after her appointment. "She will approach issues and daily decisions with a professionalism and style that will make people feel good about education," said Tsonos. Other school committee members also praised Crowley's appointment as well and it has become obvious that Crowley and Wallace are both scoring major points with the community.

Asked how she had been received as an "outsider" in East Providence, Crowley said "wonderful." "I have been widely supported and feel right at home here. Our schools have pledged to work diligently on behalf of our students and the staff has done everything I've asked," she said. "I know about some of the past issues here and we will be a good team I'm sure."

"Our teachers and staff have always been professional and persevered through some tough years," said History Teacher, Athletic Director and State Representative Gregg Amore. "We've never let those problems get in the way of teaching students, but things are much better now with this administration," said Amore.

Crowley's $150,000 salary will not increase nor will other terms of her contract. The vote to extend was unanimous with member Nate Cahoon telling Crowley that she has turned the system around by "180 degrees". "You've give us the stability and confidence we have needed," said at-large member Joel Monteiro.

City Residents Heard on Tax Bills:
Residents of East Providence who have been complaining of short notice on overdue property taxes have been given a break by the newly elected City Council. The council voted for first passage in late December to a "seven day grace period" to allow residents to make a payment without any penalty. Many residents objected at council meetings, by phone calls and through social media to the city's policy of adding up to a 12% late fee for quarterly payments.

Speakers at the December meeting as well as council members stressed that many banks and other agencies which bill on a regular basis, do allow a grace period in which people can make a payment. Ward 3 councilman Joe Botelho was an early supporter of a grace period and taxpayer relief. "For those who have called relative to late fees which needed to be resolved by 12/31/16, as long as your payment date was posted with seven days of 12/1/16, and the council approves second passage of the grace period on 1/3/17, you are not obligated to pay by the 12/31 deadline according to city manager Tim Chapman," said Botelho after the council meeting and first passage. "All indicates are that it will pass (2nd passage in January)," added Botelho to concerned residents. Resident who may have paid taxes in full but were assessed a 'late' fee, will have a credit forwarded to their next tax bill.

Strong Mayor Coming to EP? Not So Fast:
Could an elected Mayor type of government be in EP soon? Although just about 75% of East Providence voters approved a major change in its' form of government, there is no guarantee it will happen. Many questions remain and in the end it may be lawyers who have the last say, not the voters. City management is not quick to comment on the matter. Acting City Manager and city solicitor Tim Chapman would not comment directly on the subject because he will be asked to advise the new city council on the matter. New Ward 3 councilman Joe Botelho has long favored the strong Mayor form and some on the council agree that the hiring and firing of 6 recent city managers may influence this outcome.

However precedence has been established in squashing the will of the voters before. Twice voters in East Providence have strongly approved the construction of a new recreation center. Voters wanted to replace the ancient center which is housed in the old Riverside Junior High on Bullocks Point Avenue in Riverside. That overwhelming mandate was stopped by former councilman and Mayor Joe Larisa who twice, refused to let the matter go forward procedurally.

Recently voters also approved a measure to switch council terms from 2 to 4 years. That vote was also not honored by city and state officials. Incoming at-large councilman and former ceremonial Mayor Jim Briden, has spoken out against the strong mayor form of government in the past. Mayor Briden now has told the Reporter that "the Charter Amendment passed and so it now needs to be ratified." That ratification process remains the key.

Ward 1 councilman Robert Britto has supported the strong Mayor before and was the sponsor to place the matter on the 2016 ballot.

Returning Ward Three councilman Joe Botelho had an extensive response in support of the voter-approved change in government. "The last election saw the residents of East Providence support a move to an Elected Mayor form of government by an overwhelming 73%. There may have been a number of reasons as to why such a large majority voted for the change, including the carousel of six city managers that the city council has ushered in and out of that of office over the last six years. Two big reasons, however, rest with the fact that the voters became aware of the lack of transparency and accountability of the council/manager system and more importantly, residents felt they were being ignored," said Botelho.

"Lack of accountability has always been a challenge for this form of government since the city’s CEO, if you will, is selected by only five council people, or really only three of five council people representing a majority. The city manager serves at the will of the council, and as has been illustrated over the last six years, can get turned out of office on whim if they don’t comply with even the most unreasonable council requests," continued Councilman Botelho.

Sources also indicate that state leaders - some elected and some behind the scenes - will be involved in this process. Some observers point out that General Assembly involvement will be needed to decide the eventual outcome. So even though an overwhelming majority of EP voters in November said they want a strong Mayor form of government, it may not happen. Some say that the charter calls for 75% plurality to change and the actual margin was 73%. Others state the lack of a charter commission is a problem.

It was behind the scenes maneuvering that brought former City Manager, Richard Kirby from a post in the State House to East Providence. After losing support from some of those same state leaders and others, Kirby was fired.

"As someone who is now serving their fourth term on the city council, I can assure the people of this city they made the correct decision and have wisely moved our city in a positive direction. With an elected Mayor, we will now know exactly where the buck stops, and instead the power being seized by a handful of politicians, it will rest with everyone," added Botelho.

Ward Two councilwoman Anna Sousa told the Reporter that she is not opposed to the idea of a strong Mayor but didn't vote for the measure as it is currently written. "I didn't like the wording of the ballot question. It was vague and needed more information for the public to make a more informed vote," Sousa said. "I think the voters need consistency in the language and an opportunity to consider this question with a better understanding of its procedure," Sousa added. Sousa thinks that if the current vote to approve were "to stick", it probably needs state legislative ratification. "Our first step going forward is to get an opinion from our legal department," she said. "I want voters to be prepared and provided as much information as needed. That wasn't done."

Some of the cities in Rhode Island with strong Mayors are Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Cumberland while smaller towns like Barrington, Narragansett, South Kingstown, and Westerly have appointed managers.

EP's Odd Fellow's Home Finally Getting Facelift?
A proposal to have a developer renovate the long vacant Odd Fellow's home at the base of Warren Avenue in Watchemoket Square is finally moving ahead. As a Reporter story described in 2014, it may seem obvious that there would be no shortage of 'odd fellows or odd persons' in the city if one were to seek nominations for such. But guffaws aside, there really is a facility in the city for the former purpose of housing "indigent odd fellows." According to the RI Historical Society, The Odd Fellows' Home Association of Rhode Island was founded in 1903 to manage a retirement home for indigent Odd Fellows.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows didn’t cut corners when they built a new meeting hall to accommodate their growing brotherhood in the 1880s. They hired leading Providence architectural firm Gould & Angell to design the new building in the then-fashionable shingle style and gave it an ample 8,300 square feet of interior space.

For a location they chose the bustling center of 19th-century East Providence, the riverfront western end of Warren Avenue known as Watchemoket Square. The building at 63-65 Warren Avenue would serve as the Odd Fellows’ Rhode Island headquarters for 82 years, but eventually the influence of both the fraternal organization and their neighborhood would wane.

Built in 1889 and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Odd Fellows Hall is valued at $185,200 according to city assessor records. One problem - it's falling apart. Former City Manager Paul Lemont told the council in 2014, that the roof leaks so bad that "workers can't and won't get up there to fix it". "It's getting worse by the day," said Lemont who showed little interest in spending money to fix it. "The entire renovation, to bring the place up to code, could cost as much as $2M," said Lemont. "In the meantime we are fixing an overhang roof at the high school entrance, the library roof, Pierce Field press box (baseball) which is rotting, and other needy projects," outlined Lemont.

Current interim city manager Timothy Chapman has told the now city council that several developers have expressed some interest in the building. Chapman and city planner director Jeanne Boyle have prepared a Request For Proposal to advertise for developer ideas and renovation. Boyle agreed with former manager Lemont's guess that it "will take more than a million dollars to refurbish" the vacant property.

Boyle and Chapman envision a plan where a developer could build "coffee shop type businesses" in the first floor with office space or maybe residential space in the upper levels.

Boyle indicated that funding help may come due to the historic status of the building and possibly from Community Block Grant Funding. The building is around the corner from a revitalized waterfront area which will include the large Live Nation venue soon featuring concerts with a capacity for up to 3500 visitors per show.

PARCC Testing Approaching Schools:
It is that time of year for PARCC testing. PARCC stands for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. In the past many Rhode Island communities have tussled with this testing format. It has been a contentious debate in many circles. East Providence superintendent Kathryn Crowley recently sent a letter home to parents. The letter stated, in part: "As testing time draws near again, I would like to address some of the issues from the past.

First, there is Common Core. Common Core standards are simply that, a set of literacy and math skills determined by a national group of educators to be the skills needed for academic success. In the past, the standards were set by each state. Common Core was an attempt to bring the best from each state into one comprehensive set of standards. It is unlikely, should Common Core be abandoned, Rhode Island would adopt standards significantly different than those found in Common Core.

Then there is PARCC testing. The PARCC tests are aligned to the Common Core standards and are designed to determine how well students are developing the skills listed in the Common Core standards. Does East Providence have a well written curriculum? Are teachers teaching that curriculum? Are students learning what the well written curriculum suggests they need to know and do? Are these three key components of education aligned?

The PARCC test results provide East Providence educators with an assessment of how well students are learning. Now, as educators, we know there are many factors impacting test outcomes including technology, attendance, poverty, health and others. And, of course, there is the classroom. It is the educators’ job to determine how well students are achieving and what needs to be improved. With that in mind, we ask all parents to encourage their children to look forward to PARCC testing to improve East Providence schools and the education provided to each student. If every student did their best on the PARCC tests, East Providence educators would have a solid tool to better serve every student." - Kathryn M. Crowley, Superintendent.

EP Police Issue Advisory on Solicitations:
After receiving several complaints about solicitation on behalf of the Police Department Juvenile Division, the East Providence Police have warned residents to be aware of a fraudulent effort to raise funds on their behalf. The police statement said, "please be advised of a local scam involving our East Providence Police Department. We are not holding any fundraisers on behalf of any entity of the department. We appreciate your help in spreading the word. Thank you."

Mulch Those Christmas Trees:
The East Providence Department of Public Works and Parks Division will be collecting and chipping Christmas Trees for use as mulch for City projects. Drop off your tree through January 20th at the following locations: Agawam Field, Hull St. Playground, Pierce Field, Central Ave Playground, Silver Spring Playground, Kent Field, Riverside Rec Field, Grassy Plain Park, Sabin Point and the Carousel Parking Lot.

Curbside collection will be available January 9th - January 20th.
Please place trees at the curb on the same day as your Rubbish collection day for pickup. Trees will not be collected with your rubbish, they will be collected separately by city crews for chipping. Please remove all ornaments, lights & stands. Trees only are accepted. No wreaths, garland, roping, or artificial trees. For more info call the Recycling Office at 435-7710.

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