PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Library leaders are nervously watching as attorneys for Providence and the state-run school district meet behind closed doors in an effort to hammer out a deal on school funding.
The city estimates it may owe anywhere between $11.2 million to $54.8 million to the Providence Public School District after Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear ruled earlier this month that the city was not complying with the Crowley Act. The state law requires cities and towns with schools under state control to increase funding by the same percentage as the increase in statewide school aid.
Last Tuesday, Mayor Brett Smiley announced a city-wide hiring freeze and said they would pause all discretionary spending. The mayor told residents, city departments and other groups that rely on city funding to prepare for “real consequences,” including anything from possible layoffs to tax hikes.
“An unexpected expense like this in the middle of the fiscal year is not easy to absorb,” Smiley said last week.