In court documents that came out last week, there was a letter from the Governor that said to an official at PPSD, “The State has a deficit. Go to the City of Providence to get the money.”
I don't blame students for being angry about their likely diminished prospects, (I read the previous post on their rally) but Providence really is in a tough place. Cutting services and/or raising real estate taxes would be painful and hurt the city not just in quality of life but in the competition for businesses and resources.,
One underlying problem is the wealthy just don't pay their share of taxes, leaving vulnerable cities such as Providence short of funds. The state refuses a MA-style wealth tax but keeps spending $$ bribing businesses with various tax breaks (CVS, Citizens Bank, GTech, , Amazon, Pawtucket stadium... now Hasbro has their hands out) plus big tax breaks for those with luxury cars. And at the Federal level, the oligarchs and big corporations evade taxes, and by electing Trump the public just voted to let them get away with even more abuse of the tax system as Trump made no secret of his desire to lower their taxes and gut the IRS to reduce enforcement of the big shots. Sad!
I read the previous post and have read this. As I'm doing this, I'm watching the news. McKee is trying to avoid a commitment with the homeless. All of these problems (including the bridge) have him as the common denominator. He dodges the important things but as he is the head of Commerce, he gives everything to out-of-state developers. Of course it's a great place to do business - look at the tax breaks and subsidies those guys get. I was active in the fight to ditch to ward off Lucchino. McKee, in his great wisdom, gives the deciding vote to build a soccer stadium. It was a shady deal as the 'owner' wouldn't name the investors, started and then stopped the building, and was selling passes for an unknown future.
Part of me is with the kids but I have a problem with "demanding" their rights. They have a ''right'' to an education. That's it. They are kids - they don't pay taxes. They are supposed to be in a classroom where they say they want to be but are standing on the City Hall steps. As I said in yesterday's post, if they are under 18, during school hours, they can't leave school property. They are the 'property' of the City. Should one get hurt, the City is liable.
Sports and clubs are nice to haves. They encourage getting along with others, sportsmanship, etc. I noticed one youngster was in middle school and dismayed about sports. Since when do middle schools have sports? Totally unnecessary. Middle school is a transition period, physically and mentally. It takes them from childhood to near adulthood. This is where their learning will kick in. They will have actual homework, more studying and a lot of preparation for dealing with the older kids, stricter rules, pop quizzes and the rest.
If the State is running Providence schools, it's time for the State to pay up. The Commissar is making over $200K a year with no results and now an extended contract. Rhode Island is top-heavy. We have her, a Superintendent in every district, class 'assistants' and those damned tests that aren't being used correctly. I've been out of school for nearly 60 yrs. and I had those tests. They are a tool, nothing more. It has nothing to do with grades. They are a test of the curriculum. If scores are low, the curriculum is too hard and too high and too easy. Teachers are supposed to exam the results and make adjustments to the course of study. They will show if someone is lagging behind the rest and needs extra help. That's it!! Teaching to the test is the most stupid thing I've heard of. One knows the work or doesn't. I would add in that the school dept. probably has to pay for those tests. Cut those out since they're useless.
On to Mayor Smiley :) He's getting dumped on. I don't live in Providence. I have my own Mayor who is a problem. Again, this all goes back to the Governor and the legislature. I believe it was GoLocal where I saw that Shekarchi said there was some surplus money, from what I don't know. Now there suddenly isn't. Where is the money?? It's not in my city and obviously, not in Providence. My mayor had a field day with money - he plugged all kinds of holes that he continues to blame the previous mayor for.
This state has never seen a tax it didn't like. There's even a 1% tax on take-out food. Seriously!! Where does this money go? We have one of the highest gas taxes in the U.S., supposedly for roads. Our roads stink. Anything that the State doesn't have a pocket for goes into the General Fund. I'd like to know how much is in that.
The State has the money. Providence should be getting what it needs to open these schools. As the capital city, Providence should be #1 on the list. The Mayor has to flex his muscles and go after Brown with the billion $$$ endowment. Brown is supposed to be about education but every year, Brown tells Providence what it's willing to give in lieu of taxes. What Brown gives doesn't begin to cover 'in lieu of taxes'. Smiley needs to go back to the drawing table with them and set his own figure. Brown has been getting away with it well before Smiley became mayor. Raise their taxes, not the residents.
Cranston used to give Brown professors who lived in Cranston a $10,000 exemption on their property taxes while the rest of us who qualified got $3000. Cranston finally took that away from them.
As I end this (boy, I am so mad lately!), the Governor has declared a state of emergency for the homeless. I don't know how that is going to work but again, he made no commitment.
In 2 yrs. we get to vote for Governor. I hope that someone who cares about this State runs for office, not the usual names and pols. A genuine and caring leader.
I don't blame students for being angry about their likely diminished prospects, (I read the previous post on their rally) but Providence really is in a tough place. Cutting services and/or raising real estate taxes would be painful and hurt the city not just in quality of life but in the competition for businesses and resources.,
One underlying problem is the wealthy just don't pay their share of taxes, leaving vulnerable cities such as Providence short of funds. The state refuses a MA-style wealth tax but keeps spending $$ bribing businesses with various tax breaks (CVS, Citizens Bank, GTech, , Amazon, Pawtucket stadium... now Hasbro has their hands out) plus big tax breaks for those with luxury cars. And at the Federal level, the oligarchs and big corporations evade taxes, and by electing Trump the public just voted to let them get away with even more abuse of the tax system as Trump made no secret of his desire to lower their taxes and gut the IRS to reduce enforcement of the big shots. Sad!
Trump is looking to disband the Department of Education. Plus, being a 'blue' state, we can't depend on any Federal help.
I read the previous post and have read this. As I'm doing this, I'm watching the news. McKee is trying to avoid a commitment with the homeless. All of these problems (including the bridge) have him as the common denominator. He dodges the important things but as he is the head of Commerce, he gives everything to out-of-state developers. Of course it's a great place to do business - look at the tax breaks and subsidies those guys get. I was active in the fight to ditch to ward off Lucchino. McKee, in his great wisdom, gives the deciding vote to build a soccer stadium. It was a shady deal as the 'owner' wouldn't name the investors, started and then stopped the building, and was selling passes for an unknown future.
Part of me is with the kids but I have a problem with "demanding" their rights. They have a ''right'' to an education. That's it. They are kids - they don't pay taxes. They are supposed to be in a classroom where they say they want to be but are standing on the City Hall steps. As I said in yesterday's post, if they are under 18, during school hours, they can't leave school property. They are the 'property' of the City. Should one get hurt, the City is liable.
Sports and clubs are nice to haves. They encourage getting along with others, sportsmanship, etc. I noticed one youngster was in middle school and dismayed about sports. Since when do middle schools have sports? Totally unnecessary. Middle school is a transition period, physically and mentally. It takes them from childhood to near adulthood. This is where their learning will kick in. They will have actual homework, more studying and a lot of preparation for dealing with the older kids, stricter rules, pop quizzes and the rest.
If the State is running Providence schools, it's time for the State to pay up. The Commissar is making over $200K a year with no results and now an extended contract. Rhode Island is top-heavy. We have her, a Superintendent in every district, class 'assistants' and those damned tests that aren't being used correctly. I've been out of school for nearly 60 yrs. and I had those tests. They are a tool, nothing more. It has nothing to do with grades. They are a test of the curriculum. If scores are low, the curriculum is too hard and too high and too easy. Teachers are supposed to exam the results and make adjustments to the course of study. They will show if someone is lagging behind the rest and needs extra help. That's it!! Teaching to the test is the most stupid thing I've heard of. One knows the work or doesn't. I would add in that the school dept. probably has to pay for those tests. Cut those out since they're useless.
On to Mayor Smiley :) He's getting dumped on. I don't live in Providence. I have my own Mayor who is a problem. Again, this all goes back to the Governor and the legislature. I believe it was GoLocal where I saw that Shekarchi said there was some surplus money, from what I don't know. Now there suddenly isn't. Where is the money?? It's not in my city and obviously, not in Providence. My mayor had a field day with money - he plugged all kinds of holes that he continues to blame the previous mayor for.
This state has never seen a tax it didn't like. There's even a 1% tax on take-out food. Seriously!! Where does this money go? We have one of the highest gas taxes in the U.S., supposedly for roads. Our roads stink. Anything that the State doesn't have a pocket for goes into the General Fund. I'd like to know how much is in that.
The State has the money. Providence should be getting what it needs to open these schools. As the capital city, Providence should be #1 on the list. The Mayor has to flex his muscles and go after Brown with the billion $$$ endowment. Brown is supposed to be about education but every year, Brown tells Providence what it's willing to give in lieu of taxes. What Brown gives doesn't begin to cover 'in lieu of taxes'. Smiley needs to go back to the drawing table with them and set his own figure. Brown has been getting away with it well before Smiley became mayor. Raise their taxes, not the residents.
Cranston used to give Brown professors who lived in Cranston a $10,000 exemption on their property taxes while the rest of us who qualified got $3000. Cranston finally took that away from them.
As I end this (boy, I am so mad lately!), the Governor has declared a state of emergency for the homeless. I don't know how that is going to work but again, he made no commitment.
In 2 yrs. we get to vote for Governor. I hope that someone who cares about this State runs for office, not the usual names and pols. A genuine and caring leader.