Parents angry at Providence school closings

PROVIDENCE — Parents wanted to know one thing Tuesday night: why are schools and teachers bearing the brunt of the city’s epic budget crisis?

“You ought to be ashamed of yourselves,” said Kayla Ashness, a parent of four. “How about you take a pay cut, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Superintendent. Why do we have to give up on our kids?”

Tuesday night’s public meeting, held at the Sanchez complex in South Providence, was the first of three such forums to provide residents with an opportunity to ask questions about the proposed closing of four school buildings in Providence, a move that will affect as many as eight schools. About 70 people attended. Mayor Angel Taveras announced last week that he wanted to close four elementary school buildings to help narrow a budget gap of close to $110 million.

But parents and teachers weren’t buying the mayor’s reasons for shutting down schools, a move that will affect an estimated 2,500 students, nor were they buying his rationale for sending termination notices to every teacher in the district.

“The whole truth is not being told,” said Chris Awsika. “Last year, we were told that Bridgham Middle School would close because the school is too old. Now you are making it into an elementary school. The School Board does the bidding of the mayor. The die has been cast.”

A common thread ran beneath the anger and the uncertainty: that class and race were the reasons why certain schools were targeted for closure.

Osiris Harrell, a parent activist who lives on the West Side, wanted to know why schools in his neighborhood were mostly composed of minority students while Vartan Gregorian Elementary School on the East Side is 47-percent white.

“If you want to show good faith to the black people of Providence, to the Latino people, to the Asian people, then send our children to a really good middle school,” he said, referring to Nathan Bishop Middle School on the East Side, which recently underwent a $45-million renovation.

“These schools are from our most oppressed areas,” said another parent, Sheila Wilhelm. “You’re closing these schools because you don’t think people will come out. Well, we’ve shut down School Board meetings before.”

There were the defenders of individual schools on the chopping block: the teachers from Asa Messer and Flynn Elementary Schools.

“This is my 20th year at Flynn,” said Paula Joel. Then she read a letter that she sends home every summer:

“I give you back your child a few months older and a few pounds heavier. Your child is also wiser than when he began this school year. I’ve watched his personality unfold. Ten years from now, if we meet again, we shall share that bond once more.”

Gina Sousa, a teacher at Asa Messer, described a school moving in the right direction, a school whose test scores in math and English have risen by almost 15 percent in the past two years. Asa Messer recently received a visit from state Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist, who commended the school for making substantial progress in math.