Providence schools to get $20M in improvements this summer

In this August 28, 2017 file photo, Mayor Jorge Elorza announced a $400 million school renovation program outside Mt. Pleasant High School. Photo by Steve Klamkin WPRO News

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Providence public schools are expected to undergo $20 million in long planned capital projects this summer.

The improvements include multiple roof replacements, fire safety upgrades and security lighting.

The Boston Globe reports that the improvements are a small portion of the $400 million dollars in repairs Providence officials believe the schools ultimately need, but there isn’t enough time or money to achieve that in a single summer.

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza has said improvements to all of the schools could take up to a decade.

Crumbling facilities were cited in a scathing independent report on the city’s public schools released two weeks ago.

Teachers and state and local officials have reacted strongly to the report which details severe dysfunction at every level, fighting among students and a tangled bureaucracy.

 

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