By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
The head of one of the nation’s largest teachers unions came to Providence Wednesday, pressing for a course correction in the rocky relationship between the teacher’s union in the capital city and the state, which has been running the school district.
Randi Weingarten, President of the 1.3 million-member American Federation of teachers toured Providence Public schools, ahead of a scheduled meeting with Gov Dan McKee.
Her immediate goal is to try to help move contract negotiations off-center. For the long term, she says control of the schools in Providence should be turned back to the city.
“The educators of Providence want the schools that kids deserve. And they want the respect that they need,” Weingarten told reporters after touring the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex.
Ideally, she said the schools should be answerable to elected officials.
Weingarten’s visit was arranged before the current controversy over Providence school Superintendent Harrison Peters, subject of demands that he resign from, among others, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and RI State Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green over his hiring of an administrator charged in Warwick with “toe popping”, or fondling the feet of a boy.
Weingarten said she and the union have not weighed in on Peters’ fate, adding that he should be afforded due process.
Providence teachers’ union President Maribeth Calabro accompanied Weingarten on the tour.
“I think we need to refocus, and I think the leadership, being the governor, the General Assembly, the Commissioner, we all need to get in a room and get this done for the sake of our teachers, and for the sake of our students and our schools,” Calabro said.
