02/25/2025
PRCC Leaders Oppose Proposed Tax Increase
Leaders of the Providence Republican Party declared their opposition to the supplemental tax increase proposed by Mayor Brett Smiley.
Dave Talan and Angel Connell, co-chairmen of the Providence Republican City Committee (PRCC), stated the anticipated results of an audit being conducted on the Providence school system should be taken into consideration prior to any discussion about increased taxes.
Placing second last year as a District 4 candidate for school committee, Talan stated there were only two serious approaches in dealing with financing the Providence school system.
“One is to increase taxes, which is what the Mayor has proposed,” explained Talan. “The other way is to reduce spending, without hurting the quality of education. We choose this latter approach.”
The GOP leaders pointed to transportation costs of $22 million per year. They suggested that this could be reduced by $10 million a year (the same amount that the Mayor’s tax increase would raise).
Currently, 9,000 Elementary and Middle School students are bused to schools outside of their neighborhood.
Talan and Connell estimated that this number could be cut in half, if children’s families could choose to send them to a nearby neighborhood school within walking distance.
A return to neighborhood schools would also have educational benefits.
The two biggest causes of poor education outcomes are chronic absenteeism and lack of parental involvement.
Having children walk to a conveniently nearby school, together with their neighboring children, would improve attendance.
And parents without a car during the day (half of parents in many sections of the city) would be able to participate in their children’s education, if their school was within walking distance.
Talan and Connell also called for the city to recruit a charter school to take over the Broad St. School; fix it up; and target Washington Park residents to go there.
This school, the only one in all of Washington Park, was closed a year ago, over bitter opposition from the neighborhood.
Hundreds of neighborhood children, who previously walked to school, are now being bused all over the city, at great expense.
“We don’t need a crystal ball to anticipate at least three areas where we could greatly reduce spending, without reducing educational quality,” said Talan. He cited the following examples:
• Eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy in the administrative office.
• Reduce the large number of non-essential employees who were added with one-time Covid money that has now run out.
• Revisit or audit large private contracts that may be of questionable value.
While Connell was confident the results of the school system’s audit would “buttress the necessity” for the Republican proposals, he stated that the PRCC would also assist voters in putting pressure on their elected representatives to rebuff Mayor Smiley’s tax plan.
“I’ve heard from several Providence taxpayers who are angry at the increase of their property assessments,” said Connell. “So they’re in no mood to have tax increases as well.”
Following a judge’s decision last year to rule that the city needed to pay more for education costs, Mayor Smiley has repeatedly stated that the $15 million school funding settlement has required him to seek permission from state lawmakers to raise city taxes beyond the 4% cap mandated upon all of the municipalities within the state.
“Dave and I sympathize with the Mayor over the tough position he’s in due to the judge’s ruling,” Connell said. “But we strongly disagree with his tax proposal. We’re going to fight it.”
