Magaziner shares progress report on school construction in RI
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner provided a progress report on school construction in the state Wednesday afternoon.
Magaziner, who also serves as the School Building Task Force co-chair, highlighted the progress made on over $1.3 billion in investments in the repairing and replacing of 160 school buildings. The construction is expected to create over 21,000 jobs.
“163 buildings have been given funding so far for repairs or replacement. Of those 163 schools, 12 of those projects have already been completed, another 29 are currently in process,” Magaziner said.
“In the two years that remain in the school construction program, we expect at least an additional $600 million of projects to come through the approval pipeline.”
This is the first update since the task force’s plan was approved by voters in 2018.
“Before this plan was launched,” Magaziner said, “less than 1/3 of that amount was funded for school construction projects. Some more than three times increase in the state’s investment in school construction programs.”
Wednesday’s press conference was held in the parking lot of East Providence High School, where a new high school building is being built. The new high school will open this fall.
The district was one of the first to take advantage of the funding.
“(The old high school) had heating issues, it had mechanical issues, it had electrical issues. When I did the first feasibility study and the electrical engineer came up to me and said, Superintendent, I’m sorry to tell you this. You are operating on a wing and a prayer,” said Kathryn Crowley, Superintendent of the East Providence School Department.
Crowley said, thanks to the plan, the city is getting more money than they would have originally been able to secure.
“East Providence anticipates it will receive $102.8 million from the state for our new high school, which is 28.5 million more than the old formula would allow,” she said.
The state-of-the-art high school opens in September. Watch the video above for an inside look.
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