Providence city councilor wants to cut red tape for school department purchases

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – City Councilor David Salvatore is petitioning the council for a public hearing on an ordinance that would allow the Providence School Department to spend more money at a time with less obstacles.

In light of the dismal Johns Hopkins report detailing the major issues at the schools, Salvatore says the layers of government are making it harder for the school department to purchase what it needs for supplies and repairs in a timely manner.

“I have heard from teachers who cannot buy a ream of paper for weeks and sometimes months because of this onerous requirement,” said Salvatore.

Right now he says any purchase of $5,000 or more by the school department must go through about 70 steps and be vetted by the city council.

He wants to change that amount to $25,000.

“I think it’s an opportunity to increase morale in the classrooms because again, there aren’t adequate supplies for our teachers to be successful and effective,” said Salvatore.

He’s not alone. Some at the recent forums on the report have mentioned the same issues, and called the process ‘cumbersome.’

“Fix these buildings! There’s leaks, brown water, ceilings falling, broken doors, desks, windows, mold, mildew, broken bathrooms, mirrors, paper towel holders missing, soap, etc. The list goes on,” said teacher Dina Audette. “Let Providence students feel the community cares about them!”

“Imagine you have a $400,000– $400 million budget. And at the end of the pipeline are your children,” said review team member Carolyn Dias at Thursday’s forum. “That pipeline is your procurement process. And if it goes down to a bottleneck, those resources are not getting to the children, to the classroom, to the teachers that need it.”

Salvatore says it would just be part of a remedy to a much larger issue.

“This is a small step,” said Salvatore. “We have a long way to go.”

In a statement, spokesperson with the Department of Education Pete Janhunen seemed to agree with Salvatore saying in part, “Complex bureaucratic processes are at the heart of the problem.”

The mayor’s office has said they are open to increasing the required threshold.

If Salvatore gets the necessary amount of signatures, there will have to be a public hearing on the topic two weeks from then.