Providence council overrides mayor's veto of hybrid school board, sending issue to voters

Providence City Council members voted on Wednesday to override Mayor Jorge Elorza's veto of a proposal for a hybrid school board, sending the question to voters to decide.

Of the 14 members who were present, 11 voted in favor while three voted against: Councilwomen Helen Anthony and Nirva LaFortune, and Councilman David Salvatore.

The question to be placed on the ballot in November would ask voters whether they approve of expanding the board to 10 members, five elected and five appointed by the mayor. At present, the mayor is responsible for appointing the entire board. If voters approve, they would be able to select board members in the November 2024 elections.

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Anthony said the council was "making this decision without input from the stakeholders," including education experts, parents, teachers and administrators — the same criticism raised during a news conference last week in Elorza's office.

Anthony raised concerns that a partially elected board "might have the unintended consequence of destabilizing our school system." She called it "a shame" that council leadership decided to package the question with nine others on smaller charter amendments, meaning the mayor and council members either had to approve or reject them all. 

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Despite voting in support of the override, Councilman John Goncalves said he agrees with Elorza's opinion "that injecting more politics into the school board is not a great idea."

"I also agree that the process needed more community engagement," Goncalves said.

Councilman Nicholas Narducci, a vehement supporter of the override, contended that mayoral appointees are political anyway. Councilman Jim Taylor, who echoed Narducci's support, said, "Shame on the mayor for trying to stop that voice and have the people not vote on it."

In a statement shortly after the council's meeting, Elorza said he is "disappointed in today's vote."

"Now, we'll focus on defeating the referendum in November to make sure we do not inject more politics into our schools," the mayor said.

Council President John Igliozzi, who had scrambled to schedule the council's emergency meeting for the override, described the vote as a win for democracy.

"The people of Providence get to decide," he said. "Not one person, not one group, not one special interest. And that’s what democracy is about."

However, Elorza has said special interests are what will end up controlling school board elections. In a letter to the council on Friday, the mayor said "the grave danger of electing school board members is that special interest groups will likely run their own candidates for these seats," creating a "very real risk that the interests pursued by these members will not be in the best interest of our children." 

Igliozzi called Elorza's concerns a "false narrative ... devaluing the entire democratic process."

LaFortune was not given an opportunity to comment on the school board proposal before the vote. However, she told The Providence Journal she had pressed a button at her desk during the meeting to signal that she wished to speak along with others who offered remarks. Igliozzi did not call on LaFortune, who actually is supportive of the hybrid model, but said in a statement that she wants to "continue the process of engaging the community on this crucial issue."

When LaFortune was given a chance to speak at the close of the meeting after the vote, she told Igliozzi his treatment of her was oppressive and disrespectful, urging him to reflect on his time on the council once his term is up.

Following the meeting, Igliozzi told reporters that LaFortune is "a fine person, but she lacks the skillset of understanding what the legal process is, lacks the skillset to understand what the Robert's Rules are, lacks the skillset on how a meeting's run."

Robert's Rules of Order outline parliamentary procedure and help to govern the structure of meetings.

Igliozzi said discussion cannot happen during a vote, though LaFortune said she signaled well ahead of the vote that she had comments to share.