A Rhode Island Superior Court judge on Friday ruled in favor of the state education department, which has withheld $8.5 million in aid from Providence for failing to meet funding obligations for city schools, widening the rift between city leaders and state education officials.

Rhode Island Superior Court Associate Justice Jeffrey A. Lanphear issued two rulings in favor of the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), backing the state-run Providence Public School Department (PPSD)declaring that the city is not paying its fair share to the school department. 

“This court, in everything that it does, somehow always seems to apply principles of fairness,” Lanphear said at an afternoon bench motion that followed the release of written decisions Friday morning. “But frankly, balancing the equities is simply not an element of this motion…Here, the only issue is whether or not the city can pay its obligation to the state department. Otherwise, the state can freeze the money.”

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The first ruling partially denied the city’s appeal to stop RIDE from withholding over $7 million in state aid from the Distressed Communities Relief Fund in fiscal year 2024. The judge’s decision underscored the state’s authority over municipalities when they fall short of fulfilling the Crowley Act — the statute that authorized the 2019 state takeover of Providence schools and also prescribes how much funding a state-controlled district must receive from local sources.  

Lanphear’s second ruling concerned an October request from RIDE Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green to state Treasurer James Diossa to withhold $8.5 million in car tax payments, claiming Providence owed nearly $30 million to the district overall. The city then filed a legal complaint. The disputed funds remain in escrow — which is where they’ll stay for the time being, as just how much the city will owe is still unclear.

Lanphear scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 9:30 a.m. to help complete what he called “a simple mathematical calculation” that will determine the city’s debt to its schools. Lanphear said he didn’t trust his own mathematics and would be leaving that to experts at next week’s hearing.

While the judge didn’t trust his math, he was more confident in his reading of the Crowley Act. The state could probably fund the entirety of the budget shortfall on its own, Lanphear thought, but the Crowley Act compels the city to increase financial support for the school district each year, regardless of the state’s financial health. RIDE and the city’s wildly different interpretations of the act have formed the terra firma of the ongoing legal contest. 

Lanphear rejected the foundation of the city’s argument: That the act requires municipal aid to state-run school districts to mirror the increase in state aid to that particular district. 

“Since the statewide total school aid increased, the City must increase the amount of funding to the PPSD with an equal percentage increase,” Lanphear wrote in his first decision. “The increase in aid to the particular district is not a factor in this calculation.” 

Infante-Green’s request to withhold funds followed Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s public feud with Providence Superintendent Javier Montañez. Montañez called Smiley ahead of a school board subcommittee meeting on Oct. 9, and requested nearly $10.9 million in emergency funding. Without the money, there could be cuts to winter and spring sports, student bus passes and numerous other areas, the superintendent warned. 

Smiley responded with a $1 million offer the following day, promising to use money from not-yet-finalized payment in lieu of taxes agreements recently struck with nonprofits in the city. The City Council promised an additional $1.5 million from the final reserves of pandemic relief money. Both mayor and council agreed that the school district would be subject to a third-party audit before they could get any funds. The school department has yet to take any action on the offers, and the City Council earlier this week canceled a meeting that would have authorized the funds, due to the court battle.

Consequences may be very costly

A “deeply disappointed” Smiley issued a statement Friday, arguing that the decision could have expensive consequences for residents across the capital city, including students and their families.

“This decision puts the City’s finances at risk and in the days ahead, we will need to make difficult decisions that we had hoped to avoid, including the potential to increase taxes, cut programs and stop future borrowings, the largest of which is for the future development of new school buildings for our students,” Smiley wrote.

The mayor then echoed his previous skepticism about the district’s budgeting skills: “I am disappointed that the wasteful, irresponsible spending of the Providence Public School District and the historical lack of sufficient State funding for our highest need students has led us to this point today,” Smiley added.

Providence City Council President Rachel Miller issued a statement Friday lamenting the judge’s “striking decision,” saying it may endanger the city’s financial health. RIDE, Miller argued, sacrificed collaboration and transparency to pursue “an adversarial route” that ignores city needs beyond the school department.

“While RIDE does not have to consider the impacts of cuts to critical city services or tax increases on a struggling community, we do, and the families of PPSD students do as well,” Miller wrote. “Why should Providence taxpayers be forced to bankroll an opaque and irresponsible budgeting process that treats students and families as collateral damage?” 

On the greener side of the grass were the victorious Infante-Green and Montañez, who celebrated the ruling in a joint statement. 

 “Today’s Court ruling is a win for our kids,” they wrote. “Our priority throughout this legal dispute has been clear: making sure Providence students, teachers, and school communities have the proper resources they need and deserve.”

Jennifer Wood, executive director of Rhode Island Center for Justice, said after the bench motion that she would be meeting with Providence students and parents to consult further about the new developments.“Even from preliminary conversations I know that they are tremendously relieved that further immediate cuts to their schools may be avoided based on the two rulings today,” Wood said.

Wood also highlighted Lanphear’s argument focusing on “the harm to students and their families” without a “‘great’ school system.”

“There are so many small decisions that can make a difference in what a student learns and how they develop and become adults,” Lanphear said at the bench motion.