Rhode Island’s takeover of Providence schools is a mess. Everyone deserves blame. – The Boston Globe

Governor Dan McKee

This isn’t McKee’s takeover — just ask him. He inherited the state’s intervention in Providence from Gina Raimondo, and while his administration did step in during messy negotiations with the teachers’ union, he’s chosen to move forward with his own education initiatives. His focus on chronic absenteeism statewide has shown initial successful results in its first year, and he’s planning to make math and reading campaigns a top strategy in the coming years. McKee’s overall goal of catching up to Massachusetts in test scores by 2030 probably isn’t attainable without improvements in Providence, but he also doesn’t want to waste too much political capital on a problem that might not be fixable.

Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green

Truer words have never been spoken than when Infante-Green warned in 2019 that “everybody wants change until change comes,” but it’s the job she signed up for. At this point, the Rhode Island Department of Education has untenable relationships with the teachers’ union, Mayor Brett Smiley’s administration, the City Council, and the General Assembly, and the department spends way too much time worrying about who leaks information on that platform formally known as Twitter. She still has the enthusiastic support of McKee, but her contract expires during the next school year (April 28, 2025), and she’s going to need to start explaining what has actually worked during the takeover. There’s a good story to tell about school facility improvements in the coming years, but what’s happening in the classroom hasn’t changed all that much in the last five years.

Superintendent Javier Montañez

Providence’s superintendent was the right choice at the right time following the short, unmemorable tenure of Harrison Peters, but the growing sentiment is that he’s an excellent school principal who is over his head leading the state’s largest school district. At the same time, his supporters will point out that he’s never had a chance to lead because every decision runs through Infante-Green. His contract expires July 1, 2024, but there is no clear successor waiting in the wings. It appears more likely that Montañez will get an extension of less than three years.

Mayor Brett Smiley

Providence’s mayor doesn’t have the same luxury as Governor McKee to argue that this isn’t his takeover because he was part of Raimondo’s administration when it made the decision to intervene. Right now, he’s a mayor who has no say over virtually anything that happens in the district, including hiring a superintendent, negotiating union contracts, or deciding how money gets spent, but he’s taking the brunt of the blame for the city’s failing to substantially increase funding for the schools. The general consensus in government circles is that if Smiley asked McKee to return the schools to local control today, his wish would be granted. But why would he want to take back a district when the state hasn’t necessarily delivered on its lofty promises?

Providence Teachers Union

The teachers’ union is both the biggest winner and loser of the state takeover. On one hand, the union has successfully negotiated favorable contracts that came with no significant concessions (though the teachers did agree to increase the school day by 30 minutes for at least the current school year). On the other hand, the union has never given a chance to any facet of the takeover, and has run up an exhausting enemies list that includes Infante-Green, McKee, Smiley, the previous two mayors, the previous two education commissioners, and most of the Providence school department’s senior leadership team. The union’s current contract expires Aug. 31, and one big question is whether the 30-minute school day extension will continue.

Providence School Board

The school board didn’t have much power prior to the takeover, and it has virtually no power during the takeover. Now politics are about to ramp up. There will be five spots on the school board up for grabs this year (from five different sections of the city), which means you can expect a lot of outside spending from both charter school groups and teachers’ union friendly groups. Those races will be especially unpredictable because unlike races for mayor and City Council, these are nonpartisan and will occur during a higher-turnout presidential election. Mayor Smiley will also get to appoint five members (with City Council approval). And then, once the dust is cleared, it will still be a largely advisory school board with very little power.

Council on Elementary and Secondary Education

Does this panel even exist anymore? There was a time when the council was both powerful, and had meaningful input over the direction of schools statewide. It has taken a hands-off, eyes-off approach to Providence, ceding all control to the Rhode Island Department of Education.

Providence City Council

The City Council was held up as one of the bureaucratic barriers to improving schools in the Johns Hopkins report, but council members were also among the only people who had the ability to hold the district accountable (especially around spending) prior to the takeover. That’s not happening anymore, and it leaves the public in the dark about what’s happening in the schools. The council isn’t catching as much flack as Mayor Smiley for failing to substantially increase funding to the school district right now, but make no mistake, the council is just as responsible as any mayor.

Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.