The decision to vote no on the mayor’s proposed lease follows careful consideration of the extensive community feedback 

Today, Providence City Council President Rachel Miller released the following statement regarding the proposed lease of 99 Kenyon St., which will be voted on at tomorrow’s full council meeting: 

“Mayor Smiley’s lease proposal attempted to solve two challenges at once – ensuring Providence students with already assigned charter seats have a suitable place to learn and finding a path forward for a vacant historic building. After careful consideration, I’ve determined that such an arrangement would not be in the best interest of the neighborhood or city. The city council will not hand the keys of a shuttered public school building to a charter school. 

After defeating the original $1/year charter lease last year, the city council kept all options on the table, including commissioning studies on the architectural and financial feasibility of converting the building to housing. We then considered the mayor’s most recent proposal to lease the building to Excel Academy, and worked with Excel Academy and the administration to propose major changes from the original lease. 

The lease would not have created a new school or expanded charter seats, but would have housed a school already granted expansion by the Rhode Island Department of Education. Since the state has sole discretion over the total number of charter school seats in Rhode Island, only the state can prevent their further expansion. 

I viewed it as my role to make this lease as strong as possible for our community, including by negotiating revenue for the city and historic labor neutrality, and then hear the community’s response. I have listened closely to my neighbors and will be voting no on the proposed lease. We need to ensure that our public spaces are utilized in ways that reflect the needs of surrounding communities. I will work closely with my neighborhood and our partners to find a solution for this building that is beneficial to Federal Hill. 

Every Providence student deserves equal access to quality education, and this council remains committed to ensuring our city’s public schools are capable of delivering that education. We will continue to work with the mayor, the school board, and the Department of Education to build a public school system that is worthy of our students and families.”