Good evening, everyone.

Uh, we would like to call the special committee of health opportunity, prosperity and education.

Three present, two absent, you have a quorum.

Uh can you please read the first item on the agenda?

Item one.

In ordinance amending Article 2 of Chapter 21 of the Code of Ordinances, reforming the procurement process for PPSD purchases.

Thank you.

Just for the members, we have a couple of letters that were submitted to us from the department of one from the Department of Education.

The deputy commissioner, Drew Edgeson, and also from the superintendent, Mr.

and Dr.

Javier Montaness.

And I would like to recognize her to provide some remarks in reference to this ordinance.

Yes, I'm not going to repeat word for word what I said at the public comment, but I do want to, you know, sort of first thank the folks who did speak at public comment and sent in public comments.

I think that to the extent that they are maybe you know sort of concerned about this ordinance.

I think that those concerns simply reflect what their next steps are gonna be.

Um we may not, you know, sort of like um we we I in other words, I think that we have made a tremendous change to a difficult process.

Um and I'm truly grateful for everybody's consultation along the way.

I also would, you know, I am certainly committed, and I you know hope that uh my colleagues on the Hope Committee are committed to continue to continue to think about ways that we can change the way we do work here in Providence to best support teaching and learning in our schools.

Full stop, whatever that means.

It may not continue to relate to procurement, we may continue to think about ways to change that process.

But I would really am committed to expanding this conversation to think about all of the different ways that um we can be thoughtful about how our schools can improve and what our legislative role is in that.

So you know, I think that you know, more to come, but this is a critical first step, and I'm very grateful for the Hope Committee for hearing this ordinance and you know, would like to ask for your support.

So that this one specific but meaningful thing, buying goods and services and getting them into our schools can be a little bit easier for everybody involved.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh uh.

Is there any questions from the committee?

Uh some comments.

Uh, thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Uh, thank you so much, uh, counselor Davidson for all your hard work.

Um, to bring uh a group of folks together around the table to tackle this very important uh challenge that has uh existed in in PPSD historically.

Um that's not no surprise to anyone.

Um in the sense of uh continuing the work, uh you know, we're fully committed, all 15 city counselors.

Uh but matter of fact is uh schools is gonna start uh within a little a little more than two months, and we have the city council, the mayor's office, and the province school board uh in agreement on a very important issue uh right now in July.

So I think that speaks volume uh to the leadership and the collaborative work.

I I know Sheila and President Stevens and Courtney uh Chief Hawkins uh here uh also played a huge role in that.

Um but this is the type of energy we need to you know be pushing forward uh throughout um the return of local control.

Um while you know some things aren't gonna be perfect, uh, you know, we all need to put students and families and and teachers at the forefront of anything that we're doing, and this is uh a good first step.

Um, I also want to state, you know, we we received testimony from the Providence Public School uh superintendent and um one of the deputy commissioners uh uh right and and it has some interesting language uh in these letters.

Um and I'm really disappointed that uh themselves or no representatives from their office uh came to this public uh uh committee hearing uh to uh be available for any questions or comments.

Uh but I'll leave it at that.

You know, we we can uh you know reach out to them directly.

But this is what public service is is having these public uh conversations, having this this dialogue here in public, uh, so anyone could participate and hear.

Um, but but we'll leave it at that.

Um I just want to say thank you uh for your leadership on this.

I I'm excited to continue uh this work.

Um this has been one of uh the the biggest challenging uh situations as a public servant here in the city of Providence is uh the challenges that exist in our province public school district.

Uh, but I think you know, this is the start of a new chapter.

Um everyone's excited.

Uh we're all you know more than willing to do whatever it takes to um, you know, make sure that our students and and families and and teachers have all the support and resources uh that they need, whether it's financial, uh moral, uh spiritually, uh, you know, uh I was talking to another school board member, and he's planning on on getting uh some costumes to go to to the football games uh Hope High School.

And that's what this is all about is you know, making the tough but right decisions, uh, but also being involved in in the extracurricular activities as community members.

Um, because we all need to be giving our 150% uh when it comes to to our students.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Sanchez, Councilwoman Shelly Peterson.

Thank you.

I just wanted to echo the sentiments of my uh fellow counselor.

I think um Councilwoman Davidson, what you did in a short amount of time spoke volumes about how all of us want to make sure that we step up for the kids in our community.

And um a collective decision based on very a very pragmatic approach to this seems like the next logical step.

And so I really want to applaud you for putting this forward and everybody within that working group because the conversation around the around our schools is clearly not over.

We have um much to what you said, counselor, um, we have a beautiful opportunity.

This is a kind of a fresh start for us to be able to really sit down and hone in and prioritize the needs of our students.

And that's I think the one true thing that we can agree on is that um it's putting students first.

And so I really want to applaud not only you, Counselor Davidson, but everybody within that working group that did take the time and was very um pragmatic in this in this approach of doing these things.

Um, and the only thing that I want to make sure that I do state on record is I believe um, I really believe that when we have these opportunities to try something to see we should also take the step extra and revisit um when it comes to a year or two, whatever it might be down the line, um, to really see where we are and how successful it has become, or if we actually need to do more.

And so I just want to put on record that I am uh as fully supportive of this as I think anybody else would be, but also I do want to be able to um engage in the opportunity to step to see where we can do even more or we could do better if we need to.

Um I just think that that's a very realistic approach of how we do things or how we should do things um to to prioritize what what's going on at the school in the school department.

So that's my thing.

Thank you again.

Um this is a this is a really great step forward.

Thank you, Councilwoman Pelos.

May I add one more thing?

Yes.

Thank you.

Um just wanted to follow up on councilwoman Peterson's point.

Um I'm glad you raised that because I could not agree more.

Um this is not meant to represent an endpoint, and I think that um one thing that we need to consider as a council is how we are going to collaborate with other stakeholders moving forward to evaluate this this ordinance and its impacts and again sort of identify other issues where the city council can make a meaningful difference.

Um and support, you know, sort of the direction of Providence Public Schools to create the best conditions for teaching and learning for all of our students.

So whether that is within the Hope Committee or sort of another, you know, committee that includes some external stakeholders.

I'm just sort of I would like to you know follow up on Councilwoman Peters' point that I want to put on the record that this is something extremely important.

And when we come back from recess, I'd like to pick up that point and sort of figure out what you know that body or entity could be, whether it's uh sort of committee that includes all stakeholders that doesn't exist yet, or you know, some other structure.

Um just want to sort of put plant that flag in the stand and say we gotta keep going.

Um I also just want to finish my remarks by sort of noting um from Councillor Sanchez, you mentioned the need to be joyful in all of this, and I totally agree.

Like that without a sense of joy and optimism and love for the young people of this city, none of this matters.

Um, this is a way to express faith in the adults in the system, but we need to do the same for the every single young person in the province public schools.

They need to know that we have their backs and whatever, and I'm not sure that this ordinance, however important we think it is, is gonna matter.

So I just want to also say to you, and I will say on Thursday to all of our colleagues, we need to express that.

We need to show up when schools open up again.

We need to show up for you know, freshman orientation for our high schools for back to school night for whatever it is.

If we're invited, I just implore you say yes to that invitation, show up at our schools, be supportive, listen to families, and spread a little of that joy, because that's gonna make a huge difference in all of us being able to come together and have a great school system.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman uh Gilson.

I do have a couple of questions before uh say my last remark uh some remarks.

Um can you just uh uh expand a little bit of uh what was the composition of the workforce, I mean the the work group.

Uh I know uh some members of here from the administration, uh, if you're able to.

Uh sure.

Uh the um working group, which was like which was officially titled um the I know I captured it here.

Um the um sorry, I'm not finding it on my I mean oh PPSD local governance working group.

So that working group met five times between March and June.

Uh we did not go in with the with the intention necessarily to sort of solve the procurement problem.

Instead, we started um in a wide group of stakeholders, again, including not only you know the entities that have mentioned here today, but again the Providence Teachers Union leadership, parent leadership, and student representation.

Um we also had you know the representatives from the mayor's office, um, Council Royals from city council sat on it along with me.

Uh we had a very wide range of and um uh obviously um Rhode Island Department of Education.

So we had a lot of perspectives in that room.

Started out by sort of level setting what is it we would like to get done, and I really kept at the center of that, not what we can get done anything related to the schools, but specifically what the city council could have some influence on.

And so some of it was a little bit of an education piece.

Um policy staffer Miguel Young's while he was with um this body, you know, so did an overview with the group of what the city council does and what we can do in this circumstance.

By the second meeting, the group had identified procurement as the challenge that we wanted to solve, and we went on from there.

Um different stakeholders had different presentations about what they would like to see, what they thought was possible, the changes that we wanted to see, and ultimately we had a by the ahead of our final meeting in June, we had um, and I really want to, you know, sort of specifically thank um Sheila Dormandy and Courtney Hawkins, who along with um President Stevens of the school board and um Steve Williamson, who's the chair of the school board's finance committee, we all sat down together and hammered it out.

We figured out within the limits of both state law and the city charter, what we could get done that would make a meaningful and substantive difference.

I also really want to thank um Jeff Dana and the city counselor's office who spent a whole lot of time looking at what was possible in this scenario.

Um, again, there's so much that we want, but we have state law guiding what is possible, and then we have the city charter.

And because we have a school board that is equally composed of elected and appointed members, we're sort of guided by both.

And if I know that um Jeff can answer any specific questions about that if you have them.

Um so we had to sort of look at both and chart a pretty narrow course in between.

I think within this, and you heard some in the comments tonight and some of the written testimony, there are opportunities for future future change, but those are gonna have to be done by charter revision, not by ordinance.

Um, and there's we're still gonna, you know, we really haven't tested the legal model of this school board.

So we're gonna have to be really thoughtful about sort of paying again, paying attention to both parts of the law, the city law and the state law, and figure out what prevails and which circumstance.

But that isn't meant to say we're done.

That's just meant to say those are some of the things that surface during the working group that we're gonna have to pay attention to.

Thank you.

Just a uh follow up.

Thank you for that overview, and also recognizing the work that uh the working group uh did.

Um, and the reason um wanna follow up with these is that there's two letters that uh at the appropriate time will uh enter into the record uh if we need to.

Uh, but uh there was a letter uh from the deputy uh commissioner, uh Drew Edgelson, and also the superintendent uh of the province uh schools, Dr.

Javier Montanez, uh being uh a little bit critical, or at least uh uh expressing that more needs to be done and uh ensuring that uh making sure that uh that process of uh of uh procurement and also so it doesn't uh go back to the 97 days as the the uh the John Hopkins report uh indicated.

Uh can you speak a little bit uh about that?

I know that uh they submitted the letter, they're not here, but I know the president of the uh province school board is here and he expressed uh strong support um for this uh uh ordinance.

Uh can you just uh speak were they part of also the these discussions?

Yeah, absolutely.

So I mean again, I uh I you know I do not necessarily share the perspectives that is in that public comment.

Um, but you know, I do understand what they are saying.

And I think that you know, I appreciate that um Deputy Commissioner Eccleson and Um Superintendent Montanas both sort of say we have more work to be done.

That's another way to say that perhaps this ordinance in their view doesn't go far enough.

However, as I just said, it goes about as far as it can given our current circumstances.

Absent charter change, we cannot enact some of the requests that they are making.

So I love that they are pointing to what is possible.

I agree we have to keep going.

But in our current circumstances, I think I would assert that doing something substantial is meaningful, doing something awesome and you know, perfect would be great, but that is not the world we're living in right now.

Um, as much as I would like to enact some of the changes, I also would like to take a little bit of issue in some of the comments, particularly in Superintendent Montana's letter.

He may not have um, you know, he asserted that because there is going to be a school department purchasing agent that constitutes more delay.

It absolutely does not and should not.

That person is going to be appointed, ideally, somebody, I mean, he that he chooses that we that the mayor's office and the city council all can agree on.

We want this process to work efficiently.

The city charter requires that that person be appointed, but we're not trying to sort of put in a roadblock or an obstacle with that.

We would like this process to work as smoothly as possible.

So I am quite confident that um the process will work much more quickly.

Um I do not share the sort of dismal view that are that is expressed in those letters.

I appreciate that they share their comments, and again, I think I choose to view that as a roadmap for what is to come.

Uh thank you very much uh for providing that.

I think it was uh important to have that.

Um and uh I too recognize that when we're in working groups or committee, not the whole committee uh most of the time agree on the solutions, right?

Members, and so uh one of the things that gets highlighted, especially under this committee, and thank you for your leadership and really stepping up right away when when you got elected and and took on the the role of uh the working group to when we were going to receive the schools back to Providence, and thank goodness that uh the governor, uh Governor McKee uh heard us uh through the efforts of of all of us, the mayor's office, Sheila Dormani, and and all the team in the city council, uh we've been advocating for for a couple of years now, and finally we got them.

We just want to make sure that the voices are really heard.

And I know that through this process, and we we got the news that uh we were going to receive the schools back.

Uh some people may feel that uh perhaps uh we're rushing this too too fast.

Um, but I want to make sure that this committee and through uh the work uh the partnership that uh the administration and all of us in the city council and also with the leadership of of the uh province uh school board that we're collateral collaborative uh uh working together to ensure that that process is is as transparent as possible, that all voices are heard.

Um and I know uh councilwoman uh Davidson, your leadership as a mother and also having kids in the public school system as myself, uh growing up and seeing how the school system has been failing a lot of our kids, and particularly when it came to uh kids of color, and it's still uh we still have uh much more to go.

And I want to make sure that uh through this committee and through the working group and the administration that it's clear that we want to make sure that we want to have our parents, our community voices heard, uh, but also here and then through your leadership, making sure that all these things uh are taken into account and that it's uh uh provided a transparent process, which we have, uh but we want to make sure that uh all voices are heard, and so for the next uh several months and years to come, we want to make sure that uh all the school board members and the parents and the kids and the youth can feel comfortable coming through these doors, uh whether at the school board, whether here in the in these chambers, but also to the administration uh to ensure that their voices are heard.

And I wanted to thank you for their leadership, and we look forward to continuing to hear um from your working group as you continue to uh bring that information before us.

Um and and uh so thank you for your leadership on that.

All right.

Um further uh comments on the ordinance.

Seeing none, uh is there a motion motion to approve.

Second, the motion has been made by councilwoman Shelley Peterson to approve uh the ordinance uh before us, and it has been seconded by Councilman Sanchez.

Uh any further discussion?

Seeing none.

All those in favor?

Excuse me.

Hold on a second.

We're not done yet.

Yes, we're not yes, thank you.

Um it's been it's been seconded and uh and voted.

The motion carries.

The motion passes.

Any further business?

Seeing none, is there a motion to adjourn?

So moved it has been moved and seconded.

All those in favor, the A se have it.

The motion carries this meeting is adjourned.

Thank you very much.