Dozens of Providence school teachers are losing their jobs.
District officials say 56 non-tenured educators will not have their contracts renewed next year because of financial constraints caused by expiring COVID relief funding.
Providence Teachers Union president Maribeth Calabro says the district should have done more to find an alternative funding source to support the teacher salaries.
“We could have tapped into other resources,” Calabro said. “We could have asked for grants. We could have spoken to the Rhode Island Foundation or whatever and found a funding stream that would have been more stabilized.”
The job cuts include seven school social workers and eight counselors, according to the district. Calabro says she’s concerned about how Providence students will be impacted by the loss of these positions.
“These particular jobs are so desperately needed in our post-COVID world,” Calabro said. “We’re seeing issues and concerns and mental health problems the likes of which we’ve never seen before in education.”
Providence Superintendent Javier Montanez says the district is facing a financial shortfall.
“These decisions are not easy and if we could take another course of action, we would,” Montañez said in an emailed statement. “Ultimately, as a district, we have to consider our financial realities and take a measured approach to lessen the impact of these reductions for our district.”
The job cuts are expected to save the district $4.3 million. The district has not announced if it intends to layoff additional teachers.
