The (non?) reversal was more of a whimper than a bang, because it contained significant caveats. But those who see a sustainable future for the corridor should press the governor to stick to her commitments going forward.

Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition activist Alex Krogh-Grabbe asked the governor what she would do on 6/10 around 5:00.

Gov. Raimondo said that if the City of Providence completes its public forums within the 60 day time frame she has outlined, she will honor their plan, so long as it is affordable and does not create safety issues for the bridges by delaying work.

The governor also gave herself breathing room for the future in laying out a caveat around traffic management.

While RIDOT officials have described the 6/10 boulevard as a traffic impediment, it’s clear that it would not be. The famed Champs Elysées in Paris carries as many cars as 6/10, while also accommodating 500,000 pedestrians a day.

Think about this highway boosters: Paris’ famed Champs-Elysees handles same traffic volume as 6-10 Connector.https://t.co/XIMM6hdrAU

— katherine gregg (@kathyprojo) August 31, 2016

Even more impressively, the city of Seoul, South Korea removed a raised highway above the Cheongyecheon River. At 160,000 cars a day, the Cheongyecheon Freeway carried 60% more cars than the 6/10 Connector, but Seoul didn’t even replace it with a boulevard. They just created a river park.

#Seoul view: Former highway with 160K cars/day, now a park with 75K visitors & 113K new jobs along it: pic.twitter.com/mn0KkE19Il

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) April 23, 2015

The irony might be pressing as is, if it weren’t for the fact that Seoul officials sent observers to Providence before redesigning their highway, in order to see Waterplace Park– essentially the eastern edge of Route 6.

The reality is that traffic engineers have understood since the 1970s that urban highways create their own traffic mire, and that removing them does not worsen traffic congestion. The trick is getting RIDOT to admit this known fact. It’s hard to convince a person of something when their salary depends on them not understanding it.

Mayor Elorza will continue to take public feedback in order to aid his Planning Department in pushing for a boulevard. If you have something to share, please send your thoughts to 610connector@providenceri.gov.

Update:

Through spokesman Mike Raia, Raimondo’s office backed away from its statement to Krogh-Grabbe, saying it did not reverse its position on the need to repair overpasses on the 6/10 connector immediately, thus ending the debate on replacing it with a boulevard instead.

“She hasn’t backed away from her announcement, as RI Future is reporting,” said Raia. “This is a public safety decision. We are not considering a boulevard.”

Raia added:

“[The governor] announced three things:

“Move forward immediately with an in-kind replacement of the Huntington Ave bridge.

“Immediately start quarterly inspections of all the bridges.

“Reached an agreement with Mayor Elorza for his public input process to conclude quickly to allow RIDOT to issue RFPs by the end of the year.

“She said during the presser and again on Channel 10 that she is willing to consider modifications to a simple replace in kind for the remaining bridges as long as they do not cause any additional delay (these modifications might include a bike lane, BRT, a future project to connect 10N with 6W).”

~~~~

At a news conference today, Raimondo said the boulevard idea is dead because emergency repairs to seven of nine bridges over the 6/10 connector need to be fast-tracked.  But Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza disagrees, according to his new communications director Emily Crowell.

“Not at all,” Crowell said when asked if the mayor agrees with the governor that the boulevard idea is unfeasible because of the emergency repairs the announced today. “We’re not abandoning the idea to make the 6/10 connector multi-modal.”

Raimondo and Department of Transportation Executive Director Peter Alviti announced that the 6/10 connector needs emergency repairs. Those emergency repairs, they both said, effectively take off the table the grassroots idea to turn the 6/10 connector into a boulevard instead of repairing it. The repairs to the Huntington Avenue bridge need to be finalized in 60 days.

Elorza spoke at the State House event today.

“We can invest these dollars in a way that ensures the public safety of this roadway and also enhances the livability of this entire corridor,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to advocate for the smartest investment of these dollars to move the city and the state forward and that is what we will be doing at the table alongside RIDOT and the governor’s office to advance this project.”

Raimondo and Alviti were unequivocal that the emergency repairs means the boulevard idea is off the table.

“We have to move immediately, so some options are closed” said Raimondo, when asked about the boulevard idea. “The time is out for debate. It’s time for action. I would love to be able to take a longer process but I don’t have that option.”

Alviti said, “Hypothetical plans or other scenarios could be explored in the world of theory but in the world of reality we are facing we now need to address this structurally deficient problem.”

Raimondo added that just because the boulevard idea can’t be done doesn’t mean some smart growth measures are off the table for the highway that cuts through the west side of Providence. “We’re going to take the next couple months to listen and if there are opportunities to put in a bike lane, we will listen.”

Raimondo and Alviti said that seven of the nine bridges over the 6/10 connector are “structurally deficient.” Because the problem is more severe than initially thought, these repairs are being fast-tracked.

“Not only is the bridge defunct,” said Alviti, “but the plan to fix the bridge is defunct.” He said the 6/10 connector bridge repair have been in the works for 30 years, but they have also been without funding for 30 years.

Simultaneously, a grassroots effort to replace the 6/10 highway connector with a boulevard was gaining momentum. James Kennedy, a regular RI Future contributor who has been covering the 6/10 boulevard idea, took to Twitter to criticize the announcement.

The assembled crowd of 200 people at Tuesday night’s 6/10 Connector community meeting were unequivocal: no highway should be rebuilt along the corridor. It found a receptive if demur audience in Providence Planning Department and Mayor Jorge Elorza. RIDOT and Governor Gina Raimondo’s Office appear to be the only agencies backing the highway rebuild after the loss of a federal grant for the billion dollar project.

https://twitter.com/TransportPVD/status/770769768815132672

RI Future has been among several area publications that have called on Mayor Elorza to take a more direct stance on the project. While the mayor’s office has clearly favored a boulevard approach to 6/10, it hasn’t yet sought direct conflict with RIDOT or Governor Raimondo’s office. Following the rejection of a federal grant RIDOT intended to use towards part of the 6/10 corridor, statements from the agency have focused on the dire need to complete the highway rebuild with a minimum of public input. Read past coverage Tear It Down: Pictures of Our Potential 6/10 Future The Drivers’ Argument for the Boulevard On Tuesday night, Mayor Elorza did not seek direct conflict with the agency, but did refer to the 6/10 Connector as “really a Disconnector”, a sign of his preferences. In a Projo report leading up to the Providence meeting, RIDOT spokesperson Charles St. Martin bristled in his emailed response to questions on the project:

As we stated before, we cannot continue to postpone this work,” wrote DOT spokesman Charles St. Martin in an email. “Thanks to the passage of Rhodeworks, Rhode Island has $400 million in committed state and federal funding to draw from to address the Route 6-10 interchange. RIDOT is evaluating its options to tackle this problem and will soon present a recommendation for next steps. No decisions have been made at this time.”

This brings us to an important question: When is Gov. Raimondo’s office going to see the writing on the wall and redirect the agencies under her charge to better priorities? The assembled crowd was almost unanimous in its priorities. The process sat small groups at tables to outline ideas and present them. Each group, to the one, came up with some form or other of the following priorities:

• New housing
• Non-displacement of current residents while bringing in new residents
• Better outreach & a more welcoming process for Latino residents
• A full and complete bike and pedestrian network
• More green space
• Rapid transit to connect Providence within and without its city borders
• No highway

The groups varied in how they phrased these goals, but each group essentially outlined the same things. Notable about the meeting was the presence of individuals from communities like Cranston, Pawtucket, and Central Falls, whose citizens might have been more inclined to favor a highway than those having one built next to them. But those from outside Providence also favored the boulevard option. Among the attendees was Cranston at-large city council candidate Kate Aubin, who has made removing the 6/10 Connector a central tenet of her candidacy.

https://twitter.com/TransportPVD/status/770764144735838208

While Aubin is running on a progressive ticket, conservative Rhode Islanders also attended, questioning the priority of rebuilding 6/10 as-is. Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity’s Lawrence Gilheeney tweeted:

also, here's some pictures of last nights forum pic.twitter.com/mx3FGwvePa

— Larry Gillheeney (@LGillheeney) August 31, 2016

More pointedly, Brian Bishop, of the taxpayers’ rights group OSTPA spoke to the unnecessary waste of rebuilding the highway, drawing the night’s first laughter and applause:

https://twitter.com/TransportPVD/status/770775028090613760

Bishop, who owns properties on the East Side as well as a farm in Coventry, said that he was a “car person” and that others “can handle the bikes,” a friendly jab at non-OSTPA member Hugo Bruggeman, who held the table’s priority list and spoke to bike infrastructure like his home in the Netherlands. Bishop described the highway “hybrid” that RIDOT has been pushing over the Providence Planning-preferred boulevard as “brought to you by the same people who want to rebuild it again.” The audience roared with laughter at RIDOT’s expense.

With federal grants figured into the mix, RIDOT’s hybrid-highway proposal would have cost upwards of 80% of toll funds. Without that funding, it’s quite possible that rebuilding the highway as-is could put all other state projects on the back burner. Conservatives like Bishop and liberals like Aubin equally question the validity of this priority, despite living outside the city.

Which brings us back to a pointed question: Who exactly does favor the 6/10 Connector as a highway, other than RIDOT and Gov. Raimondo’s office? As a more politically diverse coalition coalesces around opposition to the plan, Gov. Raimondo is going to have to make some decisions soon.

~~~~

Correction: A previous version of this article erroneously named Lawrence Gilheeney’s group the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Progress. It is the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity. No doubt a liberal Freudian slip on my part. . . :-) Corrected.

In Newport, Raimondo spoke at the annual conference of the Southern New England Defense Industry Alliance, a sort of chamber of commerce for the military industrial complex in southern New England. “We need to focus on what we are good at and we are good at defense,” Raimondo told the group at the Newport Hyatt Regency Hotel on Goat Island.

The defense sector is an important economic engine for Rhode Island, to be sure. According to a 2014 report from SENEDIA, there are more than 32,000 defense-related jobs in Rhode Island – about 6 percent of all jobs in the state. But there are obvious downsides to profiting from warfare. Providence-based Textron is the last North American company to still make cluster bombs and these controversial weapons of war are sold to Saudi Arabia and have been used on civilians in Yemen, for example.

“Of course we wish we lived in a world where this isn’t necessary,” Raimondo told me after her speech. “I wish there was no need for any of this. It’s an issue that I think we all grapple with. But the reality is we live in a very unsafe world, so it’s our job to protect our people.”

Later in the day, Raimondo went to Westerly to welcome Ivory Ella, a clothing company, to Rhode Island. The online retailer that employs about 40 people was convinced to relocate from Groton, Connecticut to Westerly with the help of $362,000 in tax credits from Raimondo’s Commerce Corporation.

“My good day today is not a good day for the governor of Connecticut,” Raimondo said to me.

“But,” she added a little later on in our conversation, “I hear your point.”

The point is that when one state pays a company to relocate there, it is also paying that business to damage another state’s economy. There’s been much written and said about states poaching jobs from one another – the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Providence Journal have each documented the downside of the practice.

Raimondo said it isn’t her job as governor of Rhode Island to worry about other state’s economic hardships.

“I’m elected by the people of Rhode Island to take care of Rhode Islanders,” she told me. “I’ve got a mission and my mission is to expand opportunity here.”

In some ways it’s great that Rhode Island has a thriving military industrial complex. And in some ways it’s great that we can poach jobs from Connecticut. But in the grand scheme of things these both seem like bad long term investments for our society, if not our economy. Unless, of course, you assume the United States and Rhode Island will always be at war with other parts of the world, including Connecticut.

“We find it woefully disappointing that there was not even one African American included among the recent graduates,” he wrote in a letter to Governor Gina Raimondo about the racial disparity of new state police troopers. “Even more so when considering that, of the original 1,500 people who applied, there must surely have been more than two who were qualified.”

He added, “While it is fully recognized that there is currently a strong disconnect between the law enforcement community and communities of color in all areas of the country, it must also be accepted that this disconnect becomes more stringent when those who are sworn to protect the community do not reflect the makeup of the community.”

Wilson and the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers have been imploring Rhode Island police departments to hire more people of color since February of 2015. The Providence Police Department is one of the least racially diverse police departments in the nation, RI Future first reported in December, 2014.

Raimondo agreed with the criticism.

In a statement she said, “I share their disappointment and agree, we need more diversity in law enforcement. It is clear to me that we have more work to do to ensure that our State Police force reflects the diversity of the Rhode Island community. This is a top priority for me. I’ve directed Col. O’Donnell to continually enhance the State Police’s recruitment and training efforts to ensure that future academy graduations reflect a greater level of diversity. It’s our hope that some of our new initiatives, including our State Police Diversity Academy, a free 6 week training program, will help to address this issue. I will hold my team and the State Police accountable for this concerted effort.”

In his letter, Wilson indicated that actions will speak louder than words.

Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea described it as “the most progressive platform ever put forward by an American political party.” Sen. Bernie Sanders said, “Our job now is to see that platform implemented by a Democratically controlled Senate [and] a Democratically controlled House.” Yet one small detail might have Gov. Gina Raimondo nervous.

In between verbiage about public college and healthcare in the proposed Democratic Party platform is a small passage that deals directly with pensions.

Democrats believe it should be easier for Americans to save for retirement and prepare for unforeseen risks and expenses. We will defend the right of workers to collect their defined benefit pensions and make sure workers get priority and protection when pension plans are in distress. Democrats will also fight to protect the earned pension benefits of Americans in multi-employer pension plans. And we will fight against any attempt by Republicans in Congress or on Wall Street to roll back the Conflict of Interest Rule, which requires that retirement advisors put the best interests of their clients above their own financial gain.

In layman’s terms, the Democratic Party publicly rebuked the exact kind of pension reform Raimondo pushed in Rhode Island.

Defined benefit pensions were the norm for Rhode Island public sector retirees until Raimondo introduced the concept of the “defined contribution” plan in her signature overhaul of the state pension system in 2011.

This is a strong rebuttal to the Raimondo-flavor of Democrats, fiscal conservatives that used to define John Chafee’s version of Republican Party politics.

If you or someone you know is a pensioner, consider becoming an Associate member of Rhode Island Retired Teachers Association to support their efforts.

Click Here To Download The Membership Enrollment Form For RIRTA and Support Pension Sustainability!

Donate Today to RIRTA!

And even if you are not involved with the fund, you still can donate to this group and help fund their efforts. Donations (checks preferred, made out to RIRTA- memo line LDF) can be mailed to PO Box 7631, Warwick, RI 02887 or sent via PayPal (see below).

The cancellation of pensioner COLAs was supposed to help the fund return the fund to solvency. But even with retirees having no retirement income, the fund has yet to reach 80 percent funding due to outrageous fees and continued mismanagement.

When Raimondo began her efforts, she held a series of public forums that hindered the ability of pensioners to vocalize their objections. This led to a great deal of heartache for those who had done honest work all their life and were given a muzzle and austerity policy in return for public sector service. But now it is plain that, in the long run, it is Raimondo who has just gotten silenced.

Does this open room for better fiscal management of the fund by Treasurer Seth Magaziner now? Will the pension fund have its solvency and security insured through divestment from high-risk, high-fee hedge funds and a dismally under-performing real estate portfolio? Following Raimondo’s failure to deliver the Ocean State for Clinton in last spring’s primary, could this be another nail in the coffin of a political career built on misrepresentation and misappropriation? Could this small item be the location of post-electoral grassroots mobilizing?

Only time will tell.

“I am calling all of them” Raimondo said, according to a Providence Journal story. “I am saying to them we are a place of openness and tolerance in Rhode Island and it is a progressive place to start a business.”

PayPal is on the list, Raimondo spokeswoman Marie Aberger told RI Future. “The Governor is constantly reaching out to pitch businesses looking to move or expand, and is reaching out to PayPal to urge them to take a look at Rhode Island now that they have cancelled plans in NC,” she said in an email.

PayPal planned to move 400 jobs to Charlotte, North Carolina but rescinded after North Carolina passed a highly controversial law that strips discrimination protections for LGBTQ people and requires people to use public bathrooms that correspond to their birth gender. Other states, such as Montana, have already contacted PayPal.

While Raimondo touted Rhode Island’s progressive values, she has yet to issue a public sector travel ban to North Carolina, according to the Providence Journal. “I don’t oppose [a travel ban] per se, it’s just that there are many ways to show your support for [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] issues and we are taking other steps,” Raimondo said according to the Providence Journal. “Other states are doing it as a gesture, a symbol to take a stand against that intolerance. We in Rhode Island are going to take a stand against it by showing that this is a place that embraces all people and is a place of freedom and tolerance.”

Connecticut, New York, Vermont, Washington and Minnesota have all banned state sponsored travel to North Carolina, citing their inability to ensure the civil liberties of its employees and citizens in the Tar Heel state.

“I learned today of an excellent opportunity to draw a high profile, internationally recognized company to our state,” Nardolillo wrote in a letter to Governor Gina Raimondo that he tweeted to reporters last night. “PayPal withdrew its plans to create a global operations center in Charlotte, N.C. citing the state’s enactment of legislation that ‘invalidates the protections of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens and denies these members of our community equal rights under the law.'”

North Carolina passed a highly controversial law last week that broadly strips any legal protections for LGBTQ people and prevents transgender people from using a public bathroom that doesn’t correspond with their birth gender. Corporate America responded by rebuking the right leaning state for being behind the times.

We are joining @HRC, @EqualityNC and more than 80 other companies calling for the repeal of #HB2.

— Bank of America News (@BofA_News) March 30, 2016

PayPal took action, deciding to scrap its plans to bring 400 jobs to a proposed global operations center in Charlotte. “The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture. As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion in Charlotte,” according to a statement from PayPal President Dan Schulman Monday.

Veterans are fierce, persistent against all odds, and amazing leaders. Sure, not all veterans are the same, but a majority of vets are exceptional with whatever they pour their energy into, whether it’s fixing diesel engines or running a Fortune 100 company. A vision for the future of the Division of Veterans Affairs has to be equally bold. When I think “bold,” I think of Bobby Kennedy’s powerful declaration:

“There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why… I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”

‘Why not?’ is like a mental palate cleanser, one that will suit us well. I’d invite you, for a moment, to forget everything you think you know about how things work in state government and even what you may believe about veterans – and let’s start with a clean slate.

• This is the 2nd part of a three-part series on veteran’s affairs in RI.
  • Part 1: After 125 years, RI veterans will finally get a director

First, let’s think about the people of the RI Division of Veterans Affairs, or the VetAffairs team as I’ll call them. The division has to be a lean team with some of the most dynamic, engaging, and creative Rhode Islanders around. They’d be beyond committed to veterans and their families and have a deep appreciation for everyone in the National Guard, Reserves, and Active Duty force who live in our state. You’d hear their enthusiasm and commitment in the tone of their voice, a warmth and sincerity as they talk about why they joined the VetAffairs team.

The organization would become agile, responsive, and super connected to every town and city in the state. If you’re a veteran, you’d know someone on the team or at least follow them on Twitter (yes, I said Twitter, @RIVeterans does exist). Above all else, the team would be facilitators, connectors, and community builders.

Second, services provided by the division need to match the pressing issues of our time. The Division can no longer be a resource hub; it must become a platform for human capital development. Its core competency will be taking the unique assets each veteran brings back to the state and leveraging this talent in the local economy to foster small businesses, cutting edge research, and new jobs. The veterans will do the heavy lifting, while the VetAffairs team will empower them by accelerating their transition to civilian life (see Part Three in the series, next week!).

The RI Department of Labor & Training and local non-profits in the state must realize a real-time, fluid collaboration with the VetAffairs team to synchronize veteran’s aspirations with mentors, leaders in business, technology, education, and healthcare. Veterans who graduate from Rhode Island universities will stay here, infusing local industry with a powerful combination of millennial entrepreneurship and veteran tenacity.

Embracing Rhode Island’s size, each one of the 72,000+ veterans of our state have to be brought to the table, to become solution designers and collaborators. Our focus is sometimes so strained on those who need assistance, the homeless or unemployed veteran, that we forget there are tens of thousands of veterans who are doing well in our state. For every veteran who is homeless in Rhode Island, there are 266 veterans with a place to call home. And for every veteran who’s unemployed, there are 16 that have a job. We need a charismatic team of expert communicators who can inspire a powerful veteran network of connectors and mentors. But why stop there? The success of a veteran’s transition can be multiplied by the success of the community around them. Remember the other 93.4% of Rhode Islanders who aren’t veterans. That’s a lot of personal and professional capital to jumpstart educational dreams, seed funding for startups, and long-term career planning for every vet who comes home to the Ocean State.

Why should we be so focused on accelerating a veterans’ transition from active duty? Over the next decade, millennials (post 9/11 veterans) will become 75 percent of the total workforce. Our success in harnessing their talent and leadership will directly impact the growth and health of our state’s economy as well as the long-term welfare of our veterans and their families. It’s also the quintessential preventive measure, nipping in the bud the negative consequences of a poor transition– negating many of the problems that typically consume media attention around veterans: strained mental health, unemployment, homelessness, etc. The Division of Veterans Affairs has the most crucial role to play in this preventative strategy, one that sets our veterans up for success and saves us all the costs of inaction or poor execution.

While there ought to be vigorous engagement with new veterans, older veterans are making a different, but hugely important transition too: retirement. Having worked as a psychologist with many veterans crossing this bridge, the significance and challenges of retirement cannot be underestimated. Most of these veterans can expect a complete reconfiguration of their lives, their identities, and changing health needs. Our primary responsibility to these veterans is assuring that those who are eligible and wish to receive their healthcare from the Providence VA Medical Center, get it reasonably quickly. The Providence VA has some of the most dedicated clinicians providing the highest quality care. The VetAffairs team must support a seamless enrollment process so vets can get that fantastic care. It starts by maintaining a strong, active collaboration with those who deliver healthcare to our veterans (Dr. MacKenzie, the Medical Center Director, and her entire staff).

Lastly, by 2017, the division will have an amazing home to offer nearly 200 older veterans. The new and improved Rhode Island Veterans Home promises to be one of the best assisted-living facilities for veterans in the nation. Yet, we need to go beyond offering veterans a state of the art residence. We need to offer the Rhode Island community a new cultural center.

I grew up on Roosevelt Drive in Bristol, a street that runs beside the Veterans Home. And even so, when I think of ‘veterans’ I don’t picture the Veterans Home. Instead, I think of the vets marching in formation or sitting on the back of slick, classic corvettes during the Bristol 4^th of July Parade. After investing $94 million into the home’s revitalization, part of it should be a gathering place where our state’s rich military history is not only told with engraved stones and markers, but by the people who actually lived it. Let’s create a convening space where our World War II, Korea, and Vietnam veterans are invited to share their stories and maintain a vibrant connection to the life of the Bristol community and broader state. Let’s showcase our deep naval roots and sea faring heritage. Let’s not, as a WWII resident at the Veterans Home recently cautioned, lose all of that history.

Some will read this article and think it unrealistic. There’s plenty of cynicism to go around these days, especially about what government can do – and the Division of Veterans Affairs is part of state government. But I’ve never bought into the cynicism. If there is any part of government that has the potential to deserve your trust and confidence, it is the VetAffairs team – comprised of veterans empowering veterans, a rock solid recipe for efficiency, accountability, and tremendous social impact. Rhode Island is positioned to lead the nation in fast tracking its veterans’ success. Let’s get it done.

This is part two of a three part series.

• Part 1: After 125 years, RI veterans will finally get a director

Next week we will explore some little known challenges that the state will face implementing this plan, and how to overcome them.

Governor Gina Raimondo announced today she is organizing a working group to review the state’s education funding formula.

“After five years, it is time to for a fresh look to review our education funding structure,” she said in a press release sent out today. “A significant part of jumpstarting our economy and creating opportunity for everyone is making sure our kids have access to the best education. Rhode Island has a strong formula and it is model for other states. However all key public policies benefit from regular review.”

State Education Commissioner Ken Wagner concurred, saying, “Now is the right time for another public conversation around the ways we fund children’s futures and about putting our dollars where our values are for the sake of our kids. The bottom line is: Everything we do has to be about supporting teaching and learning. If we’re doing something good, continue. If we’re getting in the way of teaching and learning, we have to be thoughtful and make tweaks. Investing in our classrooms and schools is an investment in the future of our economy and our state.”

Rhode Island didn’t have a formula for allocating state aid to school districts until just five years ago, when a fairly progressive plan that factors in “student enrollment, student poverty levels, and community wealth,” according to the press release. The current funding formula has been criticized as being overly generous to charter schools and not generous enough to poor urban schools.

According to the press release, Raimondo asked the working group to explore these themes:

• Fairness across school types: Our funding formula must be fair and supported by data.
• Flexibility and sufficiency: Our funding formula must enable prudent and sustainable flexibility at the district, school, and student levels.
• Responsiveness to unique needs: Our families, communities, and schools have unique needs, and the funding formula needs to account for and accommodate these unique needs.
• Fiscal responsibility: Our funding formula needs to direct resources to the areas in which they are needed most and the funding formula must encourage savings and efficiency whenever possible
• Improved Outcomes: Our funding formula needs to invest these resources wisely to ensure improved outcomes.

She appointed these members to the working group: