Despite the unprecedented stress placed on Rhode Island’s budget due to the COVID-19 crisis, I am proud the General Assembly has maintained its deep commitment to public education in the supplemental budget recently signed into law.

This budget, which closed a revenue shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, still contained an additional $50 million for public schools distributed through the federal coronavirus relief fund. Representing Cranston, I am pleased the budget included an additional $2.76 million for our city’s schools.

Under the leadership of Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, a fellow Cranston resident, the state and our community have benefited enormously from his focus on school funding. Since becoming Speaker in March 2014, the state funding for Cranston public schools has grown from $47 million to $68.4 million.

The $25 million in added school aid under Speaker Mattiello’s leadership over the past six years represents average annual increases of over 8 percent, which is 10 times the increase from the city coffers in those years, which has been less than 1 percent. There is no doubt that this robust state support has allowed Cranston to keep its tax rate stable.

The city’s combined increase of only $4.6 million, under Mayor Allan Fung, fell far short of amounts requested by the Cranston School Committee, which sought $13.9 million.

Under the leadership of Speaker Mattiello, the General Assembly’s support for public education has gone far beyond the extraordinary increases in state funding to cities and towns, which has amounted to an additional $236 million statewide in six years. Recent budgets have included funding to enable Cranston and every community to expand to all-day kindergartens, increase pre-kindergarten programs, and provide support for English language learners.

The General Assembly also set the state for an unprecedented state investment in school building improvements so that all schools, including those in Cranston, are eligible for enhanced support to provide a healthy and effective learning environment. This commitment came with a $250 million school construction bond the voters approved in 2018 to help cover a portion of the cost.

Within the last few years, the legislature created a permanent reimbursement process for school security projects and ensured that all Rhode Island schools adopt school safety plans. Speaker Mattiello and Senator Hanna Gallo sponsored a law creating threat assessment teams within every school in the state. With his leadership, the Assembly enacted major statewide education reform last year that brings comprehensive changes to curriculum, fast tracks the principal certification process, and provides for greater school-based management. These initiatives will enable our students to be better prepared to develop the appropriate skills to succeed in higher education and in the ever-changing work world.

The General Assembly is collaborating with the Department of Education to address the many challenges of re-opening our schools in late August.

As a member of the House of Representatives since 1993, I provide an experienced perspective from both the City of Cranston and our state. All of our citizens can be assured that Speaker Mattiello has a deep commitment to public education.

Rep. Robert B. Jacquard, D-Dist. 17, is a Democrat from Cranston.