House Finance Committee hears bill to rewrite Crowley Act funding rules after Providence takeover

House Finance Committee members on Wednesday heard hours of testimony on House Bill 5389, a measure introduced at the request of the city of Providence that would change how the state applies the Crowley Act in school takeovers, define a municipality’s funding obligation during intervention, and curtail the commissioner of elementary and secondary education’s power to withhold other state aid as an enforcement tool.

Supporters said the measure is meant to prevent future fiscal crises in cities subjected to state intervention and to provide predictable local obligations. Representative Slater, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the measure would “define what the host community's contribution is” and fix that contribution at 20% of levy growth rather than tying the local obligation to the statewide percentage increase in education aid. He said the bill also provides for appointment of a fiscal overseer to review spending during a takeover.

The case for…