Cranston City Council ratifies teacher and paraprofessional contracts

The Cranston City Council on July 28 voted unanimously to ratify two collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the Cranston School Committee with the Cranston Teachers Alliance.

Council Vice President Wall introduced Ordinance 07-25-01, which the city described as ratifying the school committee's agreement with the Cranston Teachers Alliance (teachers unit). A roll-call vote recorded every council member present voting yes. The council then approved Ordinance 07-25-02, ratifying a separate agreement with the Cranston Teachers Alliance paraprofessionals unit covering Sept. 1, 2025, through Aug. 31, 2028; that measure also passed on a unanimous roll call.

Why it matters: The council’s action implements negotiated pay and contract provisions for the city’s school employees after review by the finance committee and a special session. Supporters said the agreements take steps to bring local salaries closer to statewide averages and help stabilize staffing.

During the meeting the council read into the record a letter from Dominic Fusco, chair of the Cranston School Committee (Ward 3), who wrote that “These are fair and equitable contracts” and urged council approval. Fusco noted that members of the Cranston Teachers Alliance “made sacrifices in the previous agreement accepting only modest raises,” and wrote they “now deserve to be compensated in line with their peers across the state.”

Liz Larkin, president of the Cranston Teachers Alliance, spoke during public comment and thanked council members and school officials for moving the contracts forward. Larkin said union members had accepted constrained pay increases in recent years and described the ratified deals as a step toward retaining staff: “We went five years with zeros,” she said, noting past concessions and the difficulty of competing with neighboring districts.

Anthony Malillo, vice chair of the Cranston School Committee, also addressed the council to thank negotiators and school administration staff for what he called a “fair contract” and to acknowledge those who worked on the agreements.

The council’s roll-call votes listed the following members as voting yes: Councilman Campopiano; Councilman Bonanno; Councilwoman Graziano; Councilman Andujar; Councilman Ritz; Councilman Trappacanti; Councilman Traficante; Council Vice President Wall; and Council President Marino. The meeting record did not designate a named mover or seconder on the ordinances in the transcript.

The council also heard brief remarks from school administration representatives, including Joe Balducci, who attended the meeting to represent central administration.

The agreements were presented to the full council after being recommended for passage by the finance committee in a special meeting. Councilmembers who spoke in committee and on the floor praised the negotiators and framed the contracts as steps toward addressing pay disparities faced by Cranston educators.

Looking ahead: Council members and school committee representatives said future funding discussions could revisit other support measures for paraprofessional education reimbursement and related initiatives if additional resources become available.