Providence Public Schools Superintendent Javier Montañez has put forward two building consolidation plans that would reshape four schools across the city, with construction aimed at wrapping up by 2029. One plan would merge Roger Williams Middle School with Young Woods Elementary School, keeping them in separate, newly renovated buildings. The other would combine Carnevale Elementary School with DelSesto Middle School into a single, fully renovated pre-K-8 campus at the current DelSesto site.
According to WPRI, the Roger Williams–Young Woods project is estimated to cost north of $110 million and would include 10 specialized pre-K classrooms or programs for high-needs students located near a registration center. As the Brown Daily Herald reports, the merger would create a pre-K hub for specialized instruction, adding dedicated classrooms, specialized support areas and accessible spaces, since Young Woods and Roger Williams both serve significantly higher percentages of special education students.
Grade Bands Would Shift at Young Woods and Roger Williams
Young Woods currently serves grades pre-K through 5, but under the proposal it would narrow to pre-K through 2, according to WJAR. Roger Williams, located less than a quarter-mile away, would then take on grades 3 through 8. The station reported that a few classrooms at Young Woods would be displaced, and Roger Williams students would move into a swing-space building during construction.
The second proposal centers on Carnevale, which currently houses grades pre-K through 5 but was found to have significant long-term structural settlement and contamination issues, per the Brown Daily Herald. Substantially renovating the building would require deep excavation and extensive contaminated-soil remediation, while the findings do not represent a new immediate safety concern. DelSesto, by contrast, is structurally sound and has some existing ability to accommodate students with higher needs.
A Cost Estimate That Depends on Who You Ask
Reported price tags for the Carnevale–DelSesto project diverge sharply depending on the source. WPRI reported the figure at closer to $55 million or $60 million, while WJAR reported that the district would have a budget of $117 million for the combined renovations of Roger Williams and Young Woods. Relocating Carnevale into a renovated DelSesto building could also save roughly $500,000 annually in operational and maintenance costs, per the Brown Daily Herald, and would help the district expand its pre-K-8 pathways.
DelSesto would be renovated to serve students in grades pre-K through 8, with improvements aimed at better serving students with higher needs. Both Roger Williams and DelSesto students would spend about two years each in swing spaces during construction, which WPRI reports is estimated to be complete in 2029.
Union Pushback Over Consultation and Framing
Providence Public Schools informed the Providence Teachers Union about the recommended Carnevale-DelSesto merger on August 28, but the union says it was not consulted during the plan's development, according to the Brown Daily Herald. PTU President Lindsay Paiva described the proposed changes as school closures rather than mergers, and called Carnevale one of the few barrier-free schools enrolling a large high-need student population.
The district says it developed the consolidation plans over several months through collaboration between Providence Public Schools, the city of Providence and the Rhode Island Department of Education. PPSD has already held more than 20 meetings with affected communities, including staff meetings at the two schools in September, and plans additional sessions with families and community members over the coming weeks, per the Brown Daily Herald.
Funding Deadlines and a Statewide Push for Bigger Schools
The push for consolidation ties into a broader $1 billion school improvement plan that aims to put all Providence students in new or like-new buildings by 2030. Montañez said more than 50% of the district's students are now in new or like-new facilities, up from just 5% when the work began, WPRI reported. The district adopted a strategy in 2022 that prioritizes bigger, newer schools through statewide financial incentives, according to the Brown Daily Herald.
Rhode Island Department of Education capital-project reimbursements typically cover 80% of project costs, but a state incentive will cover 91% if construction is substantially completed by June 30, 2029. Project delays would risk missing that reimbursement deadline, which the Brown Daily Herald reports could cost the city an additional $40 million. PPSD spokesperson Alex Torres-Perez has voiced support for the school board passing the proposal.
The consolidation debate arrives as Rhode Island's public-school enrollment continues to decline statewide, a trend that has put school closures on the table in districts across the state, according to Ocean State Media. Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green has said she expects school regionalization to become one of the state's dominant education issues in the near future, with rising per-pupil costs pushing more communities toward consolidation.
Montañez has described the proposed mergers as a critical step toward high-quality, modern learning environments for Providence students, per the Brown Daily Herald. The Providence School Board is expected to vote on the proposed consolidations at a meeting currently scheduled for October 21, though PPSD says it will continue coordinating with school leaders and construction staff and notify families of changes as they occur, aiming to minimize disruption to the school day while keeping students and staff safe.
