Grant To Fix Doors, Secure Schools - Blocked

A safety concern for several years has been the condition of East Providence High School relative to doors, locks and windows that need replacing or repair. Prior security task forces have recommended that doors and door locks be replaced or repaired as well as a new intercom system which doesn't work. At about the time the state budget commission was put in place, the school department was in the process of submitting a request for a $40,000 school safety grant which would have been used for improvements at the city's three secondary schools. The budget commission, led at the time by Michael O'Keefe, froze all city financial operations. A requirement of the granting source was that the $40,000 federal grant would be reimbursable only. The city needed to show good faith by writing the check first and then it would be 100% reimbursed. This is not an uncommon procedure with federal grants. The budget commission would not approve the procedure. "We explained it to them (budget commission) and asked them to reconsider, but they wouldn't let us apply and the deadline passed. We never got that money," said high school plant manager, Anthony Faeola. Sources have indicated that the federal money might become available again and the city is now in the process of securing this funding. "We have a high school right now without a school wide intercom system. It's scary," said a school official not wishing to be identified for this article. The only way an announcement can be made in the high school is for a staff member to go to the second floor, in an old auditorium projection booth, where an "all-call" message can go out.