With Providence on the brink of bankruptcy (and everyone being asked to “tighten their belt”) it stands to reason that every budgeter re-examine their priorities.

• Mayor Taveras’ School Department will close the Messer School while taxpayers invest nearly $20 million in police and prisons for the West End.
• While students of the Flynn Elementary School will be closed, the neighborhood of Upper South Providence will invest another $17 million in police and prisons.
• Teachers at Windmill Street Elementary will look for new jobs, while the neighborhoods of Wanskuck and Charles will absorb over $13 million tax dollars on police and prisons.
• While students from West Broadway Elementary squeeze into other schools, Federal Hill will invest over $4 million in police and prisons.

The school closings are expected to save $12 million, while over $140 million is spent annually on arresting and incarcerating residents.

Read the full report:  Million Dollar Neighborhoods