The North Providence School Building Committee is committed to an inclusive, transparent process. As the project progresses, there will be considerable opportunities for public input and community engagement, including stakeholder surveys and public meetings. The project website has information to stay informed, such as relevant news articles, meeting agendas, minutes and video recordings of NP SBC meetings. The project website will be updated regularly as new information is available. NP SBC meetings are also posted regularly and open to the public. Please direct any further questions to the Project Email: northprovidenceschoolprojects@gmail.com

HS We are currently in year 2 (Stage III) of what is typically a 6 year, 4-stage process.

All work in the program is required by statute to be complete by December 2028.

Individual Project Forecast Completion Dates:

– North Providence High School Addition (Complete Fall, 2024)

– North Providence High School Auditorium (Complete Spring, 2023)

– North Providence Elementary School Replacement (Complete, Fall/Winter 2026)

– North Providence High School & Middle School Health & Safety Projects (Multiple Projects with completion dates in 2025/26/27).

The process began in the Winter/Spring of 2022 with an analysis of requirements and a comprehensive review of facility needs relating to physical space and educational programming. This work led to a successfully submitted Stage I application in September of 2022. Schematic design, cost estimating, and additional SBA compliance documentation required for Stage II was completed and submitted in February of 2023. The District is now moving forward with Stage III of the RIDE process, which is the full design of all facilities and procurement of construction professionals to perform the work. We expect this Phase of the project to be complete in less than a year. Once the Stage III is approved by RIDE, we will move into Stage IV, or the physical construction of the new buildings.

 The High School projects were scheduled to be built first based on constraints relating to funding and maximizing taxpayer value:

FUNDING: The HS Auditorium project is funded through the Rhode Island Department of Education’s Facility Equity Initiative, which requires that each project be substantially complete by June 30th of 2024.

COST REDUCATION: Combining the HS Auditorium Project with the HS Addition project represented a significant cost savings to the Town of North Providence, as we were able to reduce mobilization and supervision costs while increasing the overall size of the project (leading to more subcontractor competition). These projects, completed separately, would have been more expensive to build otherwise.

Greystone and Whelan will be demolished as part of this program after the new buildings are completed. Centerdale and it’s associated site are under consideration for a number of new uses including, but not limited to, a community center and recreational facilities.

There are a number of reasons that the Town of North Providence and NPSD’s are considering school consolidation, but the foremost concern  is providing an equitable education to every student in North Providence. A three school plan would have required significant value engineering (or scope reduction) in order to reduce the size (and therefore cost) of the schools. As such, the three new schools would not be equitable with the new Olney & McGuire schools.

There are several reasons why a 3 school model is cost prohibitive, but they all share ‘inefficiency‘ as a common thread. In the most general of terms, it is much cheaper to build a single two-story school as opposed to two, single story schools – this is reflected in the current Cost per Sqaure Foot estimates we have recieved from our partners ($765/sf vs. $965/sf). Some of the more prevalent reasons include sitework (three separate schools require site and utility work to be performed at all three locations), supervision (three job sites require supervisory and safety staff at each site), and the multiplication factor of expensive trade work (such as foundations) across three sites. 

The estimated total cost of the North Providence District-wide Construction program is approx. $125 Million. RIDE-SBA will reimburse the Town of North Providence for eligible project costs during construction. Base reimbursement rates are set by RIDE and are dependent upon various socioeconomic factors and community needs. North Providence receives a base (minimum) rate of 59.8%, so for every dollar spent on eligible project costs, the Town receives approx. 60 cents back from the State.

RIDE-SBA has also implemented various ‘bonuses’ which may allow the District to receive up to the maximum reimbursement rate of close to 80%. This project intends to plan, design, and build facilities that will incorporate as many eligible bonuses as possible to maximize the value of the investment by the Town of North Providence and its taxpayers. 

All costs not reimbursed by RIDE will be funded through the School Construction municipal bond that was approved by the voters of North Providence in 2022.

The North Providence SBC is charged with coordinating and facilitating the planning, design, and construction of North Providence Elementary Schools Replacement program. Members of the North Providence SBC, representing a diverse set of stakeholder interests, include elected officials, Town of North Providence appointed officials & staff, representatives of the North Providence School Department, and community members with relevant experience. 

The Town of North Providence is executing the performance of this work in partnership with RIDE-SBA.  RIDE-SBA is a quasi-independent government agency that funds capital improvement projects in the State of Rhode Island’s public schools.RIDE-SBA’s mission is to “ensure that all approved projects provide high quality learning environments, conserve natural resources, consume less energy, are easier to maintain, and provide educationally appropriate school facilities.” In order for any project to recieve aid (reimbursement) from the State, RIDE-SBA must be included in all phases of the work, from design to close-out.