The school committee elected as provided in chapter 2 shall have and perform all the powers and duties conferred or imposed on school committees by the laws of the State of Rhode Island. It shall have authority to spend in its discretion such sums as may be appropriated by the council for the support of the schools. If the sum so appropriated is greater or less than the sum requested the school committee shall at once proceed to revise its estimate of expenditure to accord with the sum allowed and prior to the beginning of the fiscal year shall file with the director of finance such revised estimate summarized by the principal objects of expenditure into which school accounts are required to be broken down by the state department of education. These items shall be treated by the director of finance for the purpose of accounting control of school expenditures as separate appropriations within which school expenditures must be contained, provided that transfers between these items may be made at any time by the school committee on certification by the director of finance that a sufficient unencumbered balance is available in the item from which the transfer is proposed. The members of the school committee shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties which may include expenses of travel to educational meetings and conferences within or without the State of Rhode Island.
[1]
Editor's note: This section was validated by chapter 183 of the Public Laws 1963.
The school committee at its first meeting in January of each odd numbered year shall elect one of its number to be chairperson for the ensuing two years. In the absence of the chairperson it shall choose a chairperson for that meeting from among the members present. It shall fill any vacancy in the office of chairperson for the unexpired portion of the term. All meetings of the school committee shall be open to the public and no action shall be taken by the committee except in a public meeting and the vote of its members on all motions except those of a purely procedural character shall be by roll call and the yeas and nays shall be entered in the official record of the committee proceedings; provided that the school committee may by the affirmative vote of five of its members authorize consideration in a closed meeting of but not a vote upon any matter within its jurisdiction. Every collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Cranston School Committee must be presented to the Cranston City Council for ratification by a majority vote of the full City Council.
(Approved at referendum 11/3/1998; Res. No. 2010-25, §§ 1, 2, 4/26/2010, approved at referendum 11/2/2010)
[1]
Editor's note: This section was validated by chapter 183 of the Public Laws of 1963.
All collective bargaining agreements negotiated between the School Committee and any labor organization must contain a fiscal impact analysis for each fiscal year of the proposed agreement, which must include all anticipated step increases in addition to any contractual pay increases and cannot be voted on by the School Committee until at least one public hearing is held prior to the Committee's vote on the agreement. The proposed agreement and fiscal impact analysis must be made public, including posting on the School Department's website, at least 72 hours prior to a scheduled vote.
No collective bargaining agreement shall become effective unless and until ratified by a majority vote of all members of the Cranston City Council by Ordinance. Each contract, before submission to the City Council, must contain a fiscal impact analysis for each fiscal year of the proposed agreement and must include, and at least one public hearing shall be held prior to City Council ratification of any contract. The proposed agreement and fiscal impact analysis must be made public, including posting on the City's website, at least 72 hours prior to a vote for ratification.
Any collective bargaining agreement which fails to comply with the posting, hearing or ratification requirements of this Section will be null and void and unenforceable.
(Res. No. 2010-43, §§ 1, 2, 5/24/2010, approved at referendum 11/2/2010)
In order to secure effective coordination between the city government as represented by the mayor and the council, and the school committee, in the planning, construction, reconstruction and enlargement of school buildings and other facilities required for school purposes, there is hereby established a committee to be known as the school buildings committee to consist of seven members as follows:
(a) 
Two members of the city council designated from time to time by vote of a majority of all its members;
(b) 
Two members of the school committee designated from time to time by a vote of a majority of all its members;
(c) 
The director of public works or in the director's absence, the chief engineer of the department of public works;
(d) 
The superintendent of schools or in the superintendent's absence an employee of the school committee designated by the superintendent;
(e) 
A qualified elector of the city appointed by the mayor for a term of two years from the first Monday in January of each odd numbered year, any vacancy to be filled by the mayor for the unexpired portion of the term.
The person appointed by the mayor shall be the chairperson of the committee and its secretary shall be an employee of the school committee designated by the superintendent of schools.
Nothing herein shall be taken to relieve the school committee from making a continuing study of the building needs of the schools. It shall make available all the information in its possession to the school buildings committee which is also specifically authorized to obtain tentative estimates of cost from the engineering division of the department of public works. Prior to the first day in February of each year the school buildings committee shall file with the director of finance and the city plan commission the list of projects it recommends to be undertaken in the ensuing fiscal year and in the next four fiscal years. If the capital budget as adopted by the council includes any project or projects for the construction or reconstruction or enlargement of school buildings or other facilities required for school purposes the school buildings committee shall act as the sponsor of such project or projects and within the limits of the overall cost thereof as fixed by the council shall have authority to determine in detail the character of each project. It shall be the duty of the engineering division of the department of public works to cooperate fully with the school buildings committee whose approval shall be necessary to the employment of consulting architects. No contract for the whole or any part of any project under its jurisdiction shall be advertised for bids unless the school buildings committee has accepted the plans and specifications therefor. The school buildings committee shall act only by the affirmative vote of at least four of its members.
(Approved at referendum 11/3/1998)
[1]
Editor's note: This section was validated by chapter 183 of the Public Laws of 1963.
There shall be a department of parks and recreation which shall consist of the director of parks and recreation, such other officers and employees as may be prescribed by ordinance, and the advisory committee on parks and recreation. It shall have power to:
(a) 
Acquire by gift or with the approval of the council by lease or purchase and within the limits of appropriations and other available funds to establish, develop, construct, equip, maintain, control and operate parks, reservations, gardens, memorial sites and squares, buildings dedicated to the memory of individuals or groups, playgrounds, playfields, stadia, swimming pools, and all types of recreational facilities and the appurtenances incidental to their use and enjoyment by the public;
(b) 
Plan, direct and conduct recreational programs for all age groups;
(c) 
Adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with the ordinances of the city governing the use of its grounds and facilities, provided that no charge shall be made for such use nor any concession granted to any commercial enterprise therein except when specifically authorized by ordinance.
It shall have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by ordinance.
The department of parks and recreation is hereby authorized to accept gifts of money or land when donated for the purpose of advancing the progress of its program. The department of parks and recreation may from time to time with the consent of the school committee use any school buildings, grounds and facilities in connection with its recreational program; provided that all facilities within school buildings shall be subject to the supervision of the school committee. The departments of parks and recreation and public works may under the direction of the mayor enter into agreements for the use of materials, manpower and equipment when the same shall be of advantage to the city.
The director of parks and recreation shall be a person trained and experienced in recreation activities and in the administration of public recreation. The director of parks and recreation shall be appointed and removed by the mayor as provided in section 5.02. The director of parks and recreation shall appoint and remove subject to the provisions of chapter 14 all other officers and employees of the department and subject to the supervision and control of the mayor the director shall direct all its activities.
(Approved at referendum 11/3/1998)
From and after the effective date of this Charter there shall be an advisory committee on parks and recreation consisting of one member of the city council, one member of the school committee, and one member of the city plan commission, appointed biennially in the month of January by a majority vote of the members of each of these bodies, respectively, and six qualified electors of the city known to be interested in the development of parks and recreation program facilities, appointed by the mayor for overlapping terms of three years. Any vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term in the same manner as the original appointment was made. The mayor shall designate in January of each year one of the members appointed by the mayor to be chairperson of the committee. The members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The director of parks and recreation shall designate an employee of the department to act as its secretary.
The advisory committee on parks and recreation shall hold its first meeting at the call of the director of parks and recreation and shall adopt rules for the conduct of its business and fix the time and place of regular meetings to be held at least once in every three months. It shall be the duty of the director of parks and recreation to discuss with the committee the operating budget requests the director proposes to make and the projects the director proposes to include in the capital budget and capital improvement program, and all other matters which the director of parks and recreation or the members of the committee shall deem advisable. No rules or regulations affecting the use of the facilities of the department by the public shall be promulgated by the director unless and until they have been first presented to the advisory committee for its consideration. The functions of the committee, however, shall be purely advisory and the responsibility for all decisions shall rest solely with the director.