Gov. Dan McKee (D-RI) could sign a three-year ban on new charter schools to appease unions, or he could side with the families he promised to protect five years ago. He has three days left to decide.
But the governor may capitulate. McKee wants unions’ help for his perilous reelection campaign. Unions’ public support, lobbying, and campaign donations helped the moratorium’s passage through the General Assembly.
Democrat Valarie Lawson, who brings bills to the floor as Senate president, received over $36,000 in direct campaign donations from teachers union PACs since 2017. Her popularity with unions isn’t surprising, though. Why wouldn’t the National Education Association Rhode Island political action committee and its affiliates shower its own president with $21,450 in campaign donations? She also earns an annual salary of more than $180,000 as NEARI’s top official, according to lobbying disclosures.
Somehow, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission greenlit Lawson’s dual roles as state Senate and union president. And last week, she voted for the charter school moratorium.
Her vote may not be a conflict of interest in the Ethics Commission’s eyes, but her organization advocated for the moratorium in its official legislative agenda. NEARI’s in-house lobbyist, Alexander Lucini, filed written testimony in support of the charter expansion ban for both House and Senate education committees.
Worse, NEARI’s PAC and its affiliates have donated to all charter school moratorium bill sponsors in the General Assembly, except for Sen. Samuel Zurier and Rep. Robert Phillips. NEARI-PACE, NEARI’s main PAC, has donated $24,250 to Lawson, House and Senate education committee chairs Joseph McNamara and Hannah Gallo, and bill sponsors since 2020.
To her credit, Lawson disclosed NEARI’s “issue-dependent” lobbying operation to the ethics body. Still, the Washington Examiner asked the commission if Lawson sought additional guidance about participating in the moratorium vote, given Lucini’s involvement.
Senate Bill 2787 sponsors received a combined total of $54,650 from select teachers unions reviewed by the Washington Examiner, with the House Bill 7415 sponsors receiving $44,850. About half of these sponsors’ campaign donations were logged in the last six years.
Sen. Melissa Murray and Rep. Mary Messier, the primary authors of the twin bills, received consistent donations from unions. Notably, Rep. Katherine Kazarian and Sen. Ryan Pearson each received more than $7,000 since the pandemic. Sen. Ryan Pearson cosponsored the 2021 Senate charter school moratorium bill, as well.
McKee promised to veto that moratorium. He said there was “no room for compromise” at the time. Why is he unsure now?
McKee’s about-face began when NEARI-PACE started donating three months after he strongly defended charter schools. Campaign finance records show he received $5,750 from NEARI-PACE and affiliated NEA PACs, including a $500 donation in January.
Families aren’t happy, and for good reason.
Rhode Island’s charter schools are among the most effective charters in the nation. Students earn an additional 90 days in reading instruction and 88 days in math, compared to their traditional public school peers.
WILL DAN MCKEE SACRIFICE RHODE ISLAND’S CHILDREN TO SAVE HIS CAREER?
Parents took note. Over 9,300 children applied for 3,170 available seats in the 2025-2026 school year. Many students spend years on waitlists, trapped in public schools that often dismiss their needs. Almost 60% of parents oppose a moratorium on charter schools.
Will McKee seek the support of unions over parents? Unfortunately for Rhode Island families, the union money behind the state’s charter school crackdown may have sealed the answer “no.”