RIPEC’s focused on key policy issues shaping Rhode Island’s future, including the state’s investment in K-12 education, property tax developments, and implications of the state’s new charter school moratorium
RIPEC on Public Policy
- RIPEC released a report analyzing Rhode Island’s K-12 spending and outcomes, finding that the state’s large investment ($3.66 billion) in K-12 has not yielded correspondingly high levels of student outcomes. The report found that the state’s per pupil spending level is 8th highest in the nation, but that wide variation exists in spending and outcomes across the state, including a misalignment between resources and student need. Many districts have not right-sized operations in response to steep enrollment declines, contributing to high spending levels and growing staffing ratios that have not clearly translated into improved student outcomes.
- Providence Business News, “RIPEC: State spends heavily on K-12 education, but student results lag”
- Ocean State Media, “Rhode Island spends high on education for middling return, new report says”
- What’s Up Newp, “RIPEC finds Rhode Island K-12 spending among nation’s highest, but student outcomes are middling”
- RIPEC released a report and accompanying video that found Rhode Island property taxpayers saw a return to higher tax increases, alongside rapid growth in property values and widening disparities among classes of taxpayers. The statewide municipal tax levy increased by 3.7%, or $98.3 million, in fiscal year (FY) 2026, the largest increase in ten years. Seven cities and towns exceeded the state’s mandated 4.0% levy cap and municipalities continued to shift the burden towards landlords, renters, and businesses. Rhode Island taxpayers already face the 10th highest property tax levels in the nation.
- Providence Journal, “RI property taxes surge as 7 towns, cities exceed cap amid budget strains”
- Boston Globe, “More cities and towns are blowing past R.I.’s 4 percent tax levy cap, report warns”
- WPRI 12, “Community Focus: Why are RI Property Taxes so High?”
- WJAR 10, “On Your Dime: Rhode Island property taxes see largest increase in a decade”
- Providence Business News, “RIPEC: landlords, renters and businesses increasingly footing local governments”
- WPRO 99.7, “New RIPEC report on Property Tax”
- GoLocalProv, “RI Property Taxes Dramatically Increased This Year, Says New Report”
- The Valley Breeze, “R.I. property tax analysis shows heavy burden for Woonsocket renters, business owners”
- What’s Up Newp, “Rhode Island property tax increases jumped in fiscal 2026, RIPEC analysis finds”
- RIPEC President & CEO Michael DiBiase spoke to the Providence Business News about the state’s new three-year moratorium on new charter schools that also permanently reduces the statewide cap from 35 to 28 charter schools. Based on RIPEC research, including a 2026 report finding that charters outperformed district schools in reducing chronic absenteeism, DiBiase noted that “charter public schools are one of the few bright spots in Rhode Island’s K-12 system,” and “limiting that opportunity for working families is a terrible idea.” The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, and RIPEC urged Governor Dan McKee to veto the legislation.
- Reporting on Rhode Island’s steep drop to 48th in the nation on CNBC’s annual “America’s Top States for Business” rankings, WPRI 12 noted that the findings mirror those from RIPEC’s 2026 Economic Prosperity Scorecard, which raised the alarm on the state’s economic trajectory. Michael DiBiase cautioned at the time of the scorecard’s release that Rhode Island is “losing ground in nearly every measure.”
- The General Assembly created a legislative commission to study the feasibility of the recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Commission to Study Rhode Island’s K-12 Education Funding Formula, of which RIPEC was a member. Responding to estimates that implementing the recommendations could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, Michael DiBiase told the Providence Journal that improvements to the formula do not need to result in significantly higher state spending, particularly if new minimum funding requirements are established for cities and towns. RIPEC’s new K-12 report found that state K-12 aid grew at an average annual rate of 5.4% between FY 2019 and FY 2024, while local spending on education grew at 1.8%.
- RIPEC Senior Policy Analyst Jeffrey Hamill spoke to Ocean State Media regarding the state’s ongoing efforts to address housing affordability challenges. Citing the need for a plan to “stimulate market and middle-income housing” and “meaningfully affect the supply,” he noted that Rhode Island should move beyond administrative improvements and “use state law to make … housing development fundamentally easier.”
- RIPEC’s report on the state’s recent investments in affordable housing was cited in a Rhode Island News Today article. The article highlighted the state’s use of $52.2 million in state and federal one-time dollars to produce 200 newly constructed units. RIPEC calculated the average total development cost at more than $500,000 per unit, with state subsidies averaging nearly $284,000 a unit.
Inside Insights
- A national evaluation of housing markets by Realtor.com ranked Rhode Island third to last (49th) in the country for homebuilding and affordability. The state’s near-bottom finish is attributed to a mix of high demand, strict local zoning laws, scarce land availability, and sluggish permitting activity.
What to Look for in July
- RIPEC will release a report analyzing Rhode Island’s Medicaid expenditures in national and regional context.
- RIPEC will release the Rhode Island Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Quarterly Briefing for the second quarter of 2026.