To the Editor,

Mayor Hopkins recently vetoed a zoning change in Alpine Estates which a group of neighbors have opposed for decades. The zoning change would have more than doubled the number of homes that could be built on a parcel of land that abuts Alpine Estates. One of the arguments the residents cited against the zoning change was the bordering school, Orchard Farms Elementary School, was already overcrowded. Indeed, the RI Dept. of Education verified that Orchard Farms absolute maximum capacity was 433 students, while at the October 2023 School Committee meeting, Cranston’s School Superintendent stated that Orchard Farms was at “maximum capacity” with a current school enrollment of 460. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Assistant Superintendent updated and changed the maximum occupancy number for Orchard Farms to 560 students, approximately 130 students above the RI Dept. of Education number and 100 above the Superintendent’s testimony. Parents of Orchard Farms students should get to the bottom of these numbers and find out how the building’s capacity could have changed so dramatically and how this could impact the education of their children.

Janice Cataldo

65 Sage Drive

Cranston RI 02921