Jun 21 2022 · Last Night @ School Committee Recap · Ep. 64
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. In “Last Night @ School Committee,” Jill Shah and Ross Wilson recap the highlights of each meeting, provide commentary and context, and shine a light on the decisions our leaders are making.
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, which included data on summer program enrollment and a preview of a report coming next week on federal ESSER relief money spending. Notably, the report did not include an update on negotiations with the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education over their audit of BPS, but when questioned on this, the Superintendent noted that negotiations are ongoing and an update will be shared next week.
The meeting continued with an update on the superintendent search, in which Search Committee Co-Chair Pam Eddinger shared that two of the four finalists recently withdrew from consideration, resulting in the announcement of Mary Skipper and Dr. Tommy Welch as the two finalists. The reasons for these withdrawals were not given, and members of the School Committee expressed disappointment with the outcome of this process but pledged to continue forward.
Following a public comment period with numerous comments about the merger of the Russell and Clap Elementary Schools, there was a vote to approve two side letters of agreement with the bus drivers union that School Committee members were told were integral to approval of a new contract. These letters were unanimously approved. The meeting concluded with a report on the new exam school policy that was lacking in key data, as well as reports from Horace Mann Charter School leaders seeking renewals.
Public interviews for Mary Skipper and Tommy Welch will be held on Thursday and Friday, respectively, with a vote by the School Committee during their next meeting on Wednesday, June 29.
Here are some of the questions that we think are worth asking:
Will Mary Skipper or Tommy Welch be selected as the next Superintendent of Boston Public Schools?
Why did the two other finalists drop out in the last few days? What happened behind the scenes in this search process that isn’t being shared?
What’s the latest on the negotiations with the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education? When will the School Committee, and the public, be brought into that process?
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Tune into the public interview sessions with Mary Skipper and Tommy Welch:
Thursday, June 23 - Mary Skipper
10:30am-12:00pm: Community Partners
1:30-3:00pm: Educators and School Leaders
3:30-5:00pm: Students and Families
5:30-7:30pm: Public Interview with the Boston School Committee
Friday, June 24 - Tommy Welch
10:30am-12:00pm: Community Partners
1:30-3:00pm: Educators and School Leaders
3:30-5:00pm: Students and Families
5:30-7:30pm: Public Interview with the Boston School Committee
Reach out to members of the Boston School Committee:
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez: bcardethernandez@bostonpublicschools.org
Listen to our special podcast series on the search for a superintendent. It’s seven episodes featuring exclusive interviews with Superintendent Cassellius, her five predecessors, and more than a dozen community leaders. The full series is available in your podcast feed and at BostonSuperintendent.com.