BPS Exits State Improvement Plan and Votes to Pass FY26 Budget in Three-Hour Meeting | Last Night at School Committee: March 26th, 2025 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting lasted three hours, and it centered on two main topics: Boston emerging from the Systemic Improvement Plan (SIP) and the vote on the FY26 budget. The meeting began with Chair Robinson recapping major news from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) board meeting on Tuesday. In short, DESE announced that the SIP, which expires in June, would not be renewed by the state. While state officials praised the district’s improvements and work, it was clear that the results of the SIP were a mixed bag. Nevertheless, the state is now moving the district out of the SIP, and the Superintendent spent a large portion of her report highlighting the vast improvements including bus arrival times, increased test scores, and new career pathways for BPS students. However, School Committee and DESE board members had words of caution given the urgency of necessary improvements in BPS. The oversight will officially end on June 30th, but the School Committee did note that they will look to continue internal oversight. Clearly, though, there is much work to be done in the district given the results shown below and in a recent report by the Boston Policy Institute.

After a short public comment period that hit on major pain points from the community, the meeting moved on to the vote on the FY26 budget. While there was not much suspense as to whether the budget would pass or not, School Committee members did raise certain concerns about its scope and priorities. More specifically, members questioned, once again, how the budget fits into the district’s long-term plan, the presence of school accountability measures, and the needs in the district that still need to be addressed. Though one member voted no, the budget ultimately passed, with six yea votes.

The School Committee meeting ended with a presentation on an amendment to the code of conduct. In short, due to a change in state law, the district had to adjust their use of discipline, and they are moving more towards a system of “progressive discipline.” There will be a vote at the next School Committee meeting on the amendment.

FY26 Budget Hearing, BTU Agreement, Madison Park Vote, and School Closure Plan Dominate Five-Hour Meeting | Last Night at School Committee: March 20th, 2025 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting lasted around five hours, hitting on many important topics. Before the official meeting, the School Committee hosted its third and final budget hearing for the FY26 budget. The Superintendent and her team answered questions from School Committee members, including inquiries about the role of federal funding in the budget, how long-term goals are achieved in the budget, and the cuts made to community advancement programs. While School Committee members raised concerns over the budget’s impact on accelerating student outcomes, these questions were left unanswered. 

Following the conclusion of the budget meeting, the regular School Committee meeting began. Chair Robinson announced that the district had reached a tentative agreement with the Boston Teachers Union following months of negotiation. While main details were not discussed, the Superintendent and her team said that they would provide an update at a future meeting. Following this, the meeting moved into public comment, where nearly every speaker was a community member representing schools on the proposed closure and merger list voicing their pleas to keep their school communities open.

After public comment and quick votes on grants and the renaming of the Sumner/Philbrick school, the School Committee voted on the Core Program Statement of Interest to the MSBA for Madison Park Vocational High School. Last month, during a City Council hearing, the Mayor’s team announced plans to seek MSBA funding for a new Madison Park facility, with the estimated cost rising to nearly $700 million—up from the originally earmarked $500 million. While there was not much further discussion after last meeting’s comprehensive discussion, School Committee members did question what alternative plans were in place if the district did not receive the money. Once again, the O’Bryant School was only tangentially mentioned and there was minimal discussion about what the future will hold for that community. In the end, the School Committee unanimously voted to approve the Statement of Interest. 

Finally, the School Committee meeting ended with a vote on the aforementioned school closures and mergers. The public comment during the evening was filled with tangible emotion from community members, and it was clear that this carried over to School Committee members as well. Multiple School Committee members harped on the difficulty of these decisions and the necessity of making hard choices for the benefit of long term district health. The Superintendent and her team responded to questions about how educators will be supported during the transition as well as the assistance BPS is offering to families that will be forced to change schools. Moreover, the Superintendent stated that no child reassigned during this process would be forced to leave their current school again. However, due to the lack of a long-term facilities plan, there is no way to track this across the district; hence, it is unclear how the Superintendent will keep this promise. Nevertheless, their answers seemed to satisfy the School Committee as the closure and merger plan passed by a vote of five to one. The shift in facilities will take place in June 2026. 

Competency Determination Vote, Madison Park Funding Proposal, and Data Transparency Concerns Fill February Meeting | Last Night at School Committee: February 26th, 2025 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was a jam packed meeting covering many important topics. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where she provided an extremely brief update on transformation schools. This update is a requirement as part of the district’s Systemic Improvement Plan with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and usually provides insights and data about some of the lowest performing schools in the district. However, the Superintendent’s team did not provide these data points and insights. The Superintendent also highlighted acceleration academies that took place during February vacation, but did not discuss the impact of this strategy on student performance. School Committee members raised concerns about the lack of data presented, as well as highlighting the need for better procedures to ensure that data requested to the School Committee is actually presented in a timely fashion.

Following a public comment period that raised issues regarding topics such as facilities and exam schools, and quick votes on grants and approval of the accelerated repair project submissions to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the School Committee voted on the competency determination requirement for the class of 2025. As the state continues to lack a revised, temporary policy for the state’s competency determination, schools districts across the state are creating their own revised policy. The Superintendent and her team proposed a policy that requires current seniors to earn a passing grade from a list of coursework if they did not previously pass the MCAS. Last night’s vote was preceded by conversation about the usage of the MCAS as a graduation requirement, which the district is allowed to utilize. While the School Committee engaged in a conversation that explored this and how the competency determination connects to its graduation requirements, the conversation was cut short after the Superintendent’s team noted they needed to act on only the competency determination, and the School Committee voted in favor of the policy unanimously. The committee then heard two quick reports on an update from the Boston Student Advisory Council and the naming of the Sumner/Philbrick school to the Sarah Roberts Elementary School.

The final discussion focused on a Core Program Statement of Interest to the MSBA for Madison Park Vocational High School. Last month, during a City Council hearing, the Mayor’s team announced plans to seek MSBA funding for a new Madison Park facility, with the estimated cost rising to nearly $700 million—up from the originally earmarked $500 million. Committee members raised concerns about the absence of the O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, which shares the same building, in the proposal. They also questioned the city’s backup plan if MSBA funding is not secured and how the district plans to increase Madison Park’s enrollment by 1,000 students. As these concerns remain unresolved, a vote is scheduled for the next meeting on March 20.

Exam School Policy Revision, Graduation Requirements, Madison Park Funding, and FY26 Budget Kickoff on the Agenda | Last Night at School Committee: February 5th, 2025 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was full of reports and initiated the kickoff to the FY26 budget process. After a short Superintendent’s report and lengthy public comment period, the committee voted for a minor revision on the revised exam school admissions policy, which reduces the number of tiers from eight to four, with each tier receiving an equal allocation of invitations. The School Committee has voted on numerous adjustments to the policy year after year and School Committee members continued to raise questions about the distribution of bonus points via schools rather than individuals, a solution that supports the core intent of the policy, before ultimately approving the policy.

The School Committee heard three reports last night. The first report was a proposal for accelerated repair funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). While the district typically presents proposals every year for funding from the MSBA, School Committee members raised major concerns about funding these projects without a long-term facilities plan to guide the work. Missing from the report was the news that the City would be seeking funding from the MSBA to renovate Madison Park, which is a reversal from the City’s promise last year to fund a renovation of Madison Park quickly using funds from the City of Boston. 

The second report of the night was an update on the competency determination– or graduation requirement– for the Class of 2025. Following the passage of Question 2 on the November ballot to remove the MCAS as a graduation requirement, the district and state have yet to come up with updated graduation requirements. Last night, the district announced that students who did not pass the MCAS would need to pass certain approved courses in English, Math, and Science. There was much discussion over the lack of guidance and support from the state in defining graduation standards. The School Committee did not discuss the implications of the district’s alignment to MassCore as their graduation requirement starting next year when only 51% of students completed the requirement last year. 

The final report of the evening was the Superintendent’s FY26 preliminary budget. This report kicked off the FY26 budget process, which will culminate in a final proposal that will be voted on in March. This year’s budget is $1.58 billion, which is a $53 million increase from last year. While the report discussed investments in certain areas, School Committee members raised major concerns over the goals and impact of these investments. These concerns were compounded by the recent release of NAEP results, which show that only 31% of 4th graders scored proficient in reading, and only 26% of 8th graders scored proficient. As the results show widening achievement gaps and increased spending, there was no discussion as to how the budget would address these gaps.

Facilities Closure Proposals, Long-Term Capital Planning, and Immigration Policy Support Headline First Meeting of 2025 | Last Night at School Committee: January 22nd, 2025 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was the first meeting of 2025, and the majority of the meeting was spent discussing the district’s facilities plans. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where she discussed the district’s commitment to supporting all students in wake of federal immigration policy.  Following a short report on a proposal to amend the bell schedule at UP Academy Dorchester, the meeting moved on to public comment. With nearly 35 speakers, there was a large contingent of families and students raising their concerns about the exam school admissions policy and its unintended consequences. The School Committee was originally slated to vote on an amended policy proposal presented in December, but that vote did not take place. The vast majority of public testimony came from parents, teachers and community members to keep the Dever Elementary School open, 

The main report of the evening on an update on capital planning and long-term facilities plan proposals. Two weeks ago, Mayor Wu and Superintendent Skipper announced plans to close or merge multiple schools as part of the district’s facilities strategy, and last night, the Superintendent’s team shared these proposals along with plans to support the students and families affected. The report highlighted that the district intends to close about 17% of its school buildings by 2030 and anticipates at least a 3% decline in enrollment. These projections come after repeated requests from the School Committee for future enrollment data. However, there was no implementation or discussion of a comprehensive master facilities plan to guide these decisions (click here to hear more about implementing successful long term facilities plans), prompting the School Committee to raise concerns over the implications of not having a plan on families and on the budget. The committee is expected to vote on the proposals in March.

Year-End Meeting Covers Transdev Contract, FY26 Finance Update, and Exam School Admissions Policy Recommendation | Last Night at School Committee: December 18th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s School Committee meeting was the last meeting of the year, touching on some of the most discussed topics this past year. This was the first meeting following Mayor Wu’s announcement regarding the reappointment of Vice Chair Michael O’Neill to his seat, after the conclusion of a public nomination process that saw numerous candidates apply. The meeting began with public comment, as the committee initially lacked a quorum. Public testimony included discussions on hiring, transportation, and enrollment patterns.  After a short Superintendent’s Report and a quorum present, the School Committee then took action on the collective bargaining agreement between Transdev and United Steelworkers Local 8751. School Committee members did not raise concerns regarding continual low performance that is not included in the contract, and instead, voted unanimously for the contract.

The School Committee heard two reports last night, with the first report being a finance update for FY24-26. This is a yearly report that precedes and previews the budget season, which will kick off in February. The Superintendent and her team described it as a transitional budget, with plans to fully fund every school despite an ongoing enrollment decline and major revenue challenges noted by the Mayor. School Committee members did not ask any questions regarding the impact of enrollment decline, and there was no conversation about the lack of school closures or mergers in the update.

The final report of the evening was a recommended exam school admissions policy. The recommendation comes after numerous years of changes to the exam school admissions policy, which you can hear more about here. Last year, the School Committee passed an amendment to adjust the number of bonus points a student who attends a Title 1 school (40% or more low-income) receives based on the tier where they live. This year, the Superintendent and her team proposed reducing the number of tiers from eight to four under the current policy, with each tier receiving an equal allocation of invitations. They also plan to continue reviewing the policy's impacts this spring. However, the proposal did not address how this shift would affect the number of bonus points students receive and did not include simulations to show the potential impact on student assignment. School Committee members did not raise questions or concerns regarding these omissions and will vote on this matter in January.

Transdev Driver Contract, Hiring and Workforce Diversity Update, and BTU Contract Advocacy Center the Meeting | Last Night at School Committee: December 4th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s School Committee meeting was focused on hiring and transportation. The meeting began with public comment, after Chair Robinson announced that there would be no Superintendent’s Report. Public comment featured a little less than 50 testimonies, with the majority of speakers members of the Boston Teachers Union advocating for a fair contract and working conditions. Over the past few months, BTU members have continued to testify at the School Committee about the need for a two-teacher model as part of the district’s inclusion plan and other important considerations. Last night’s public comment emphasized the BTU’s clear message to the district, which comes as other towns in Massachusetts have dealt with teacher strikes. 

The School Committee heard two reports last night. The first report was regarding a tentative bargaining agreement between Transdev, the district’s transportation provider, and the bus drivers union. Prior to the meeting, the School Committee went into executive session to discuss the negotiations, and last night’s meeting did not feature a robust conversation about the contract. While the contract includes agreements to increase drivers’ pay and hours and ensure students get to athletic competitions, as well as continuing previous agreements that ensures the drivers will be employed regardless of the contractor, there was no discussion as to whether this new contract would address transportation issues plaguing the district and the cost implications of a contract, when 10,000 less students are riding the bus. 

The last report of the evening was an update on hiring and workforce diversity. Every year, the district provides the School Committee with an update on hiring practices and initiatives to have a diverse workforce. Similar to previous years, the report did not include any data or discussion regarding teacher vacancies, the number of positions added, professional development, and evaluation. The report left key questions unanswered about whether the district staff is truly representative of the students they serve, and continued to show the disconnect between the district and the Boston Teachers Union as it relates to its ongoing contract negotiations and the looming budget season.

MassCore Graduation Requirements, Post-Question 2 Implications, and Transportation Performance Reviewed | Last Night at School Committee: November 6th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s School Committee meeting was focused on MassCore and graduation requirements, a timely topic following the passage of ballot Question 2 ending the use of MCAS as a state graduation requirement. The Superintendent also spent time talking about transportation, which reached 95% on-time arrival but still only 85% on time performance for afternoon buses. There was no mention, however, of recent reporting that highlighted a 30% decrease in ridership over the past decade and spending nearly $171 million on transportation. 

The School Committee then heard a report on MassCore and graduation requirements. In 2019, following a Boston Globe report, “The Valedictorian Project,” it became clear that graduation standards varied widely across schools, leading to inconsistent outcomes for top students. Since then, the district has worked to ensure all students are equally prepared, as highlighted in one of our earliest podcasts from 2019. In line with state recommendations, MassCore requirements were adopted district-wide in 2021. Last night’s report revealed that while more students now have access to MassCore, only 50% of students complete the requirements. As MassCore becomes the sole graduation requirement in Boston for the class of 2026, there are still challenges in scheduling and support for students with disabilities and multilingual learners. As the district awaits further guidance from DESE, this issue remains a top priority.

Transformation Schools Quarterly Update, BTU Negotiations, and Post-Question 2 Graduation Planning Discussed | Last Night at School Committee: October 23rd, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting focused primarily on transformation schools with a required quarterly update as part of the district’s systemic improvement plan put in place by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The meeting began with Deputy Superintendent Linda Chen, standing in for the Superintendent, highlighting bright spots and providing an update on a still struggling transportation system, noting the installation of new electric chargers at one bus yard. This report was followed by a short discussion led by member Cardet-Hernandez who raised a question about the district’s response should the ballot initiative to remove the MCAS as a graduation requirement pass. Dr. Chen noted that a fuller discussion would occur at the next meeting, adding that the state has not yet provided guidance on the matter.

There were about a dozen public commenters, with the majority of commenters testifying about the district’s ongoing negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union. As the district continues to negotiate with the BTU, teachers and BTU members testified with a new strategy in place: teachers are pointing out the district is relying on dual licensure, and they are advocating for removing this requirement.

The sole report of the evening was on transformation schools, identified by the state as requiring intervention. The report, mandated by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, showed low growth and performance across the 39 schools, which are in the bottom 10% statewide, as well as high rates of chronic absenteeism. School Committee members voiced concerns about these trends and emphasized the need for systemic improvements, though it was unclear how actively the state or city has been involved in addressing these continued issues. To hear more about the concerns and thoughts of the School Committee on this issue, tune in to the episode.

MCAS Results, Ballot Question 2 Discussion, Transportation Performance, and Collective Bargaining Agreements on the Agenda | Last Night at School Committee: October 9th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting focused primarily on MCAS results and achievement. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where the Superintendent provided an update on transportation. While the district has been making improvements week over week, the district’s average on time performance was just 78% for afternoon buses. This low performance continues to lag behind the district’s on time performance target set by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of 95%. 

Following the report, the School Committee discussed the upcoming ballot question on removing the MCAS as a graduation requirement. With other school boards across the state taking stances on this measure, One school committee member expressed his views on the ballot initiative while others chose not to weigh in on this important conversation. Tune into the episode to hear this view, as well as the perspectives of other stakeholders, on this important matter. 

The meeting then moved on to public comment, which featured numerous teachers raising concerns over the district’s inclusion plan and MCAS results, as well as a report on tentative collective bargaining agreements with the lunch monitors and food service workers, which will be voted on at the next meeting. 

The main report of the night was an update on MCAS achievement and accountability results from this past year. The Superintendent opened the report by emphasizing that the district’s results are on par with other urban districts and the state’s performance, and that the district is not in need of assistance or intervention by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. However, the report indicated continued low performance across the district and further lack of growth and recovery, with only 27% of students in 3rd-8th grade proficient in ELA. While the report provided some data on student achievement, tune in to the episode to hear further analysis on concerning data trends for students in Boston that was not covered in last night’s report.

MCAS Results, Transportation Updates, BTU Inclusion Plan Concerns, and Summer Learning Reviewed | Last Night at School Committee: September 25th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report including a discussion of  the recent release of MCAS results, which continue to show a lack of improvement in achievement since the pandemic. Even with hundreds of millions of dollars of federal relief funding and expansion of tutoring and literacy programs, the district’s MCAS results show concerning trends, with only 27% of students meeting or exceeding expectations on the ELA MCAS in grades 3-8. While the Superintendent pointed parallel results to statewide trends and higher rates of chronic absenteeism, School Committee members and public commenters urged the district to act with urgency.

The Superintendent also provided an update on transportation. The Superintendent noted that on-time arrivals for AM bus routes had improved to 84%, and emphasized that the district’s new transportation app, Zum, is continuing to be implemented and adjusting routes to improve these low arrival rates. This is in contrast to the numerous articles and reports of families continuing to share their struggles and delays with the buses.

There were about a dozen teachers who testified during public comment last night, speaking about the district’s inclusion plan. Their testimonies included current struggles and their reasoning as to why so many are against the implementation of this plan. These testimonies come as the district continues to lack a new contract agreement with the Boston Teachers Union, which the Superintendent and her team were hoping to have settled before the end of the summer. 

The School Committee voted to double the  enrollment at the Edward M. Kennedy Health Careers Academy. While some members continued to ask about the impact of this expansion on other schools and the need for a new facility, the School Committee unanimously approved the expansion. The meeting ended with the sole report of the evening on summer learning. The Superintendent’s Team discussed the numerous opportunities provided this past summer and initial enrollment numbers, but did not provide any data on student outcomes or achievement.

Transportation Delays, EMK Academy Expansion, and White Stadium Lease Vote Open the New School Year | Last Night at School Committee: September 11th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was the first since school began last week for BPS. The primary focus of the Superintendent report, and the ensuing discussion with School Committee members, was the district’s transportation challenges. Over the past week, transportation issues have dominated the news, with reports indicating that nearly two-thirds of buses were late to school, marking the lowest on-time arrival rate in nine years. The Superintendent and her team addressed the situation, citing the complexities involved, including the introduction of a new technology system, Zum. While much of the discussion revolved around why these problems persist, School Committee members urged greater transparency with families, many of whom voiced their frustrations during public comments and in the media.

Following the Superintendent’s report, the School Committee reviewed a proposal to expand enrollment at the Edward M. Kennedy Academy of Health Careers. Earlier this year, the city announced a $38 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to increase enrollment and create new pathways with Mass General-Brigham. Last night’s request sought formal approval to grow the school’s enrollment to 800 students over the next few years. Committee members raised concerns about the need for a new facility, given the school’s past challenges securing a permanent space, and stressed the importance of a comprehensive facilities plan to assess the broader impact of this expansion on other high schools.

The Committee also voted on two items, including a proposal related to White Stadium. At the previous meeting, the Mayor’s office asked the Committee to authorize the Superintendent to enter negotiations with a women’s soccer team for a lease agreement. Public comments focused heavily on White Stadium, with speakers unanimously supporting the need for revitalization and improved athletic facilities for BPS students. The vote passed unanimously.

Back-to-School Updates, Superintendent Evaluation, and White Stadium Lease Proposal Reviewed | Last Night at School Committee: August 28th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was the last meeting before Boston opens schools next week. The Superintendent spent the majority of the Superintendent’s Report providing key back to school updates. While the School Committee usually has received a separate full report in years past, the Superintendent listed key promising updates including 95% of hiring complete. 

The School Committee’s main vote of the evening was approving the Superintendent’s evaluation and performance rating. There was not any public comment on the Superintendent per se, but public comments about the Superintendent’s evaluation focused more on the process and criteria that the School Committee used to evaluate progress in the district and the superintendent herself. The School Committee unanimously approved the Superintendent’s evaluation and performance rating. Following this vote, there was a quick report on policy revision recommendations for the student information policy and the school naming policy. 

The final report of the evening was about White Stadium. Over the past year, Mayor Michelle Wu and the city have been fighting legal battles over a proposed plan to renovate White Stadium in partnership with a new professional women’s soccer team. This proposed $50 million commitment from the city to renovate the stadium has been criticized for its lack of community engagement and concerns about limiting access for BPS students, even as the Mayor has said that they will not fund the project without private partnership. As the plan has gone through approval rounds by the Boston Planning and Development Agency and Parks Commission, representatives from the Mayor’s office asked the School Committee last night to allow the Superintendent and district to enter into lease negotiations with the soccer team. The report last night raised many questions about access to BPS students, transportation, and long-term cost commitments from the soccer team, but these concerns were left unanswered. The School Committee will vote on this at a future meeting soon.

Superintendent's Annual Evaluation Presented and Debated Ahead of New School Year | Last Night at School Committee: August 19th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was a special scheduled meeting, with the School Committee sharing their summative evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance. The meeting began with the Superintendent presenting her self-evaluation. The Superintendent’s evaluation consisted of many topics and moves that had previously been discussed at School Committee meetings, and lacked specific reference to student data or expectations for schools and students. 

Member Stephen Alkins then continued by presenting the committee’s summative evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance, broken down by four standards: instructional leadership, management and operations, family and community engagement, and professional culture. While the summative evaluation included goals and metrics, many of the data points driving the evaluation will not be available until later this year. The summative evaluation rated the Superintendent as “proficient”; however, members varied significantly on the Superintendent’s performance across the board on areas like instructional leadership and management and operations, and there was disagreement over the amount of time needed to see improvements in student outcomes. This lack of consensus among members was also present in public comment, where the majority of public commenters expressed frustration and concerns as the district prepares for the new school year. The School Committee will vote on their evaluation of the Superintendent at the next meeting.

Summer Learning, Transformation Schools Update, and Superintendent Evaluation Process Outlined | Last Night at School Committee: July 17th, 2024 Meeting Recap

The Boston School Committee held a shorter-than-normal meeting last night. The meeting began with the Superintendent's Report, which provided updates on summer learning, announced new technology for school buses, and presented the quarterly update on Transformation Schools. The Superintendent noted that Transformation Schools are seeing similar growth and chronic absenteeism rates as other schools—a consistent trend over the past couple of years that has raised concerns among school committee members about the lack of progress.

Absent from the Superintendent's report was any mention of contract negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union or discussion of the article in the Boston Globe about the district hiring an external consultant to support the master facilities plan for next year, possibly further delaying the release and implementation of a clear facilities plan.

The main report of the night was a brief overview of the Superintendent’s evaluation process for the 2023-2024 year. Last year, the Superintendent provided a full self-reflection of her performance at the school committee meeting. This year, the Superintendent did not release her self-evaluation publicly, instead stating that it will be provided in writing to committee members next week. Another change this year is that the Mayor's office has assigned a staff member to support the evaluation of the Superintendent. A vote on the Superintendent’s evaluation will take place on August 28, 2024.

School Closures Voted On, BTU Negotiations Continue, and Student Representative Report Close Out the School Year | Last Night at School Committee: June 17th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was the last school committee meeting of the school year, with a scheduled vote to close the Lilla Frederick Middle School and close and consolidate the West Zone Early Learning Center with the Hennigan School, and a report from the school committee’s student representative. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, with Superintendent Skipper highlighting a number of ongoing initiatives in the district. However, there was a lack of detail on how these initiatives are being implemented or their impact on student outcomes and achievement. There were also questions from members about the status of the district’s negotiations with the Boston Teachers’ Union. At the last meeting, the Superintendent said they were ahead of schedule, hoping to have a new contract finalized by the end of June. Last night, the Superintendent told members that negotiations are still ongoing and would not be complete by the end of June.

There were around 40 speakers who came to testify at public comment, with the majority of speakers testifying against the merger of the West Zone Early Learning Center into the Hennigan. There were a few speakers who testified about a new report that was submitted to the record, which highlights discrimination and mistreatment of former administrators in the district. 

The main vote of the night was a proposal to close the Lilla Frederick Middle School and close and consolidate the West Zone Early Learning Center with the Hennigan. This vote came after months of discussion about the district’s Green New Deal and the need to make important decisions surrounding mergers and closures. There has recently been a lot of discussion by the public about facilities, discussing the slow down of the plan by the Mayor, a deep dive into the district’s declining enrollment and future city revenue projections, and continued questions about the $50 million commitment to White Stadium. Last night, none of these topics were discussed by the School Committee, and members unanimously voted to close both the Frederick and the West Zone.

BTU Contract Negotiations, Burke High School Renaming Proposal, and Equitable Literacy Update on the Agenda | Last Night at School Committee: June 5th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting lasted about four and a half hours, and touched on numerous subjects. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Skipper spent most of the time discussing the negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union. The Superintendent noted that she hopes to have a deal by the end of the month, and that negotiations were going smoothly. However, numerous BTU members, including president Jessica Tang and vice president Erik Berg, testified asking the School Committee members to join negotiation and support the co-teaching model in every classroom in the district and adjust the pay for over 8,000 members of the BTU to be in line with inflation.

The School Committee heard three reports last night. The first report was on Interim Salary and Non-Personnel Payments on External Funds, which was a short presentation. The second report was a proposal to rename the Jeremiah E. Burke High School to the Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology. Dr. Holland has been a revered school administrator and community leader for nearly 40 years, and the majority of public commenters came to support the renaming.

The third report of the evening was an update on equitable literacy. Equitable literacy has been a priority for the district for the past few years, and the School Committee has heard numerous updates from the Superintendent and her team about it. Last night’s report covered updates around implementation and a centralized strategy, but there was little to no data on student outcomes nor accountability measures being taken to ensure every student in Boston is reading at grade level.

Long-Term Facilities Plan Presented, School Choice Vote Debated, and Charter Renewals Approved | Last Night at School Committee: May 22nd, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was long anticipated as the meeting where BPS would begin to actualize the actions of their long term facilities plan by announcing a comprehensive list of school closures, mergers and consolidations, but this was not the case. 

The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where she discussed a recent update she gave to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on the district’s systemic improvement plan, where BESE did not raise any concern or alarm.

The School Committee took action on three votes, with unanimous approval of grants and a renewed charter memorandum of understanding for UP Academy Boston and Dorchester. The third vote of the evening was on opting out of the state’s school choice program. Typically a routine decision to opt out of the state’s school choice program, the vote sparked a lively discussion. Committee members debated the benefits of participating in the program, which could potentially boost enrollment in under-enrolled schools and help retain students impacted by rising housing costs forced to move out of the city. Despite these arguments and pleas to have these conversations earlier in the year, the Committee voted to opt out of the program, with one member voting to opt in and another abstaining.

The only report of the evening was a report on the long-term facilities plan, where the Superintendent insisted that this is the most action taken in the last 40 years combined. Contrary to expectations of numerous school mergers and closures, the Superintendent announced only one school closure which had already been disclosed earlier this year, and a merger of two schools that share the same building. The report focused on programmatic and design changes, emphasizing the challenges of implementing a long-term plan due to secondary programming issues. Committee members pushed for a comprehensive master plan and raised concerns about budgetary implications without long-term projections.

School Choice Program, Facilities Planning Update, and Charter Amendment Previewed Ahead of Key Votes | Last Night at School Committee: May 8th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting featured the Superintendent’s Report and three reports, including reports on participating in the school choice program and the district’s facilities plan. The meeting began with a brief Superintendent’s Report. Members asked about the status of the district’s budget, which is currently being considered by the City Council. There have been four budget hearings so far, on issues including special education and school offerings, and City Councilors have continued to express concern.

The first report of the evening was an amendment to the charter memorandum of understanding for UP Academy Dorchester and Boston, slated for a vote at the next meeting. The second report addressed the Massachusetts School Choice Program for the 2024-25 school year. Annually, the School Committee decides whether to participate in this state program, and traditionally, the district has opted out. More than half of the districts in Massachusetts allow School Choice, meaning students from other districts can enroll in their schools and vice versa, while Boston and its surrounding communities do not (this map from 2017 shows interesting geographic trends across the state on school choice). Last night, the Superintendent and her team advocated against participation, citing several reasons but omitting many benefits of the program. School Committee members highlighted potential advantages like allowing families displaced by rising housing costs to remain within the district and increasing diversity in Greater Boston schools through a pilot initiative. Nevertheless, the Superintendent emphasized the program's perceived negative impacts.

The final report of the evening was an update on the district’s facilities planning. At the last meeting, the Superintendent announced that her team would come to the Committee on May 22nd with a list of recommendations for mergers, closures, and reconfigurations. Last night, the Superintendent’s team provided updates on current projects and gave historical context, noting that they would be investing in and creating thousands of high quality seats. However, the report did not include a long-term strategy nor any budget, enrollment projections, and timeline. School Committee members continued to point out the need for a long-term plan and strategy. The Superintendent will bring forward proposals at the next School Committee meeting.

Summer Learning Programs, Student Assignment Data, and Facilities Plan Timeline Discussed | Last Night at School Committee: April 24th, 2024 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was fairly light, with only one report. The meeting began with the Superintendent's Report, where she announced that her team would have an update on the district’s long-term facilities plan on May 22nd, including an initial list of closures, mergers, and reconfigurations. The Superintendent then went on to briefly discuss student assignment and demand data, where she noted the release of this past year’s assignment data that shows the number of families that chose a particular school and the number of families on a school’s waitlist. School Committee members highlighted the importance of this data in understanding what families want, and how it can guide the district’s decision making about school closures and mergers. The Superintendent also discussed exam schools, where she highlighted baseline data from this past admissions cycle.

The only report of the night was an update on summer learning. As the Superintendent’s team provided an update on the increase in the number of offerings and opportunities for students, School Committee members raised some concerns, including the difficulty for parents to sign up for summer school on the website. There were also questions about the impact of ESSER funding on summer programming and future funding, as well as the usage of pools across the city and whether students would actually be able to use them this summer.