Ep. 38, Last Night @ School Committee: 9/22 Meeting Recap

Last Night At School Committee

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s report, in which she promised an update on exam school simulations at the next meeting. She also discussed the ongoing transportation issues and painted a rosy picture of the timeliness of buses, in spite of the fact that hundreds of students are still unable to get to school, hundreds more are not arriving on time, and families are still facing troubling uncertainty. Following a short public comment period, the School Committee heard two reports on an update to the Code of Conduct and library services, and the Committee took a vote on ESSER funding that has already largely been allocated.

Even as school has started and students will begin their third week on Monday, we are still left with the following questions:

• What is the plan for ensuring students receive healthy food rather than plastic wrapped, processed food?
• How will BPS continue to address transportation issues? How will they ensure this issue will not continue?
• How many staff have been vaccinated and / or signed on for weekly testing?
• We heard many testify during public comment about the Mission Hill School. What is the plan and strategy for MHS and supporting their school community?
• What is the plan for the Horace Mann School for the Deaf? What is the plan for a long term strategy for the EMK?
• Is it now too late to take any action on the new exam school admission policy?
• How will we measure the impact of the ESSR funding to help inform round 3 of ESSR funding. Especially considering a plan must be submitted by October 4th?

The School Committee will meet again on October 6th tentatively at 6pm.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Vote for a new Mayor in September and November. Education should be a core issue for all elected officials and your vote matters.
• As the Supt team said on the news last night and this morning, if you know of 25k of space for EMK please let them know.
• If you have issues with busses, school food, water, safety, or other basic human needs, email Sam Dipina. His email address is [e-mail]
• Advocate to the School Committee members to increase their accountability of the Superintendent and her team.
• Chair Jeri Robinson: [e-mail]
• Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: [e-mail]
• Dr. Hardin Coleman: [e-mail]
• Ernani DeAraujo: [e-mail]
• Quoc Tran: [e-mail]
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Boston School Committee and the Boston Teachers Union regarding Health and Safety for School Year 2021-2022
• FY22 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funding Implementation Plan
• Code of Conduct Update PowerPoint
• Library Services Strategic Plan, 2022-2026 PowerPoint

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