Ep. 42, Last Night @ School Committee: 11/3 Meeting Recap

Last Night At School Committee

What happens at each Boston Public Schools School Committee meeting has big implications for our students, our city, and our state. 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 took place just one night after a historic election that saw Michelle Wu as the first woman and person of color elected Mayor of Boston and a non-binding ballot question in which 80% of voters favored an elected school committee, rather than the current mayor-appointed model. After School Committee members responded to the results of this ballot initiative, the Superintendent shared a presentation in which she briefly addressed the public outcry heard at last week’s meeting concerning the upcoming vote to close the Irving, Timilty, and Jackson-Mann schools. The meeting then moved on to a public comment period that primarily featured parents expressing frustration about the lack of communication and transparency regarding changes to their child’s schools, with a particular focus on the Sumner, Blackstone, and Mendell schools.

The School Committee voted on two items last night that were retracted from the previous meeting’s agenda: the first giving the Superintendent the authority to temporarily adjust policies for its Advanced Work Class program, and the second on the Superintendent’s performance goals. Following these votes, the School Committee heard two reports: one on updates to air quality in schools, and a second on the district’s high-level academic vision. The meeting concluded with comments from several members once again reiterating the need for data and simulations on the new exam school policy, as well as calls for re-evaluating BuildBPS and developing a master plan for all facilities.

After another long and complicated meeting, we are still left with the following questions:

• What is the long term plan for BPS school buildings? Is there an RFP to create a campus master plan? Will the system move forward with short term plans for long term problems? What is the quality guarantee and when will it be implemented?
• Will the School committee members ever receive the exam school simulation data they have been requesting meeting after meeting or will the Superintendent’s team continue to brush aside their requests?
• What is happening with the ESSR funds? The application date for the new and largest round of funding has come and gone. What is BPS doing with the funding? We’d love to hear an update.

The School Committee will meet again next week on November 3 tentatively at 5pm.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Testify at the next school committee meeting on Nov. 17 and share your thoughts on how to address the issues facing your school
• Reach out to the new mayor and new city councilors to discuss your priorities for BPS
• Sign up for our email list at ShahFoundation.org to provide feedback on this podcast, receive updates on our work, and be notified when new podcast episodes are available.
• 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
• Air Quality Update
• Academic Vision
• City of Boston Bids and Requests for Proposal (RFPs)

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