Feb 15 2022 · Last Night @ School Committee Recap · Ep. 49

Written By Josh Block

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 was the first School Committee meeting since the announcement that Superintendent Brenda Cassellius will be resigning from her position. Cassellius, who began in July 2019, announced in a press conference with Mayor Michelle Wu that she will step down at the end of the school year, and Mayor Wu expressed her commitment to hiring a new superintendent by June.

The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, which included updates on COVID-19 testing protocols and mask mandates in Boston, the status of acceleration academies for students during February vacation, and a preview of future announcements around summer programming. Committee members asked pointed questions that circled back to key outstanding issues from the last meeting, continuing to press for updated enrollment and graduation data.

The School Committee tabled a planned report on an agreement between the district and the Boston Teachers’ Union regarding the citywide vaccine mandate due to a court decision earlier in the day that prevented Mayor Wu from moving forward with the mandate.

Public comment included numerous teachers objecting to the vaccine mandate and the tentative union agreement. In addition, the public comment period featured a large coalition of students and community members of the P.A. Shaw Elementary School advocating for the promised expansion of the school, as well as from the Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA) asking the Superintendent to ensure the program would continue to have necessary space and resources.

The School Committee heard two reports last night, with the first one regarding extended pay for four in-district Horace Mann charter schools. The final report of the night discussed the impending search for the district’s next Superintendent. Glenn Koocher, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, outlined best practices for a search and detailed potential challenges in recruiting candidates. Chair Jeri Robinson outlined next steps for the process and discussed the coming release of a new RFP for a search consultant.

The School Committee will continue to hold several public budget hearings over the next few weeks (dates below) and will vote on the final budget on March 23. The next committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 16 at 5pm.

Here are some of the questions that we think are worth asking:

  • What is enrollment looking like for next year? How many students applied to schools in the first round?

  • How many students applied to exam schools this year? Students and families should begin hearing about admissions results around the end of March, but there should be data on the total number of applicants now.

  • What is the long term plan for BPS school buildings? School Committee members continue to ask this question. The Superintendent last year mentioned an RFP to create a campus master plan, which we still have not seen. Will there be a master campus planning process?

  • What kind of leader are we looking for to run Boston Public Schools and how will the community come together to support the hiring of the right leader?

  • And then, how will the community support the right person once they are hired?

  • And, what if this is not all wrapped up by June?  Will an interim superintendent be appointed?

Ways to Engage and Resources:

Josh Block
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Mar 2 2022 · Last Night @ School Committee Recap · Ep. 50
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Feb 2 2022 · Last Night @ School Committee Recap · Ep. 48