Return to elected School Committee being explored

City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George, the new chairwoman of the city’s Education Committee, is calling for a hearing to review the current structure of the School Committee and to generate a “productive dialogue” about whether a change is in order.

“I am asking, should our School Committee remain as an appointed body or should it become an elected body or a combination of both?” Essaibi-George said. “The School Committee plays a big role in our student achievement and the success of our schools. ... This is really a question about how families can best engage with the people who set policy that impacts their children’s education.”

Boston has the state’s only mayoral-appointed municipal school committee. In 1991, a home-rule petition abolished the elected board after it was criticized for being dysfunctional, and the late Mayor Thomas M. Menino lobbied for control.

It was then that the city transitioned from a 13-member elected committee to a seven-member committee appointed by the mayor.

The push to return the School Committee back to an elected board comes after thousands of parents blasted Boston Public Schools for proposing new school start times that the district later backpedaled on. Many parents are now calling for an elected board, saying the appointed board is out of touch with family needs.

“The decision to have the School Committee be an appointed body was made years ago,” Essaibi-George said, “and I want us to have an opportunity to explore each option today.”