Councilors slam idea of state takeover of schools
Speakers at a City Council hearing Monday acknowledged that Boston schools had serious problems but lined up against the idea of state receivership, saying instead those challenges would be better solved under Mayor Michelle Wu and the school community.
“Certainly I want to see the mayor responsible for the schools in Boston and not someone from the state,” City Council President Ed Flynn said. “We elected the mayor, and a big part of the city budget, a big part of the responsibility is the Boston school system. The mayor’s only been in office for a few months now. So, I think it’s important to give the mayor an opportunity to do the work she was selected to do by the residents of Boston.”
Councilor Erin Murphy said BPS has had serious problems for decades and need to meet the needs of children.
“Many of our schools are not what they need to do for our children and families: consistent low performance year after year for decades now and declining enrollment in BPS schools,” said City Councilor-at-Large Erin Murphy.
At the end of the day, we need to make sure we’re advocating for the children. We can do it. We have a large budget. We have great teachers.”
Jessica Tang, president of the Boston Teachers Union, said receivership shouldn’t be part of any conversion with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“Receivership is ineffective … and honestly a racist policy and would cause harm to BPS families and educators,” Tang said.
Their comments come on the heels of DESE’s review of BPS, which began on March 28.
At the time, Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said the purpose was to determine whether the district had made any progress since a 2019 assessment found “major structural challenges” in BPS.
Wu said at that DESE meeting that she welcomes the review but said a receivership, under which the state essentially would take control of the district, would be “counterproductive” in light of the transition BPS will make to a new superintendent and leadership team as of July 1.
‘Many of our schools are not what they need to do for our children and families: consistent low performance year after year for decades now and declining enrollment in BPS schools.’
ERIN MURPHY city councilor