Panel decries appointed Hub School Committee
Boston’s practice of having the mayor appoint School Committee members came under fire last night during a panel discussion that considered whether voters instead should choose to improve accountability.
“At the end of the day we are talking about closing pervasive racial achievement and opportunity gaps. We have to not only look at policy but also accountability,” said Tanisha Sullivan, president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP. “It’s wonderful that we have these nice policies on paper, but what do they mean if no one is being held accountable for delivering?”
The panel included Sullivan, along with Jean McGuire, a former elected Boston School Committee woman and executive director of METCO, Sam Tyler of the Municipal Research Bureau, and City Councilor Frank Baker. The event was sponsored by Action for Boston Community Development and moderated by Boston Herald education reporter Kathleen McKiernan.
ABCD CEO John Drew said then-Gov. William F. Weld signed the legislation that created Boston’s appointed committee more than a quarter-century ago.
“He signed an act which disenfranchised all the parents then and all the parents now from saying what could happen to their children when they go to public schools,” Drew said.
But Tyler argued that an appointed School Committee makes one person, the mayor, responsible for educational progress. He said the appointed board is free to focus on policy rather than electoral politics.
“Final accountability rests with the mayor who now must be fully involved with school performance,” Tyler said.