An institution of higher churning
State ed boss considers freezing $430M of BPS’ bucks, citing board chaos
Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding earmarked for Boston Public Schools could be temporarily frozen by Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley due to concerns with the turmoil on the city’s school committee.
“I am extremely concerned about what has transpired on that school committee, they’ve lost four members this year and two were board chairs,” Riley said during a Tuesday Department of Elementary and Secondary Education virtual meeting.
Boston Public Schools has about $430 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding coming from the federal government. The school committee will ultimately vote on how it is spent.
“I think my team will be exploring the possibility of maybe temporarily freezing like ESSER two and three,” Riley said.
The commissioner said the decision-making process regarding the funding “makes me nervous about what’s happening in Boston.”
Earlier this month, Boston School Committee member Lorna Rivera and former Chair Alexandra Oliver-Davila resigned over the release of disparaging text messages.
In March, the committee’s student representative, Khymani James, stepped down citing disrespect, and in October, former chair Michael Loconto resigned after getting caught on a hot mic mocking Asian names.
“It’s fair to question how such a diminished board could make such a substantial decision,” Riley said of the ESSER funding.
The funds are split into three parts. Riley said he would not freeze ESSER one, which is for $32 million. ESSER part two funding is an estimated $123 million and ESSER part three is a projected $275 million.
“We’re going to explore it but I also want to see this board stabilized. And this is no reflection on the acting mayor,” Riley said, acknowledging that Kim Janey inherited the issues.
Janey’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Annissa Essaibi-George, Boston city councilor and chair of the education committee, said in a statement, “Withholding this money only adds to the instability they’ve faced during this pandemic and has the potential to cause further harm. While our School Committee most definitely needs to earn back the confidence of our families, I don’t believe we should be punishing our students for the actions of adults.”
The ESSER funds will go toward addressing the impacts of coronavirus with investments in mental health, literacy, technology and after-school programs.
BPS created a commission of external partners charged with providing input on how to use the funding.
A statement from BPS read, “The Boston School Committee has seasoned members who immediately elected a new Chair, Ms. Jeri Robinson, and Mr. Michael O’Neill, the current Vice Chair, will remain in his position. The Mayor recently sent a letter to Commission members on School Committee appointments and expressed her desire and commitment to filling the vacancies in the next several weeks.”