Elect the Boston School Committee

25/02/2025

Great letters to the editor in today's Globe from BESC's own Mary Battenfeld & from BLA teacher Michael Maguire — thank you both for your clear-eyed look at the state of the school committee itself & the rhetoric surrounding it.

Readers argue that the Boston School Committee needs more accountability.

09/04/2023

https://www.baystatebanner.com/2023/04/05/not-a-single-no-vote/

"The biggest system in Boston’s body politic is in crisis. For 30 years, our public schools have been subject to mayoral control over an appointed school committee that has never voted no on an action item, approving everything that’s been put before them since at least 1994 and 99% of the time doing so unanimously. This is a sign of democracy flatlining.

The unhealthiness was on full display in the School Committee’s confused March 22 budget vote."

What happens to our public institutions when democracy fails? When elected officials ignore the will of the people, governing bodies lose their independence, and the fundamental right to local democratic control is stripped away?

15/03/2023

Our response to the recent Globe article praising Brandon Cardet-Hernandez for "asking tough questions":

"Brandon Cardet-Hernandez does ask probing questions at Boston School Committee meetings (“Let’s go, Brandon (and we don’t mean that as an insult),” Marcela García, Opinion, March 7). Other members in the past also have asked good questions. But those questions almost never change the decisions of the Boston Public Schools administration. They don’t change what happens to students and parents because, under the current system, the mayor calls the shots.

Boston students need more than good questions from the School Committee. They need pointed questions that result in actual votes on policies and programs that improve the quality of their education. Sometimes taking those votes will require disagreeing with the mayor. While some individual members have voted against the mayor’s wishes a handful of times over the past 30 years, as a body, the modus operandi of the School Committee has been to ask good questions but then vote in concert with the desires of the mayor regardless of the answers. In fact, Boston’s appointed School Committee has approved 100 percent of action items placed before them since at least 2016 — almost always by unanimous vote.

That’s why almost 4 out of 5 voters decided in November 2021 that they wanted an elected School Committee to set policy for the schools. We applaud the majority of the City Council who honored the people’s choice and approved the home rule petition to restore the right of voters to choose their School Committee. We’re disappointed that Mayor Michelle Wu did not.

Ivelisse Caraballo
Executive director
Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network

Lisa Jeanne Graf
At-large member
Boston Public Schools’ Special Education Parent Advisory Council

The writers are affiliated with the grass-roots organization Bostonians for an Elected School Committee.

Boston students need more than good questions from the School Committee. They need pointed questions that result in actual votes on policies and programs that improve the quality of their education.

16/02/2023

The Petitions Passed City Council! 🎉 Now What? - https://mailchi.mp/electthebsc/persuademayorwu Write to Mayor Wu today 💻

16/02/2023

NEW Action Required! Now that the home rule petitions re: an elected Boston School Committee have passed the city council, they go to Mayor Michelle Wu. She's indicated she's not in favor, so we need to change her mind.

Use this tool to send her an email:

Boston residents deserve the same voting rights as citizens in every other city and town in Massachusetts, and we showed it when a whopping 78% of us voted in favor of an elected school committee in November 2021. Our City Council is poised to take a historic step toward righting this 30-year voting...

15/02/2023

A quick recap from today's City Council meeting: Councilor Flaherty introduced a last-minute amendment that would have changed the structure of the elected school committee to two elected students and five at-large candidates, no district representation.

That amendment was defeated (I believe 10 to 3, I didn't write it down!), so the council then discussed and voted on Docket #0135 as presented: nine district councilors, four at-large, and two non-voting students.

The docket passed, 7 yes, 5 no, and 1 present.
YES: Arroyo, Breadon, Coletta, Fernandes-Anderson, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia
NO: Baker, Flaherty, Flynn, Murphy, Worrell
PRESENT: Bok

The second home rule petition, which changes the two student members of the school committee to full voting members, then passed 11 to 2!
YES: Arroyo, Bok, Breadon, Coletta, Fernandes-Anderson, Flaherty, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Worrell
NO: Baker, Flynn

Next both home rule petitions go to Mayor Wu. She can sign them and move them to the legislature, veto them, or simply let them linger with no action.

15/02/2023

GOOD MORNING! There's still time to tell your city councilors to support restoring an elected SC! They'll be voting on two home rule petitions to 1) create an elected school comm & 2) add voting student members at NOON TODAY.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/your-action-needed-today-tell-your-councilors-to-vote-wednesday-for-an-elected-school-committee

You can watch today's meeting on Boston City Council TV: https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council/watch-boston-city-council-tv

Boston residents deserve the same voting rights as citizens in every other city and town in Massachusetts, and we showed it when a whopping 78% of us voted in favor of an elected school committee in November 2021. Our City Council is poised to take a historic step toward righting this 30-year voting...

14/02/2023

❤ You're Going to Love This News ❤ - https://mailchi.mp/electthebsc/citycouncilvote City Council will vote on elected SC TOMORROW, so contact your councilors in support TODAY!

14/02/2023

ACTION ALERT: City Council is voting WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 on two home rule petitions to 1) create an elected school committee & 2) add voting student members. Please let your councilors know you expect them to support restoring an elected Boston school committee!

Please use our ActionNetwork tool--personalized as you see fit--to write to your councilors AND share the link among your networks!

Boston residents deserve the same voting rights as citizens in every other city and town in Massachusetts, and we showed it when a whopping 78% of us voted in favor of an elected school committee in November 2021. Our City Council is poised to take a historic step toward righting this 30-year voting...

06/02/2023

TODAY AT 2: City Council Working Session on BSC! - https://mailchi.mp/electthebsc/workingsessiontoday Watch the working session 💻

24/01/2023

REMINDER: City Council Working Session THIS Afternoon! - https://mailchi.mp/electthebsc/newworkingsession-9282797 Join the Zoom at 2 pm

21/01/2023

Great news!! Boston City Council will hold another working session on the home rule petition for an elected school committee this coming week, on Tuesday, January 24 at 2 PM. Email [email protected] to watch the virtual session.

We expect this to move quickly through the next stages, so please watch this space for how you can help make sure that we get our elected school committee!