Ep. 92, Last Night @ School Committee: 9/27 Meeting Recap

Last Night At School Committee

Last night’s School Committee meeting began with remarks from Chair Jeri Robinson in which she addressed her comments at the last School Committee meeting on the troubled state of Boston Public Schools. In her remarks last night, Chair Robinson claimed that her unscripted comments were used to promote a negative image of the district and that public criticism of the district following her remarks was unproductive. These comments struck a negative chord with several community members during public comment last night, with two commenters directly addressing the Chair’s remarks in their testimony.

The meeting continued with the Superintendent’s Report, which included brief updates on MCAS results, transportation, and enrollment, all of which will be covered in greater detail at next week’s meeting. The School Committee then heard a number of standard reports on collective bargaining agreements and a charter amendment for Boston Green Academy. The final report of the night was an annual report from the Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpEdPAC). The SpEdPAC Chair and Vice Chair presented on their strategic initiatives for the coming year and outlined key priorities, noting that all 12,000 BPS students with special learning needs are unique and there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach to special education.

The meeting concluded with new business, which began with remarks from Dr. Stephen Alkins applauding the special education presentation and requesting that future School Committee conversations be similarly structured with deep dives on key topics. School Committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez concluded the meeting by raising several additional items. First, he asked follow-up questions on last week’s discussion of the Green New Deal, pressing on when a master facility plan will be released and how the facility assessment rubric will be structured. The Superintendent responded by saying that there will be small facility improvements this spring, with more decisions to be made in conjunction with budget cycles over the next two years. Mr. Cardet-Hernandez then reiterated a request made in previous meetings that the School Committee amend the exam school admissions policy to award the ten bonus points based on an individual’s socioeconomic status rather than that of an entire school, and the Superintendent said this will be discussed at next week’s meeting.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices