Boston City Council Unanimously Passes Pension Fix for Injured School Principal

BOSTON — May 21, 2025 — Boston City Council unanimously passes home rule petition to fix disabled principal's pension and calls for school bus safety probe. The council voted 13-0 Wednesday to pass a home rule petition for Patricia M. Lampron, the former principal of the Dr. William Henderson K-12 Inclusion School in Dorchester, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being beaten by a student in November 2021 and has been unable to return to work — but who, unlike police officers and EMS workers, is not covered by state disability pension law. Councilor John FitzGerald, who filed the petition, said it was drafted with a state representative and House counsel and goes to Beacon Hill as an amendable home rule. The council also unanimously passed a home rule age waiver for Jose Ortiz, a 40-year-old Roxbury native who passed the BPD entrance exam, and filed an emergency hearing order on bus driver certification following the death of five-year-old Lens Arthur Joseph, who was struck by a school bus. Councilor Erin J. Murphy said the driver "had already been involved in collisions that very day and was operating with an expired driving certification." Ways and Means Chair Brian Worrell reported 99 hours and 10 minutes of FY26 budget hearings across 42 sessions, with Boston Housing Authority officials warning that federal cuts could eliminate 8,000 BHA vouchers and displace 11,000 children.