Boston Council Grills BPS on Closures, Stadium Spending, and Record Student Homelessness

BOSTON — April 15, 2025 — Boston City Council's Ways and Means Committee pressed BPS officials on a $53.4 million FY26 spending increase during an April 15 budget hearing covering school closures, transportation, and a record student homelessness count. Superintendent Mary Skipper told the council that four schools will close and two will merge by end of the 2026 school year, generating anticipated one-time future savings of $10 million to $20 million not reflected in this year's budget; classroom closures and reconfigurations are projected to save another $12 million. BPS Transportation Director Dan Rosengart reported the Zūm bus-tracking app has already identified roughly 2,000 students not regularly using buses, yielding a projected $1 million in savings, while the overall FY26 transportation budget rises to $188 million — up $8 million from FY25 entirely due to new union wages. Opportunity Youth Director Brian Marx disclosed that approximately 5,200 students experienced homelessness last year, an all-time high, with the city's Boston Housing Authority voucher program effectively closed since federal funding expired in December 2024, a program that had permanently housed more than 1,700 BPS families. Council Member Edward M. Flynn demanded same-summer repairs to the Josiah Quincy School gymnasium, declaring, "I want to get it done and I want to get it done this summer," after learning the project had not yet been added to the capital budget; BPS officials acknowledged the safety hazard and committed to immediate operating-budget repairs.