Boston Council Grills BPS on Pace of School Closures and Budget Accountability

BOSTON — May 23, 2024 — Boston City Council presses BPS leaders on school closures, safety, and FY25 budget accountability. At a May 23 Ways and Means hearing chaired by Councilor Brian Worrell, Superintendent Mary Skipper defended a long-term facilities plan that proposes only two school closures and three grade reconfigurations from an initial expectation of broader action, citing 11 ongoing capital projects totaling $1.5 billion and warning that merging schools before high-quality seats exist for displaced multilingual learners and students with disabilities would harm the children most. CFO Samuel Bloom warned that month-to-month budget approval — floated by multiple councilors as an accountability tool — would force immediate spending freezes and risk mid-year layoffs. Councilor Julia M. Mejia threatened to withhold budget approval, saying "we can't continue to be rubber stamping situations here," while Councilor Erin J. Murphy noted a DESE finding that BPS failed to provide effective special education for more than 18 years and demanded a broken accessibility ramp at English High School, unaddressed for 589 days, be fixed before the school year ends.