Boston School Committee Approves $37M in Grants, Eyes Four School Closures in 2026

BOSTON -- January 22, 2025, Boston School Committee hears plan to close four schools and merge two more by June 2026. Superintendent Mary Skipper and Chief of Capital Planning Delivren Stanislaus presented a Long-Term Facilities Plan Wednesday calling for the closure of Excel High School, Mary Lyon Pilot High School, Dever Elementary, and Community Academy, along with a merger of the Winthrop and Clapp Elementary Schools into the Lila G. Frederick Elementary School building, with a formal committee vote expected in March. The district projects one-time savings of $10 million to $20 million to be reinvested in academic programming, and is planning for a system of approximately 95 schools by 2030, down from 104. The committee unanimously approved a separate package of seven grants totaling approximately $37 million, the bulk of which is a $35 million EPA award to purchase 125 electric school buses. More than 35 public speakers, most opposing the closures, testified Wednesday, with parents and staff from the Dever, Community Academy, Excel, and Mary Lyon communities describing the schools as lifelines for students with disabilities, housing instability, and language barriers; Member Jared Cadet Hernandez warned it would be "hard to continue to vote year over year for closures without a proper long-term plan."