Boston School Committee Approves Grants, Sets December 17 Vote on Four School Closures

BOSTON — December 3, 2025 — Boston School Committee hears overwhelming opposition to proposed closure of four small schools ahead of a December 17 vote. More than 60 speakers testified at the December 3 meeting against the recommended closures of Community Academy of Science and Health, Another Course to College, Henderson Upper School, and Lee Academy Pilot School, with students, parents, and teachers at each school arguing the communities serve disproportionately high numbers of students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students of color without any transition plan in place. ESL teacher Erin Conorny quoted Superintendent Mary Skipper's own 2024 statement that the district "can't simply close or merge schools without first developing a way for students who are in them who are the most fragile," adding, "that's exactly what you're doing." BTU President Eric Berg called for no closures "unless and until there is a new facility and an improved program for those students to go to." The committee unanimously approved three grants totaling $532,962.10 and heard an informational presentation on a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors covering roughly 350 employees, including 2 percent annual wage increases over three years and an FY26 supplemental appropriation request of $1,307,901, with a formal vote on both the contract and the closures scheduled for December 17.