Boston School Committee Halts O'Brien Relocation, Eyes BCLA McCormick Rebuild

BOSTON -- February 28, 2024, Boston School Committee unanimously receives superintendent's report halting the O'Brien School relocation and advancing a state grant bid for the BCLA McCormick 7-12 building. Superintendent Mary Skipper announced the indefinite halt of the proposed move of the John D. O'Brien School of Mathematics and Science to the West Roxbury Education Complex, citing a "lack of consensus" after seven months of community feedback. The committee also heard a presentation from Chief of Capital Planning Deliverance Stanislaus and Mayor's Office Senior Advisor Rebecca Granger outlining a planned statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for a new BCLA McCormick campus; the current building scores 9 out of 100 on the district's facilities condition index, placing it in the bottom tenth percentile district-wide. The MSBA application is due April 12, with the committee scheduled to vote on it March 20. Skipper also disclosed that 82 newcomer students from the Melnea Cass Recreation Center shelter had enrolled in BPS, and reported that chronic absenteeism in grades 9 through 12 at transformation schools stands at 55 percent, compared to roughly 39 percent at non-transformation high schools. The meeting was the final School Committee session for Executive Secretary Liz Sullivan, who is leaving after 16 years for a position in another school district.