Boston School Committee Unanimously Approves White Stadium Lease with Soccer Partner

BOSTON -- September 11, 2024, Boston School Committee unanimously authorized a lease with Boston Unity Soccer Partners to renovate White Stadium, while tabling a contested student data-sharing policy. The committee voted 6-0 Wednesday night to allow Superintendent Mary Skipper to finalize the lease agreement, which would allow demolition of part of the aging Franklin Park facility this fall as part of a renovation estimated at more than $100 million. Attorney Alan Lipkin, representing opponents including the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, warned the committee it was taking "a tremendous risk" given active litigation under Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution and unresolved questions about land ownership under the George Robert White Fund Trust; a court hearing on the merits is expected in March 2025. A proposed student information-sharing policy between BPS and the Boston Police Department was pulled before a vote after speakers from Citizens for Juvenile Justice and the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee argued it exceeded the scope of a 2021 city ordinance. The committee also heard a presentation on a proposed expansion of the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers from 448 to 800 students, backed by a $38 million Bloomberg Philanthropies grant described as the largest gift in BPS history.