Boston School Committee Votes 6-1 to Close Four Schools Serving Vulnerable Students

BOSTON — December 17, 2025 — Boston School Committee votes 6-1 to close four schools serving predominantly Black and Latino students, effective 2027. Chair Jerry Robinson and Superintendent Mary Skipper led the December 17 session, at which the committee approved the closure of Another Course to College, Community Academy of Science and Health, and Lee Academy Pilot School, and the elimination of grades 9-12 and the transition program at the Henderson K-12 Inclusion School, all taking effect June 30, 2027. Leah Serena, Vice President of the Boston Teachers Union, told the committee that "disruption without direction is not a strategy," while teacher Ross Kochman warned that "a meaningfully inclusive high school is not just a program preference, it is both a moral and legal imperative." Member Polanco-Garcia cast the lone dissenting vote, citing insufficient assurance about transition planning for students with disabilities. The committee also unanimously approved a 2024-2027 collective bargaining agreement with the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors and an accompanying $1,307,901 fiscal year 2026 supplemental appropriation, and received a financial update projecting a reduction of 300 to 400 district positions and health insurance costs approaching $175 million in FY27 — nearly equal to the district's $150 million annual transportation budget.