The Boston City Council on Wednesday voted 10-3 to pass Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposed $1.5 billion budget for Boston Public Schools for the next fiscal year, despite concerns about ongoing inequities in the district, the lack of a long-term facilities plan, and declining enrollment.
“We were concerned with persistent, underperforming metrics at BPS despite the district spending more than $30,000 per pupil,” said Councilor Brian Worrell, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee that oversees the budget process. “With that being said, I believe this is a bridge year for BPS, and one where they would need to prove progress on inclusion, transportation, and much more. I’m hopeful, hopeful to see progress.”
Worrell emphasized that the council held months of hearings and meetings with BPS officials, and he received assurances from Superintendent Mary Skipper that the district will be commissioning several “robust external audits” on a range of issues, including performance and achievement among students of color, spending by the district’s central office, and transportation. He also said the district committed to providing a more transparent view of its budget next year, and involving the council earlier in the budget process.
But Councilors Liz Breadon, Julia Mejia, and Erin Murphy, who voted against the BPS budget, all delivered harsh criticism of the district, with particular concern about student literacy levels.
“How many decades are we going to allow our children to have to be learning in difficult and challenging times? We shouldn’t allow that at all. It’s the children who suffer, and we do have more than enough money to get this right,” said Murphy.
Breadon slammed the district over what she said was a significant lack of transparency and accountability.
“We shouldn’t have to drag the answers out of BPS, the central office is a black box, and we have no idea how money is spent,” said Breadon, who also criticized the district for not yet producing a robust facilities plan that lays out planned school closures, consolidations, and renovations. “We have 119 schools buildings in the city. Many of them are over 100 years old, and yet we don’t have a five-year capital plan. And as someone said ... ‘We’re kicking the can down the road,’ absolutely we’re kicking the can down the road.”
Other councilors acknowledged that many of the challenges facing the district are decades in the making, and expressed optimism over recent increased investments in mental health programs, community hub schools, and Wu’s Green New Deal for BPS. The ambitious plan commits $2 billion to build or renovate school buildings to make them environmentally efficient and provide students access to both high quality instruction and social services.
“I, like everyone else, was surprised when we had all this plan for closings and mergers and reconfigurations, and what’s presented to us is actually a very slim list, [but] I actually do support the idea of under promising and over delivering, because for too long, our students in our schools have been delivered false promises,” said Council President Ruthzee Louijeune. “So I am encouraged that we are trying to look and start small and see where that takes us, because our students really do deserve the world.”
Councilor Ben Weber said BPS was actually a large contributing factor to why he wanted to run for a City Council seat.
“Raising two kids in the city of Boston, both in BPS, both having attended a school that was shut down on short notice by BPS drove me to want to get more involved in the public discourse and see what I could do from the inside,” said Weber, adding that he believes there are many things the district does well, referencing his son, who is finishing his junior year in BPS. “In three full years there my son has had a wonderful time, not been any safety issues, the staff have been incredible. He’s gotten the services that he needs there. So BPS can do things very well, and I think it’s our job to figure out how to have that apply district wide.”
Councilor Ed Flynn also expressed the need to give Skipper time to rightsize the district.
“She’s doing a good job under very difficult, challenging circumstances,” said Flynn, who supported the budget but expressed concern about school safety.
In a statement, Wu expressed her gratitude with the council for their support of the BPS budget.
“I value our shared focus on working for Boston students and their families to have every possible opportunity,” said Wu in the statement. “Under Superintendent Skipper’s leadership, we are rebuilding the systems, facilities, and partnerships to support our educators and make a difference for every student and school community.”
The City Council on Wednesday did not take action on the operating budget for the next fiscal year, which the mayor this week vetoed and sent back with only $2 million of the $15 million in changes the council added to Wu’s proposed spending plan for 2025. At Wednesday’s meeting, Louijeune opted to send the returned budget to committee for further discussion.
Two-thirds of the council, or nine members, would have to vote to override the mayor’s veto.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.