Boston School Committee: 6·17·24 Meeting Recap

Last night’s meeting was the last school committee meeting of the school year, with a scheduled vote to close the Lilla Frederick Middle School and close and consolidate the West Zone Early Learning Center with the Hennigan School, and a report from the school committee’s student representative. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, with Superintendent Skipper highlighting a number of ongoing initiatives in the district. However, there was a lack of detail on how these initiatives are being implemented or their impact on student outcomes and achievement. There were also questions from members about the status of the district’s negotiations with the Boston Teachers’ Union. At the last meeting, the Superintendent said they were ahead of schedule, hoping to have a new contract finalized by the end of June. Last night, the Superintendent told members that negotiations are still ongoing and would not be complete by the end of June. There were around 40 speakers who came to testify at public comment, with the majority of speakers testifying against the merger of the West Zone Early Learning Center into the Hennigan. There were a few speakers who testified about a new report that was submitted to the record, which highlights discrimination and mistreatment of former administrators in the district.  The main vote of the night was a proposal to close the Lilla Frederick Middle School and close and consolidate the West Zone Early Learning Center with the Hennigan. This vote came after months of discussion about the district’s Green New Deal and the need to make important decisions surrounding mergers and closures. There has recently been a lot of discussion by the public about facilities, discussing the slow down of the plan by the Mayor, a deep dive into the district’s declining enrollment and future city revenue projections, and continued questions about the $50 million commitment to White Stadium. Last night, none of these topics were discussed by the School Committee, and members unanimously voted to close both the Frederick and the West Zone. The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Wednesday, July 17th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices