Latest news with #MarySkipper
Boston Globe
27-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
‘There's a lot of uncertainty in this budget': Boston School Committee approves $1.58B budget, but officials wary of future federal cuts
Advertisement 'This budget honors our commitment to putting students first, while maximizing and strengthening programs and initiatives that are showing the greatest success and growth,' Superintendent Mary Skipper told committee members Wednesday. The budget will start on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Administrators have said the budget increased by $53.4 million, including $31.4 million in general costs for running the school district. The district's fiscal 2026 budget is also the first in several years to not include federal pandemic aid. The expenses include an extra $10 million on health insurance and $8 million more for student out-of-district placement and transportation. Administrators said they will also boost spending on student services by $43 million next year -- roughly half of those funds will be drawn from the budget increase itself, while the remainder comes from cost-cutting measures like building closures. But overshadowing the schools' budget is President Trump, who has issued a slew of executive orders that punish public K-12 schools if they offer curriculum or services he opposes. His orders have been aimed at rooting out He's also Advertisement Michael O'Neill, the committee's vice chairperson, noted many other districts are cutting their budgets, and laying off staff. While Boston is not seeking those reductions, administrators have said the district receives about $100 million of federal funds, which represent about 6 percent of the budget. Losing those funds would have a significant impact, officials have warned. O'Neill also noted that future schools' budgets could also be impacted by falling commercial real estate tax revenue, as the market for office space in Boston remains soft years after the pandemic. 'There's a lot of uncertainty in this budget,' O'Neill said. Jeri Robinson, the board's chairperson, suggested that the district establish a working group or committee to help prepare BPS in case it needs to make changes to its budgets. 'How do we go about making the harder choices?' Robinson said. 'And we know, given where we're heading in this country, we're going to get to the point that we're going to have to make hard choices.' Another b The union has said the agreement would include higher pay for staff like teachers and paraprofessionals, and require staffing levels for inclusive classrooms with high concentrations of students with disabilities. The School Committee discussed the contract during a closed-door session before the budget vote, and is expected to decide on the proposal at a future meeting. The union is expected to hold a ratification vote April 9. Advertisement Administrators have said the budget approved Thursday includes $10 million more to expand inclusive practices in grades 1,2, 8, and 10. There is also $4 million more for English language learners. That plan, announced in 2023, is intended to eliminate barriers that have isolated English learners and special education students for years, and is critical for breaking down systemic racial disparities in education. This was the first year for the plan which has been rolled out in kindergarten, grades 7 and 9. Administrators have said it will continue being expanded into other grades, with the goal of district-wide implementation by fiscal 2028. Improving services for special education students and English learners is required under the state improvement plan for BPS, which was launched in 2022. The plan is due to expire June 30, and while it remains a work in progress, the plan is not expected to be extended, district administrators and some state education officials, including Russell Johnston, the state's acting education commissioner, have said. 'The work is not over yet. It will continue on,' Johnston told the Globe. On Tuesday, Matt Hills, the state board's vice chairman, said the board hasn't seen better academic outcomes for BPS students. 'There was supposed to be a series of more aggressive academic goals within a year... and it hasn't happened,' Hills said. 'Fixing the bathrooms and buses are all fine. Ultimately, it's the academic improvement that we're looking for.' Advertisement Katherine Craven, chairperson of the state board, criticized the district's continuing issues of late buses. 'Students [are] trying to get to school, but they aren't getting there because of transportation,' Craven said. 'This is a very adult problem getting in the way of kids learning.' During Wednesday's meeting of the Boston School Committee, Skipper and Robinson were among those who pledged BPS would continue to work on school improvements. 'This is not the end, it's simply a milestone,' Robinson said of the plan's expiration. 'We remain dedicated to doing right by our students.' Mandy McLaren of the Globe staff contributed to this report. John Hilliard can be reached at
CBS News
19-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Boston public school teachers reach tentative contract agreement with city
It appears that Boston public school teachers have avoided a strike. The union has reached a tentative contract agreement with the city after several months of negotiations. Boston teachers have been working without a contract since August 31. A protest had been planned for Mayor Michelle Wu's State of the City address Wednesday night, but that has now been called off. An email that went out to teachers in all Boston Public Schools said the tentative agreement is for a three-year contract, which is pretty standard. It is said to include a raise for all educators, specifically the lowest paid educators, which are typically paraprofessionals. The email was signed by the mayor and Superintendent Mary Skipper. The teachers' union said the deal also comes with more resources for children with disabilities, which had been a cornerstone of their negotiations. Teachers have been required to be certified in general education, special education and English as a second language. Some were often simultaneously teaching all three types of students in the same classroom. The union president says that this agreement will now increase classroom staffing levels. The next step is that the union members will vote if they want to ratify this new agreement, or they can go back to more bargaining sessions. More than 48,000 students attend Boston Public Schools.
Boston Globe
27-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Boston School Committee considering request to seek state funds for Madison Park project Wednesday
The city's sole vocational high school could be one step closer to a proposed $700 million rebuild, as the Boston School Committee is considering a request to seek state funds to help support paying for the Roxbury project. Both the School Committee and the City Council will have to sign off on the proposed request for funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, administrators said Wednesday. Advertisement 'It is maybe the most important investment that we could be making, because we know that investing in Madison Park doesn't only benefit our students, but it benefits our entire region, and our city,' Superintendent Mary Skipper told the School Committee Wednesday. The City Council is expected to hold a hearing on the proposed state Related : If the city sends the funding submission this spring, it could hear back from the state by year's end, administrators said. The estimated cost for the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School project, if it moved forward, would be the most expensive school project in state history. The proposed new school would be more than a half-million square feet, and serve 2,200 students. That would include about 800 students enrolled in newly added Grades 7 and 8. The campus would feature new facilities and include an auditorium, performing arts spaces, and a media center. That would double the size of Madison Park, which has a current enrollment of 1,121. More than half of its students are Latino or Hispanic, and 41 percent of its students are Black, according to BPS data. Most of the school's students are from low-income backgrounds, according to the district. Advertisement The move to seek state assistance was a reversal for Mayor Michelle Wu, who had originally proposed the city pay for construction itself, and have work begin this year. By seeking state funds, the project isn't expected to begin for a few more years. But it also frees up district money for work on other buildings, officials said. But several School Committee members raised concerns about the future of the project if the state doesn't provide financial assistance , including committee member Chantal Lima Barbosa. She asked administrators to come up with a plan soon in case the state doesn't approve funding, and cuts are needed to reduce the project's cost. 'In the event that we don't get the money, the support from MSBA, what are we going to have to cut in terms of programming?' Lima Barbosa said. 'I think it's important to know now. It shouldn't be a conversation in (the) spring of 2026.' New name proposed for merger of two Roslindale schools School officials proposed naming the merged Philbrick and Sumner schools as the Sarah Roberts Elementary School, honoring a Boston 5-year-old who was at the center of the The School Committee approved the merger of the The Philbrick and Sumner schools will be moving into the renovated Washington Irving Elementary School building beginning September 2025, according to school administrators. The two school communities include large populations of Latinx and Haitian Creole families, officials said. Advertisement The name, Sarah Roberts Elementary School, 'symbolizes the fight for educational justice in Boston and connects both school communities together,' administrators said in filings submitted to the School Committee. Related : In 1847, Roberts' father Benjamin Roberts applied for his daughter to attend a white school close to their home, according to a School Committee memo. School administrators denied the request on the basis that Roberts could attend the local school for Black children instead, according to BPS. The School Committee is expected to vote on the school name at a future meeting. Without MCAS, School Committee OK's new graduation requirements for 2025 The School Committee voted unanimously on new graduation requirements in the city for 2025. The change was needed after voters across Each school district is required to develop new competency requirements, Skipper said. Related : Under the plan approved by committee members, Boston Public Schools students can show competency with a passing grade in identified Previous Globe coverage was used in this report. John Hilliard can be reached at
