Prepare for Week 9 of Boston's FY25 Budget Season
The penultimate week of the budget season features a likely School Committee vote on BPS widely criticized long-term facilities plan; Council hearing on Mayor Wu's vetoes; AND MORE
ICYMI: Last week BPI’s Executive Director Greg Maynard was a guest on BNN’s ‘Talk of the Neighborhoods’ where he and host Mary Tamer talked about BPI’s mission, the on-going fight over Boston’s budget, the status of BPS’ FY25 budget, and much more. Watch the whole thing on BPI’s YouTube channel & subscribe there for more long-form videos! Here is a clip from Thursday:
There is not a Council meeting this week due to the Juneteenth holiday, but that doesn’t mean that the budget fight between Council leadership and the Wu administration over the Mayor’s budget vetoes is cooling off. Keep reading for more on this week’s important public meetings, and a revealing press apperance by BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper.
There are three important meetings this week, two have budget implications, and one that should attract media attention on its own:
Monday, June 17, at 6 PM the Boston School Committee is meeting at the Bolling Building - this is the meeting where the SC was to approve Boston Public Schools’ updated long-term facilities plan. This plan has been a major source of disappointment for Councilors, outside observers, and even the state agency overseeing BPS’ Systemic Improvement Plan. It was also a major focus of Superintendent Skipper’s appearance on WCVB’s ‘On The Record’ over the weekend - keep reading for more on that.
Tuesday, June 18, at 2 PM the Council’s Ways & Means Committee is holding what is currently the only public hearing on Mayor Wu’s budget vetoes - this meeting is happening in the Iannella Chamber, so it will be videotaped. An untapped working session is scheduled for next Tuesday, the day before the June 26 meeting where Mayor Wu’s vetoes will face an override vote.
Friday, June 21, at 10 AM the Council’s Small Business and Professional Licensure Committee is holding a hearing “to facilitate a community process to support consumers in District 7 impacted by the impending closure of Walgreens at 416 Warren Street.” This store closure has attracted attention from Boston’s federal delegation, with U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markety joining the area’s Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley blasting the company’s decision and writing “Walgreens must not abandon this community.”
Over the weekend WCVB Channel 5’s ‘On the Record’ (OTR) had their second straight Wu administration department head on as a guest, with Superintendent Mary Skipper on to talk about the challenges facing BPS. Last week OTR had Segun Idowu, Boston's Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, on as the guest. Check out the opening seconds here & watch the whole interview here.
Superintendent Skipper defended the decision to kick the can down the road on a long-term facilities plan saying that BPS leaders in the past “haven’t done the strategy and family engagement that we’re doing now,” refused to say what she thinks about the ballot question that would remove passing MCAS as a graduation requirement, and talked about how BPS was pursuing more diversity among staff. The last answer is the most important, because it has a direct impact on the on-going negoatiations between BPS and the Boston Teachers Union on their new contract.
Boston Policy Institute will continue monitoring and explaining as Boston's 2024 budget process moves toward its end of month finish - for more make sure to follow us on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter, and LinkedIn.