Prepare for Week 2 Hearings on Boston’s FY25 Budget
Inspectional Services, Boston Public Schools, and the Boston Fire Dept all go before the Council this week
This is the second week of budget hearings, and BPI is continuing our short preview of each hearing this week, including:
Which departments and offices are appearing at each hearing;
Where to find each hearing’s focus in the 1,194 page budget book;
The FY25 vs FY24 numbers from the budget book for that hearing;
Highlight which spending priorities laid out in the budget letter on pages 3 to 6 are for that hearing’s topic; and
What BPI is watching for in each hearing.
Here is the full schedule of hearings. A big note on this week’s Boston Public Schools’ hearings - none of them deal with BPS’ $1.3B capital plan. That hearing is still a few weeks away on May 21.
WEEK 2 - INSPECTIONAL SERVICES, BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT
MONDAY, APRIL 29 AT 10 AM IN THE IANNELLA CHAMBER
Inspectional Services Department, Property Management, and Public Facilities Department
Where to find in the budget book:
Inspectional Services Department is from page 326 to 335
Property Management is from page 336 to 353
Public Facilities Department is from page 354 to 358
Operating Budget Numbers in FY25 and FY24:
Inspectional Services Department - $23,833,947 in FY25 vs $23,319,042 in FY24
Property Management - $28,508,281 in FY25 vs $28,508,281 in FY24
Public Facilities Department - $10,688,792 in FY25 vs $10,072,301 in FY24
From the Mayor’s Letter:
None of theses offices or departments are mentioned.
What BPI is watching for:
There are two things that BPI will be watching for in this hearing.
How was Tania Del Rio’s elevation to ISD Director has impacted other administration priorities? Del Rio’s move to ISD Director had two immediate impacts:
Del Rio’s role as director of the Mass. and Cass Coordinated Response Team was taken over by Brian Foran and Michaela Nee, who were appointed Co-Directors;
Former ISD Director Sean Lydon was given a new role, Senior Advisor For Construction, which a press release issued at the time said included “assist[ing] in managing high priority projects under construction, including White Stadium [and] the stabilization of the buildings on the Long Island recovery campus.” Both of those projects are major issues for Boston.
Where is Boston on creating a stand-alone rat czar? Councilor Ed Flynn offered an ordinance creating an “Office of Pest Control” that had a hearing on April 9, but the Council opted to keep the ordinance in committee. The current head of pest control for Boston works for ISD, and we will be listening for an update.
MONDAY, APRIL 29 AT 2 PM IN THE IANNELLA CHAMBER
Boston Public Schools:
Inclusion,
English Language Learners,
Special Education Services, and
Universal Pre-K
Where to find in the budget book:
Boston Public Schools has its own seperate budget website, which can be found here.
Boston Public Schools in the City’s FY25 budget book we are using for all the other departments is from page 468 to 516
Numbers in FY25 and FY24:
Boston Public Schools has an overall budget of $1,526,629,446 in FY25 vs $1,445,874,991 in FY24;
The Boston Globe has done a great job breaking down BPS’ budget - check out their budget explainer here.
From the Mayor’s Letter:
The Mayor’s budget letter has two mentions of issues that are being discussed in this hearing:
Expanded pre-K seats;
$20M to “support high quality teaching and learning through school-based investments in inclusive education, including addtiional support for students with special needs and English learners.”
What BPI is watching for:
In all BPS hearings, BPI will be using Erin Cooley’s analysis of where BPS stood half way through the 36 month agreement between the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the City of Boston. Here are three other things we are looking for:
The state of English language learning since eight members of BPS’ English Learners Task Force resigned over the district’s new plan for moving English language learners into general education classrooms. Read more from GBH and read a letter written by some of the task force members published by the Globe.
Boston has seen enrollment continue to fall, so we are watching how BPS see Universal Pre-K helping to bring students into the system
Massachusetts’ state government has been spending hundreds of millions of dollars a month housing foriegn migrants, including many children. The impact on BPS has been discussed in terms of enrollment, but this hearing is a chance to learn more, with both English language learners and Special Education services coming before the Council.
TUESDAY, APRIL 30, AT 10 AM IN THE IANNELLA CHAMBER
Boston Public Schools
Contracts
Transportation
Student Supports & Experience (Athletics, Arts, Partnerships, Music, School Meals)
BPS Transportation Revolving Fund
BPS Technology Revolving Fund
Where to find in the budget book:
Boston Public Schools has its own separate budget website, which can be found here.
Boston Public Schools in the City’s FY25 budget book we are using for all the other departments is from page 468 to 516
Numbers in FY25 and FY24:
Boston Public Schools has an overall budget of $1,526,629,446 in FY25 vs $1,445,874,991 in FY24;
The Boston Globe has done a great job breaking down BPS’ budget - check out their budget explainer here.
From the Mayor’s Letter:
The Mayor’s letter includes that chronic absenteeism has decreased by 7% in BPS.
What BPI is watching for:
BPS athletics have been in the news for a variety of issues, and the issue has been brough up repeatedly in City Council meetings this year:
Transportation to games for student athletes - read more about this from the Boston Herald;
Student Athleties access to the Reggie Lewis Track - read BPI’s March 15 WTR for more; and
Overall funding for athletics - this has been an issue for years, and the numbers cited in this Dorchester Reporter article from 2022 continue to be used in Council hearings.
TUESDAY, APRIL 30, AT 2 PM IN THE IANNELLA CHAMBER
Boston Public Schools:
Curriculum
Hub Schools
Career & College Pathways /Vocational Tech
Safety
Where to find in the budget book:
Boston Public Schools has its own seperate budget website, which can be found here.
Boston Public Schools in the City’s FY25 budget book we are using for all the other departments is from page 468 to 516
Numbers in FY25 and FY24:
Boston Public Schools has an overall budget of $1,526,629,446 in FY25 vs $1,445,874,991 in FY24;
The Boston Globe has done a great job breaking down BPS’ budget - check out their budget explainer here.
From the Mayor’s Letter:
The Mayor’s letter mentions “multiple” new early college and career pathways across BPS’ High Schools.
What BPI is watching for:
This is going to be a busy hearing, especially after recent incidents have raised concerns about student and staff safety. BPI is focused on vocational education, where big announcements from the Wu administration over the last two years have given mixed signals:
In June 2023 Mayor Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper announced that they had a plan to “double the student population [of Madison Park] to 2,200 students in grades 7-12 (up from 1,000 today), and become a hub for workforce development in the heart of Roxbury – serving Boston’s young people and adult learners alike,” as part of a larger plan that included moving the John D. O’Bryant School off of Madison Park’s campus and into a rebuilt West Roxbury Education Campus. After major community opposition, the O’Bryant’s move was cancelled.
Mayor Wu announced a major expansion of vocational programming in BPS at her State of the City speech earlier this year, but not at Madison Park Vocational High School. Rather, Mass General Brigham’s $37.8 million donation is going to expand health care training options and double the size of the Edward M. Kennedy Academy.
In the face of declining BPS enrollment, doubling the size of Madison Park was always going to be a difficult proposition. Expanding vocational opportunities for Boston’s students in the City’s still-booming medical and pharmacuteical industries make the expansion of Madison Park even harder.
THURSDAY, MAY 2, AT 10 AM IN THE IANELLA CHAMBER
Boston Fire Department
Where to find in the budget book:
Boston Fire Department is on pages 955 to 983
Operating Budget Numbers in FY25 and FY24:
Boston Fire Department - $306,552,497 in FY25 vs $305,481,922 in FY24
From the Mayor’s Letter:
None of theses offices or departments are mentioned.
What BPI is watching for:
In an administration that has put increasing gender and racial diversity in the City’s workforce at the top of its priority list, BFD remains a major challenge. BPI will be watching for questions about recent efforts to increase diversity:
In February 2024 the Boston Globe ran an article with the headline “Boston Fire continues to fail to reflect the community it serves, new data show,” and used a recent class of 46 cadets that was 71% white and 93% male as a jumping off point to talk about the department’s historic issues with diversity.
Earlier this month the Boston City Council held a hearing on a home rule petition that would “cut the required training time for cadets in half, from two years to one, a year into a program aimed at diversifying the ranks.” Check out the transcript here.
THURSDAY, MAY 2, AT 2 PM IN THE IANELLA CHAMBER
Office of Human Services
Youth Engagement & Advancement
Office of Returning Citizens
Office of Early Childhood
Office of Workforce Development
Office of Youth Employment & Opportunity
Where to find in the budget book:
Immigrant Advancement is on pages 274 to 281
Operating Budget Numbers in FY25 and FY24:
Immigrant Advancement - $3,382,987 in FY25 vs $3,322,811 in FY24
From the Mayor’s Letter:
The Mayor’s letter touted the “Youth Jobs Guarantee,” which is a pledge that “any eligible BPS student who wants a summer job can get one.”
What BPI is watching for:
At-Large Councilor Erin Murphy held a number of hearings on youth jobs in the committee she chairs Strong Women, Families, and Communities. The most relevant for this meeting is a hearing she held on March 12 to “to discuss the results of last year's youth summer jobs programs and prepare for this summer.” Check out the transcript for that hearing here.
Is there something you are watching for in a budget hearing either this week or in the coming weeks? Email BPI at info@bostonpolicyinstitute.org to let us know!
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