Mayor Wu speaks at DESE meeting after state report criticizes Boston Public Schools
BOSTON -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education that she is determined to improve Boston Public Schools, a day after the state released a scathing report.
"I ran for mayor on a promise to deliver bold, urgent change, centering our young people to make Boston a city for everyone. And I am fiercely committed to that work," said Wu to DESE board members at a meeting Tuesday.
Parents, teachers, and union leaders marched from the State House to the McCormack Building to support Wu and rally in opposition to BPS being placed in state receivership.
"The issue is not are there issues that need to be resolved? It's how do you resolve them. We strongly believe the new mayor should be given an opportunity to address them," said Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang.
The state's report called for immediate improvements to be made. It cited a "lack of urgency in improving special education services" as a concern, as well as school bus transportation issues that have "worsened" since 2020. It found there were 1,148 uncovered morning routes in January affecting 16,000 student rides.
BPS disputes the transportation figures and Wu announced Tuesday that a tentative agreement has been reached with the bus drivers union.
She said putting the school system into state receivership would be counterproductive with the strides the district is making with the state.
"Now is the time to build on the progress of the past three years, lay a foundation for systemic change while we also onboard our next superintendent. We feel tremendous urgency in doing this work," Wu said.
The first round of interviews in the search for a new superintendent will begin next week.
There are currently three school districts in receivership in Massachusetts - Lawrence (2011), Holyoke (2015) and Southbridge (2016). Boston would be the fourth if Education Commissioner Jeff Riley recommends it and the state board of education approves it.
Receivership would take power away from the Boston public schools and be given to a receiver appointed by the board of education to lead the district. A receiver can only be appointed when a school district is downgraded to "chronically underperforming."
"I think Boston is going to lose a lot of really good people if they can't figure out how to fix the schools," said one parent. "Things aren't moving forward the way that they should."
The state education department hadn't made a decision as of Tuesday evening. Riley told board members he would get back to them with more in the coming weeks.
