Boston School Committee Meeting: Strategic Roadmap, Grants, and Staffing Updates — September 16, 2026

The Boston School Committee convened in person in the Bolling Building in Nubian Square, with Chairperson Jerry Robinson presiding. The agenda covered the superintendent's report on the opening of the 2026-27 school year, public testimony, grant approvals, capital planning and MSBA updates, the "Forward Together" 2026-2031 strategic roadmap, and the schedule for the next meeting. The committee approved the prior meeting minutes, approved two grants and the MASC membership dues, and heard from 14 public speakers.

Consent Calendar

• The committee approved the minutes of the July 8, 2026, meeting and the August 5, 2026, special grants meeting by unanimous consent with no objection.

Superintendent's Report

• The Superintendent acknowledged BPS community members who passed away over the summer and thanked Chair Robinson, Vice Chair Scarrett, and committee members Torres and Tran for greeting students on the first days of school.
• Educator staffing: All 374 permanent or tenured BTU educators who began the hiring season without permanent positions have now been hired or assigned into a permanent position within BPS. All 205 paraprofessionals with seniority in the BTU paraprofessional unit who started without positions were hired or assigned for 2026-27, with a small number resigning or retiring, which the Superintendent described as typical. Approximately 200 provisional educators have been hired back, and the district continues encouraging provisionals to apply as positions become available.
• Transportation: BPS transports approximately 18,000 students. The Superintendent reported far fewer uncovered routes this year than in prior years; when a bus must loop back and cannot reach its next school on time, BPS sends a covering bus or communicates the delay. Executive Director Dan Rosengaard was present to answer questions. Families can download the bus-tracking Zoom app from the BPS website's family resource tab.
• Vendor payments: The Superintendent said BPS is working with the Inspector General on a report concerning school vendors not being paid on time, and she will report the report's contents to the committee once steps are identified.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Fourteen speakers testified; each was allotted three minutes, with reminders when 30 seconds remained.
• Exam schools: A speaker cited a recent Boston Globe article reporting that Black enrollment at Boston Latin School has increased each year and approached the district's Black enrollment level in school year 2026. The speaker criticized BPS leadership for enacting an exam school policy that simulations showed would be regressive, and noted the BPS report does not disaggregate the top 20% of invitees by race or neighborhood.
• Private fundraising and SMART goals: A speaker urged the committee to consider the role of private fundraising, citing the Reimagining School Funding project's recommendation to collect and make available all revenue information by school, including philanthropy and other private sources, and to require annual updates on board structure, status, and operating revenue. The speaker urged BPS to set SMART goals for disaggregated student groups — including reducing MCAS proficiency and achievement gaps and improving teacher diversity — and asked the committee to set a date for BPS to incorporate new strategies into the 2027-28 budget and submit necessary proposals to the state for fall 2027 implementation.
• Written testimony: One speaker confirmed submission of written testimony to all members and asked that it be read carefully.
• Committee members thanked all speakers and stated their testimony is extremely important.

Action Item: Grants

• Madison Park after-school vocational program: Administrators presented year one of a $12 million grant received by the City of Boston to provide after-school vocational opportunities for Madison Park students and students throughout BPS. The committee approved the grant.
• Mass Cultural Council Creative Experiences Grant: A continuing competitive grant of $100,000 for the 2026-27 school year, expected to serve more than 600 students at 20 BPS schools and support creative experiences, was approved.
• The two grants were approved in separate votes, by unanimous consent.

Action Item: MASC Membership Dues

• The committee took up the third action item: payment of $8,795 in membership dues to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) for the 2026-27 school year.

Discussion Item: Horace Mann Charter Schools

• The committee discussed the requirement that each Horace Mann charter school operate under a memorandum of understanding with BPS (MOUA). Discussion noted that if not Dearborn, other high schools offer students opportunities to continue career and early college preparation.

Discussion Item: Capital Planning and MSBA Feasibility Study

• Chief of Capital Planning Del Stanislaus presented the proposed list of 22 capital programs.
• On August 26, 2026, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) board of directors voted to invite BPS into the feasibility study stage. During this period, BPS and the city must demonstrate the governance, planning, funding, and educational information necessary to move forward.
• A member asked about programs connected to Boston's identity as a seaport city. Discussion noted that expanding the early education and care workforce is a priority for both the city and BPS.

Discussion Item: Forward Together 2026-2031 Strategic Roadmap

• Presenters reviewed the final version of focus areas, objectives, and key actions in "Forward Together," described as BPS's blueprint for actions that will ensure student success and are aligned with the OAG vision that all students, no matter their background, can attain excellence.
• Focus areas are organized into two categories — student achievement and culture and climate — with key actions including a professional development plan emphasizing strong teaching practices for diverse learners, ensuring teachers have strong curriculum, and ensuring students have a strong sense of belonging and safety, including support when a school community is uprooted.
• Success measures are still under development; climate survey data and MCAS results will be presented at the October meeting. A member requested that 2031 targets use the most recent baseline data.
• A member expressed concern that OAG has been an ongoing issue and asked whether educators believe they can educate the students in front of them, adding that students should strive for proficiency — a different approach from historical BPS practice of setting ceilings for students that should never have been set.
• A member requested specificity plans outlining benchmarks and steps for each measure. Presenters indicated that the next document needed would lay out targets, what will show progress, and what will be communicated publicly versus internally.
• Discussion noted that family liaisons will receive professional development from multiple departments as part of implementation.

Key Outcomes

• Approved: minutes of July 8 and August 5, 2026; the Madison Park vocational grant (year one of the $12 million grant); the $100,000 Mass Cultural Council Creative Experiences Grant; and $8,795 in MASC membership dues.
• The strategic roadmap and capital plan items were presented for action at future meetings.
• The next regular school committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 6 PM at the Bolling Building in Nubian Square.