Boston School Committee passes $1.7 billion budget that includes staff cuts, as some call for an audit

The Boston School Committee approved a $1.7 billion dollar budget plan that calls for up to 400 staff cuts for the next fiscal year, as the district faces a deficit.

The unanimous 7-0 vote Wednesday came with strong words from some members, including calls for more oversight about how the district spends its money.

“Both at the school level and at central office, it’s time for an audit,” said Chairwoman Jeri Robinson.

"For each and every department in each and every school, it’s time to do some self-reflection,” Robinson added, saying the district should be “the best stewards of the money that we have so that we can make sure each and every one of those dollars really are going to the bottom line of what our students really need.”

During budget presentations and hearings over the past two months, teachers and parents urged the committee to save educator roles.

“As you have heard me say many times at this point, outside pressures, many of which are beyond the district’s and the city’s control, have made it necessary for us to make tough financial decisions,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said at the committee meeting.

“Both at the school level and at central office, it’s time for an audit."

Boston School Chairwoman Jeri Robinson

Staff positions at risk in the final tallies include about 260 teachers and 144 aides. The Boston Teachers Union said the most vulnerable jobs are those of educators who work with English learners and students with disabilities.

The budget reflects a 4.5% spending increase, or $74 million, from the current one. It covers rising costs of health insurance premiums, special education services and bus transportation, Skipper said.

At the same time, collective bargaining obligations “coupled with declining enrollment due to changes in federal immigration policy and lower overall birth rates” have prompted the need to eliminate staff positions, Skipper said.

“ These are not choices we make lightly, but they will allow us to protect the services and programs that directly impact and benefit our schools and classrooms,” she said.

Boston enrolled 1,670 fewer students this year compared to last, a downward enrollment trend noticeable in many other districts this year as immigration policy changes suppress the number of newcomers entering — or staying — in local communities.

The district has experienced long-term enrollment decline due to other forces, including relocation out of the city. It’s primed to close three schools by the end of next school year under a long-term plan. Yet its overall budget has consistently gone up year over year.

“Things are going up," Robinson, the committee chair, said, "but at the same time, I'm sure there are things we are doing in our schools because we've always done them that may or may not give us the outcomes that we're looking for.”

During public testimony Wednesday, City Councilor Julia Mejia said she was  ”concerned about the lack of transparency concerning BPS’s expenditures throughout the year." She also questioned the extent of educator cuts when “much remains in the central district office and it is difficult to know where it goes,” referring to dollars.

The teachers union has called on the City Council to invest an additional $48 million into the district — an amount the union said would be sufficient to restore eliminated positions.

The budget next heads to the City Council for approval, a process that will take place between April and June.

The district’s current shortfall, as of February, totaled about $53 million. The budget plan calls for $48 million in reductions — though about half of that amount will be absorbed through upcoming school closures and grade reconfigurations.

The proposal has also been adjusted since it was first unveiled months ago. A new bus monitors contract will cost the district another $2 million. Skipper said that $4 million will be moved from reserves to the budget, "primarily to maintain teacher and paraprofessional supports.”

The looming job losses come amid the district’s recent announcement of a record-high graduation rate among seniors last year.  Skipper attributed the milestone to greater supports for students in special education or learning English.