Councilor Baker Wants School Committee to be Mayoral Appointments and Elected Members

Boston City Councilor Frank Baker wants a hybrid School Committee to replace the current model of being appointed by the mayor.

Boston's School Committee is currently chosen by mayoral appointments, but District 3 City Councilor Frank Baker would like it to be a hybrid of elected officials and mayoral appointments. “I believe our schools are the most important issue in our city. If we have strong schools, we will have a vibrant and successful city,” Baker said. “The school committee serves an important role in the decision making structure of the Boston Public Schools and should be accountable and responsive to the citizens of Boston, not solely to the mayor and his administration.”  Baker has filed a home rule petition to reorganize Boston's School Committee into a hybrid model of both elected and appointed members. Boston did previously have an elected school …

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Charlestown's Michael O'Neill Reappointed to Boston School Committee

Michael O'Neill will be sworn in to a second term on the Boston School Committee on Jan. 4.

  Charlestown resident Michael O'Neill will be sworn in to his second term on the Boston School Committee this Friday. O’Neill, 52, has served one four-year term on the committee and has served as the board's vice chairman since January 2012. He will be sworn in to a second term, expiring Jan. 2, 2017, during a ceremony on Friday, Jan. 4 at 4 p.m., according to a press release from Mayor Thomas Menino's office. “Michael O’Neill has been a valued member of the Boston School Committee, providing insight and expertise in the areas of financial strategies and youth development,” Menino said in a statement posted on the city website. “He has served with professionalism and integrity, and I am honored to reappoint him.” O’Neill, 52, has a Master…

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Poll: Should Schools Superintendent Johnson Resign or Be Removed?

Superintendent Johnson admitted she was wrong for not disciplining a school headmaster who is on probation after allegedly assaulting his wife.

  A City Councilor is calling for Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson to be removed after she did not discipline a school headmaster after he was arrested for assaulting his wife. Meanwhile, more than 200 Johnson supporters rallied at Jamaica Plain's Bethel A.M.E. Churchon Saturday, according to the Globe. Rodney Peterson was the headmaster at the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics & Science in Roxbury, was placed on administrative leave after he was charged with choking his wife last June, and has since left the Boston Public Schools system. Johnson has apologized for her handling of the situation, telling Deborah Becker on WBUR's Morning Edition, “I made a mistake. I wish I had done things differently. In retrospect, I…

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Boston City Council Unhappily Approves School Committee's Reshuffling Plan

The Boston City Council approved the School Committee's plan that would expand student's access to high-performing schools, but also results in the loss of a Mission Hill k-8 neighborhood school.

  After an agonizing and devisive review of the Boston Public School's proposal to shuffle facilities in an effort to expand access to high performing schools, the Boston City Council approved the plan today - despite strong opposition from parents. Moving the Mission Hill K-8 school out of the Mission Hill neighborhood and into Jamaica Plain's Agassiz building uproots students and will destroy the close-knit community, according to an online petition to stop the plan. The Fenway High School will move into the Mission Hill K-8 location. While most agreed the overall proposal (see attached screenshot) makes sense for the other eight schools affected and is good for Boston in general, District 8 Councilor Mike Ross, whose district includes …

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Mayor Menino Appoints Two School Committee Members

Meg Campbell of Dorchester is a new committee member, while Claudio Martinez of Jamaica Plain has been on the committee since 2008.

  Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced the appointment of a new Boston School Committee member, Meg Campbell, and the reappointment of another member, to four-year terms. Campbell is the founder and executive director of the Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester. The school has been recognized by the city and state for its partnerships, and noted for the college admittance success of its students. Campbell is a Dorchester resident, who is active in neighborhood and city-wide initiatives. She also writes on education policy.  Jamaica Plain's Claudio Martinez was reappointed. He is the executive director of the Hyde Square Task Force in Jamaica Plain, where he developed several programs and grown the non-profit organization from…

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Boston School Committee Approves Plan to Move 13 Schools

No West Roxbury schools are involved in plan.

Boston Teachers Union Wants School Committee to have Mayoral Appointees and Elected Officials

Currently Boston School Committee members are chosen by a council after application interview process.