The Boston School Committee on Wednesday unanimously passed a $1.73 billion budget for next school year, a more than 4.5 percent increase over this year’s spending plan, but ongoing financial pressures and declining enrollment will put between 300 and 400 jobs at risk.
Advocates are calling for the city to invest an additional 1 percent of its operating budget, about $48 million, to avert cuts to student services. The School Committee holds exclusive authority to revise line items in the budget. The City Council and Mayor may approve, reject or reduce the total recommended budget, but do not have the authority to revise individual items or increase the budget.
During a February budget presentation, Superintendent Mary Skipper said certain reductions would be necessary as costs continue to outpace revenues. She said fewer teachers would be needed because of an enrollment decline of about 3,000 students over the last two years. Other top financial pressures includee labor contracts, transportation expenses and rising health insurance costs.
Increased expenses have contributed to an estimated $53 million budget deficit this year, which led to a hiring freeze announced in January.
“The budget that the city has proposed for the schools is not adequate to meet the needs of all of our members, particularly students with disabilities and multilingual learners,” said Boston Teachers Union President Erik Berg. “The restoration of any necessary services for our students is a move in the right direction. We’re seeking additional funding added into the BPS budget so they can restore some of the services that are currently [cut].”
Those proposed cuts would primarily impact teaching and aide positions, as well as administrative roles and other support staff. Special education and bilingual faculty are to be especially affected.
Mary Stenson, a school nurse at the Melvin H. King South End Academy Elementary School — a specialized school for students with increased social and emotional needs — said she has seen the effects of reductions first-hand, adding parents who have students with similar needs should find these cuts “alarming.”
“People see our students as ‘bad kids,’ but they just need their emotional needs met. Bigger schools can’t meet their needs,” Stenson said. “Listen to educators. Take it from the people in the buildings.”
Formerly known as the McKinley schools, the Melvin H. King Academy offers speech therapy, physical therapy and dental and vision care, among other services. Julie Cass, a paraprofessional, said it’s not uncommon to need multiple staff members to address the behavioral needs of one student. Reducing special education staff in favor of inclusion models could create unsafe environments for other students and staff, she said.
“We do intense and effective work. Some kids can coast by, our kids can’t coast,” Cass said. “Many students come in with low self-esteem. They get to find out how smart they are.”
Sumaya Sheike, a fifth-year educator at Dr. William H. Henderson Inclusion School in Dorchester, said cuts will “hurt” her students and may make the work of remaining staff more difficult.
“There are a lot of steps to go through before eliminating student-facing roles,” Sheike said. “You can’t talk about the successes of BPS without the faults.”
For Simel Rodriguez, who has a fifth grader at Blackstone Elementary in the South End with both behavioral and multilingual needs, cuts to special education services could mean losing communication with her daughter.
Rodriguez’s daughter has an IEP — an Individualized Education Program — and benefits from speech therapy and additional support in math and reading.
“All students, regardless of diverse needs, need this staff,” said Rodriguez, translated from Spanish. “By cutting these things, you limit all learners.”
Rodriguez was one of dozens of parents, union members and advocates who rallied outside City Hall before the City Council budget hearing Tuesday, to call on the Council and Mayor Michelle Wu to prevent service cuts. In an overflowing chamber, Boston Public Schools students presented legislators with letters of intent tied to flowers and many more gave oral testimony.
Ahead of the 7-0 vote on Wednesday, School Committee members discussed the allocation of transitional funds for schools that will close, improvements for future budget seasons and the role of public comment in amending the budget.
“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,” said School Committee Chair Jeri Robinson, calling for an audit of the BPS central office and at the school level. “It’s time to do some self-reflection. Student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors do.”
The budget now goes to the City Council and Wu for final approval.