►
From YouTube: Committee on Government Operations on December 6, 2021
Description
Docket #0899 - Petition for a Special Law re: An Act Relative to Reorganization of the Boston School Committee.
A
Very
good,
so
we're
going
to
begin
then,
good
afternoon.
Ladies
and
gentlemen,
my
name
is
michael
flaherty,
I'm
your
boston
city,
councilor,
lodge
and
vice
chair
of
the
committee
on
government
operations.
It
is
monday
december
6th,
and
we
are
here
today
for
a
virtual
hearing
on
a
petition
for
a
special
law
regarding
an
act
relative
to
the
reorganization
of
the
boston
school
committee,
sponsored
by
my
colleagues,
city,
council,
ricardo
arroyo
and
city
council
juliette
mejia.
A
A
Chapter
20
of
the
acts
of
2021
enables
the
city
council
to
carry
out
its
responsibilities
while
adhering
to
the
public
health,
accommodations
and
ensuring
public
access
to
its
deliberations
through
adequate
alternative
means.
The
public
may
watch
this
hearing
via
live
stream
at
www.boston.gov
city
dash
council
dash
tv
in
on
xfinity
8,
rcn,
82
and
verizon
964
it'll
also
be
rebroadcast
at
a
later
date.
If
you
wish
to
testify
at
this
hearing,
please
email
michelle
goldberg
at
michelle.goldberg
boston.gov
to
sign
up
and
receive
the
login
information.
A
A
If
you
would
like
to
participate
in
the
hearing
using
one
of
these
language
options,
please
click
the
global
button
at
the
bottom
of
your
screen
and
select
your
language
preference
due
to
zoom's
platform,
limited
language
icons,
haitian
creole
listeners
should
click
the
french
button
for
haitian
creole
and
the
vietnamese
listeners
should.
Please
click
the
chinese
button
for
vietnamese.
A
Let
me
repeat
that
haitian
creole
listeners
should
click
the
french
button
for
haitian
creole
and
vietnamese
listeners
should
please
click
the
chinese
button
for
vietnamese.
I
am
now
going
to
pause
and
allow
for
this
message
to
be
said
in
all
languages,
so
we
have
that
we
have
available
available
today
and
fyi.
I'm
going
to
have
central
staff
manage
the
technology
to
enable
for
this
to
happen.
C
D
Hi
this
is
lena
hi.
How
are
you
so
should
I
speak
vietnamese
now.
A
There'll
be
more
opportunities
to
weigh
in
and
discuss
the
specifics
and
the
languages
etc
joining
us.
Obviously,
we
have
three
panels
at
this
time.
I'm
going
to
ask
my
colleagues
I'm
going
to
turn
it
over
to
the
lead
sponsors.
Ask
my
colleagues
to
be
brief,
obviously
in
their
intros
just
so,
we
can
get
right
into
it
with
the
invited
guests
the
three
panels,
and
then
we
have
a
long
list
of
public
testimony.
So
just
asking
everyone's
indulgence
on
that.
A
So
at
this
time
I'm
going
to
turn
it
over
to
my
colleague
in
lead,
one
of
the
lead
sponsors,
city,
council,
ricardo
arroyo,
and
I
believe
ricardo
also
has
to
read
a
document
into
the
record
for
someone
that
was
invited
and
is
not
able
to
make
it
so
ricardo.
You
have
the
floor.
E
Thank
you,
councillor
flaherty,
and
I
believe
councillor
mejia
is
going
to
read
that
document,
but
I
want
to
take
a
moment
to
thank
the
chair,
counselor
flaherty,
for
putting
this
together
on
short
notice.
This
is
the
end
of
our
legislative
session
for
the
public,
who
is
tuning
in
the
last
day
of
our
legislative
session
is
december
15th
and
without
councillor
flaherty
stepping
up
here
as
the
chair,
we
would
not
have
been
able
to
get
this
hearing
in.
E
So
thank
you
to
councillor
flaherty
and
also
thank
you
to
michelle
goldberg,
our
central
staff
attorney,
who
has
been
instrumental
in
putting
this
together.
I
and
councillor
mejia,
along
with
some
members
of
the
public,
have
drafted
what
is
a
working
living
document
as
a
draft.
The
purpose
of
this
hearing
is
not
to
go
into
the
framing
of
that
document
rather,
but
to
hear
from
perspectives
as
to
what
a
elected
school
committee
can
do.
E
I
do
believe
that
the
results
of
the
non-binding
referendum
question
three,
which
was
an
80
victory
for
an
elected
school
committee.
I
believe
they
won
every
precinct
and
every
award
makes
it
clear
that
we
will
have
an
elected
school
committee,
and
so
this
is
more
of
a
question
of
the.
Why
and
the
how
and
not
so
much
the
wording
of
this
specific
specific
document.
E
However,
there
will
be
amendments
and
things
as
the
chair
has
alluded
to
going
into
next
year
with
the
new
council
and
with
the
new
mayor
to
get
this
done
so
with
that.
E
I
just
want
to
thank
the
folks
who
have
come
on
board
today
to
speak
to
this,
the
advocates
that
have
pushed
so
hard
for
this
and
the
counselors
who
predate
myself,
who
have
been
working
on
this
for
for
a
while,
I
believe
the
first
instance
of
an
elected
school
committee,
home
rule
petition
that
was
put
forward
was
actually
performed
by
councillor
baker,
perhaps
about
10
years
ago,
or
so.
So.
Thank
you
to
everybody
who
has
done
the
groundwork
for
this,
and
I
look
forward
to
moving
this
forward.
F
Thank
you,
councillor,
flaherty,
for
working
with
our
office
and
counselor
arroyo's
office
to
make
sure
that
we
held
this
hearing
before
the
end
of
our
legislative
cycle.
I
also
want
to
to
thank
michelle
goldberg
from
central
staff
and
yasmin
from
council
arroyo's
office
for
working
incredibly
hard
to
make
sure
that
this
hearing
reflected
the
urgency
and
intentionality
of
the
advocates
who
got
us
here
where
we
are
today.
F
I
also
want
to
acknowledge
the
advocates
who
have
worked
tirelessly
for
decades
to
bring
this
to
the
point,
including
the
boston,
education,
equity
coalition,
the
naacp
of
boston,
the
yes
on
three
coalition
basia
and
former
elected
school
committee
members,
and
so
many
others.
I
know
council
arroyo
and
the
chair
both
provided
an
excellent
summary
of
the
legislation
and
what
its
purpose
is,
and
I
want
to
use
my
brief
opening
remarks
to
set
the
tone
for
what
this
hearing
is
about.
F
As
elected
officials,
we
have
received
a
mandate
from
the
people
of
boston
that
an
elected
school
committee
needs
to
happen
in
our
city.
There
will
be
times
in
the
future
to
discuss
specifically
how
that
work,
how
that
work?
How
that
will
work,
but
this
hearing
is
meant
for
us
to
focus
on
the.
Why?
F
So,
I'm
looking
to
our
chair
and
my
co-sponsors
to
ensure
that
the
spirit
of
this
hearing,
in
addition
to
the
time
that
and
consideration
of
our
panelists
that
is
respected,
we
are
what
we
are
talking
about
in
this
hearing-
is
democracy
and
how
we
can
all
utilize
utilize
this
moment
in
time
for
an
elected
school
committee
to
help
further
the
voices
of
the
people
in
all
spaces.
F
This
is
the
I'm
going
to
be
reading
into
the
record
a
testimony
from
ruby
reyes,
who
is
with
beija,
so
I'm
reading
this
it's
a
little
bit
long,
so
just
bear
with
me.
My
name
is
ruby
reyes
and
I
am
the
executive
director
of
the
boston
education,
justice
alliance.
Basia
is
an
advocacy
group
that
brings
parents,
students
and
educators
together
to
create
a
better
bps.
F
F
I
have
watched
parents,
students
and
educators,
give
endless
testimonies,
begging
and
pleading
to
prevent
the
harm
and
race
and
racist
and
the
racism
of
these
policies.
The
only
official
lever
of
advocacy
that
currently
exists
in
the
current
appointment
appointed
school
committee
system
is
the
two
minutes
of
testimony
allowed
school
committee.
Members
are
not
supposed
to
respond
and
many
times
what
families
ask
for
does
not
make
it
to
the
agenda.
F
For
example,
I
watched
a
bcla
parent
almost
get
forcibly
removed
because
they
wanted
answers
about
the
bcla
mccormick
merger
bcla
was
a
pilot
school
with
a
governing
board
of
parents
and
school
leaders.
This
was
dissolved
in
the
merger
and
no
one
addressed
the
parents
concerns
this
fall.
I
watched
an
east
boston
mother
talk
about
her
child
getting
home
at
9,
46
pm,
because
the
bus
got
lost.
F
F
F
I
watched
as
nate
cruder
chief
financial
officer
explained
that
the
district
was
going
to
be
transparent
and
communicate
to
school
communities
about
build
bps
less
than
two
weeks
later,
cruder
refused
to
transparently
share
plans
about
the
future
of
the
horace
mann
school
for
the
deaf
and
hard
of
hearing
central
office.
Leadership
gives
mediocre,
inequitable
presentations
and
policies
and
get
praised
for
it
by
our
appointed
school
committee.
Meanwhile,
schools
are
being
closed.
We
have
a
new
chief
academic
officer.
F
F
Sorry,
some
of
the
pushback
for
an
elected
school
committee
structure
has
been
the
concern
of
special
interest
groups
pushing
their
agendas.
This
currently
happens
in
our
mayoral
appointed
school
committee.
The
decision
to
give
away
the
mccormick
school's
green
space
to
the
boys
and
girls
club
was
a
clear
political
favor
being
fulfilled.
The
mccormick
and
surrounding
community
came
out
in
droves
and
spoke
in
favor
of
keeping
their
green
space
as
covet
put
an
increased
importance
on
the
need
for
green
space.
The
decision
was
passed
by
our
appointed
school
committee
anyway.
F
Another
another
example
is
the
appointed
member
ernest
babrujo,
who
is
also
a
trustee
of
the
boston
latin
school
association
as
a
blsa
trustee
armani
imani
has
an
obligation
to
protect
the
self-interest
of
the
blsa,
an
apparent
conflict
of
interest.
He
has
done
this
in
the
exam
school
decision
which
he
argued
to
be
revisited
and
put
in
the
school
committee
agenda
as
new
business
for
the
past
three
months.
F
At
the
december
first
school
committee
meeting
dr
kasilya
dedicated
additional
time
to
revisit
the
exam
school
admissions
data
simulations
yet
again,
based
on
earnings
urging
this
was
this
was
this
was
as
families
and
other
school
committees
are
desperately
asking
for
additional
covet
contact,
tracing
and
communication
and
more
mental
health
supports
for
students
and
families.
F
Was
prioritizing
his
exam
school
community
rather
than
the
needs
of
students,
most
especially
those
struggling
and
begging
for
pandemic
related
needs?
In
may
2019,
I
had
the
joy
of
watching
my
favorite
school
committee
meeting
when
blackstone
parents
made
up
a
black
and
latino
parent
mothers
took
over
the
school
committee
chambers
and
created
a
parent
based
people's
committee
in
both
english
and
spanish,
they
shared
a
list
of
demands
of
what
each
school
should
have
as
a
bare
minimum.
F
So
this
was.
I
just
wanted
to
make
note
that
I'm
reading
this
testimony
into
the
record
on
behalf
again
of
ruby
reyes
and
the
viewers
and
the
views
are
the
ones
expressed
by
her
and
basia.
Thank
you.
So
very
much.
A
G
Thank
you,
council,
flaherty
I'll,
withhold
my
opening
statement
other
than
to
say
thank
you
to
the
sponsors.
Thank
you
to
you,
council
of
flaherty
and
central
staff
as
well
for
this
important
hearing.
Just
as
an
fyi,
I
support
a
school
committee
that
is
elected
by
the
people.
Thank
you,
council,
flaherty.
A
Liz,
if
you're
with
us-
and
you
feel
like
giving
a
brief
opening,
can
do
so
now.
A
Not
saying
or
hearing
that
desire
to
do
so,
aaron
murphy,
now
the
the
newly
elected
member
of
the
boston
city
council
just
swung.
In
last
weekend,
a
former
school
teacher
aaron,
you
have
the
floor.
H
Thank
you
yeah
quickly.
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
chair
council
of
flaherty
the
sponsors
and
central
staff
for
hosting
this
important
meeting
on
an
elected
school
committee
which
we
all
know
just
passed
in
the
non-binding
question
in
the
november
election,
my
experience
and
expertise
as
a
boston,
public
school
student
parent
and
also
a
bps
teacher
for
over
20
years.
I'm
really
looking
forward
to
this
discussion.
So
thank
you
for
having
me.
A
I
Thank
you,
chancellor
flaherty.
I
have
no
opening,
but
thank
you
I'll
look
forward
to
hearing
the
panelists.
A
Very
good
good
to
see
you
council
campbell.
She
recognizes
the
city
councilor
kenzie
black,
for
a
brief
opening
council
black.
J
Thank
you
so
much,
mr
chair.
Thanks
to
the
sponsors
and
to
the
many
bostonians
who
voted
on
this
issue
back
november,
2nd,
I
yeah
here
here
to
listen
and
hear
everybody's
takes.
I
think,
certainly
one
of
the
things
I've
heard
from
constituents
is
a
question
about
sort
of.
Is
it
possible
for
us
to
do
some
of
these
seats
as
elected
by
constituencies
and
interest
in
having
a
parent
seat
etc?
J
So
I
just
think
I
think,
there's
a
strong
mandate,
as
has
been
expressed
for
for
an
elected
school
committee,
but
I
think,
as
we
all
know,
as
councilor
arroyo
alluded
to
there's
a
how
question
and
and
looking
forward
to
kind
of
digging
into
the
weeds,
because
certainly
what
I've
heard
again
and
again
from
folks
is
a
desire
for
for
the
school
committee
to
be
accountable
to
the
families
in
bps
and
so
thinking
about.
J
What's
the
mechanism
for
that
and
making
sure
that
it
isn't
just
a
sort
of
low
information,
city-wide
election
structure.
I
think
there
is
some
balancing
act
to
do
there,
but
I
definitely
feel
like
we've
got
a
mandate
to
put
a
homeworld
position
together
and
reach
consensus
on
the
council
and
I'm
looking
forward
to
hearing
from
everybody
who's
testifying
today
about
their
perspectives
and
first-hand
experience.
So.
Thank
you,
mr
chair.
A
Thank
you,
council
bach,
so
we're
going
to
get
right
into
it.
With
our
first
panel,
we
have
celica
soto,
bps
parent
nema
looks
like
avashia
bps,
more
comic
teacher
and
looks
like
nesosh
ware
bps
student
and
just
want
to
remind
folks
that,
as
I'm
introducing
panelists,
they
must
accept
the
redesignation
button
as
a
panelist.
A
I'm
also
aware
that
some
panelists
have
tight
time
restrictions,
so
I'm
going
to
do
my
very
best
on
behalf
of
the
lead
sponsors
to
accommodate
them
after
each
panel.
We'll
briefly
turn
it
over
to
my
colleagues
for
any
questions
that
they
have
and
if
there
are
no
questions
we'll
just
move
on
to
the
next
panel.
I've
also
asked
each
panelist
to
be
mindful
of
the
length
of
their
testimony
as
we
have
robust
set
of
panelists
in
request
for
public
testimony.
A
The
committee
obviously
does
accept
additional
written
testimony
as
part
of
the
record,
so
panelists
and
or
members
of
the
public
can
do
that
in
addition
to
providing
verbal
testimony,
so
hopefully
folks
will
be
shorter
than
ruby's
introduction
letter
that
was
read
into
the
record.
If
we
can
keep
it
tight,
we
can
accommodate
as
many
people
as
possible
with
their
tight
time
constraints.
So
with
that
the
first
panelists,
if
they've
accepted
their
redesignation,
I
will
introduce
selena
soto,
welcome
salinger
and
you
have
the
floor
to
give
us
your
thoughts.
K
Hello,
everyone
and
thank
you
very
much
for
giving
me
the
opportunity
to
speak
about
this
very
important
issue,
not
only
to
me,
but
for
you
know
to
all
the
to
many
boston,
public
schools,
parents,
so
my
name
is
sulaika
soto
and
I
wear
many
hats
in
boston,
public
schools.
I
am
a
boston
public
schools
graduate.
I
am
a
parent
of
two
girls
in
two
different
schools.
K
I
am
also
in
a
leadership
role
in
my
parent
council,
my
school
site
council
and
also
in
a
citywide
parent
council.
I
have
participated
in
multiple
task
force
and
have
been
to
multiple
school
committee
meetings.
I
say
all
of
this
to
say
that
I
am
a
very
active
parent.
K
I
have
been
ever
since
I
learned
about
budget
cuts
that
were
going
to
happen
going
on
about
it's
about
to
be
three
years
now:
budget
cuts
that
were
happening
not
only
to
the
blackstone
but
all
across
boston,
public
schools.
This
was
brought
to
my
attention
by
other
parents
about
the
budget
cuts
and
what
that
would
mean
for
the
blackstone.
For
us
it
would
mean
losing
teachers.
K
The
budget
cuts
were
going
to
be
due
to
a
low
enrollment,
so
we
were
going
to
lose
teachers.
We
were
going
to
lose
women.
We
were
going
to
lose
a
lot
of
things
that
were
very
important
to
us,
so
we
got
together
with
you
know,
educator
students,
I
think
it
was
hundreds
of
us
and
like
it
was
mentioned
in
ruby's
testimony.
We
walked
over
to
the
school
committee
chambers
to
ask
for
those
for
that
budget
not
to
be
cut.
So
we
were
the
people
school
committee.
K
We
did
a
mock
school
committee
meeting
like
it
was
mentioned
in
ruby's
testimony.
K
You
know
where
we
gave
students
the
basic
things
that
they
would
need
things
like
clean
bathrooms,
which
is
not
the
case
at
many
schools,
clean
bathrooms,
additional
social,
emotional
support,
additional
services,
one
of
the
big
things
that
we
wanted
for
the
blackstone
2
was
also
walls
and
doors.
K
At
the
time
you
know,
and
still
to
this
day
there
are
many
classrooms
that
do
not
have
doors
and
walls
and
that's
very
worrisome,
not
only
because
of
the
safety
issue,
with
all
the
shootings
and
different
things
that
we
hear
about
in
schools,
but
also
because
it's
disruptive
towards
students
learning
after
we
went
to
that
meeting.
You
know
there
was
tons
of
parents.
My
children
testified.
I
testified.
I
was
actually
the
acting
superintendent
in
that
mock
trial
and
we
came
out
of
there
feeling
like
we
had
won
something.
K
We
were
promised
five
five
million
dollars.
It
was
for
walls
and
doors,
but
we
have
yet
to
see
anything
we
you
know.
If,
if
you
go
to
school
committee
meetings,
you
will
see
at
least
one
blackstone
parent
at
each
one
of
those
meetings
asking
what
happened
to
the
five
million
dollars
that
we
were
promised
for
walls
and
doors,
because
it
still
hasn't
happened.
The
reason
why
I
say
this
story
is
because
we
still
don't
have
walls
and
doors
we
still
don't
have.
K
We
haven't
received
the
five
million
dollars,
we
have
not
been
engaged
and
there
is
no
real
way
for
us
to
hold
the
school
committee
who
made
this
promise
to
us
or
any
other
there's
no
way
for
us
to
hold
the
school
committee
members
accountable
for
what
was
promised
and
was
not
given
week
after
week.
I
testify
I,
I
see
many
parents
testify
and
again
there's
no
way
to
hold
anyone
accountable,
we're
there
till
late
at
night.
K
Many
times
I
saw
when
parents
were
asking
not
for
the
mccormick
field
not
to
be
given
away,
and
I
say
you
know
I
want
to
say
that
with
an
elected
school
committee,
we
would
be
able
to
hold
someone
accountable
right
to
someone
accountable
for
for
making
those
promises
for
continuing
to
keep
our
kids
in
danger
for
not
providing
and
engaging
parents
for
not.
K
You
know
for
to
make
sure
that
our
kids
have
basic
things:
libraries,
clean
bathrooms
and
again
we
we
ask
for
them
and
then
there's
no
accountability,
they're
still
going
without
it.
Our
black
and
brown
kids
are
still
being
underserved,
and
it's
important
for
us
to
be
able
to
hold
these
officials
accountable
for
the
decisions
that
are
making
that
are
impacting
our
children,
and
these
are
you
know
black
and
brown,
children
and
and
children
that
deserve
the
best
that
we
can
give
them.
K
I've
had
the
pleasure
of
meeting
some
of
you
all
through
my
advocacy
and
I
plan
on
continuing
to
raise
my
voice,
but
I
am
not
gonna
lie
with
this
appointed
school
system.
I
feel
like
my
voice
goes
unheard
and
again
I
can't
really
hold
anyone
accountable.
I
can't
vote
in
the
next
cycle.
To
say,
like
you
know,
you
guys
are
not
working
in
the
best
interest
of
our
students,
which
is
what
I
see
many
times
and
that's
just
like
my
personal
experience,
and
I
think
that
moving
you
know.
K
If
we
had
an
elected
school
committee,
we
would
be
there
constituency
right.
They
would
have
to
work
in
our
best
interest.
They
would
have
to
do
what
we
feel
needs
to
be
done.
If
not,
they
would
have
been
voted
out
and
we
would
have
the
power
to
do
that.
But
right
now
again
we
get
promises
made
to
us
and
then
three
years
later,
there's
nothing
done
and
then
there's
nothing
that
we
can
do
about
it
and
I'm
hoping
that
that
would
change
sooner.
Thank
you.
A
L
L
As
many
of
you
might
know,
the
mccormick
has
found
itself
in
the
crosshairs
of
school
committee
decision
making
several
times
over
the
past
three
years
in
2018
school
committee
was
asked
to
vote
to
close
our
school
and
hand
over
a
renovated
building
to
another
high
school.
In
spite
of
our
having
been
engaged
in
a
7-12
expansion
planning
process
for
multiple
years
in
2019
and
2020,
they
were
asked
to
first
subdivide
and
then
give
away
our
students
only
green
space
access
to
a
local
non-profit
seeking
to
construct
a
field
house.
L
In
all
of
these
cases,
our
communities
experience
a
school
committee
was
that
we
had
no
ability
to
access
members
outside
of
two-minute
testimonies
in
meetings
that
rand
lee
into
the
night.
When
we
asked
to
meet
with
committee
members
to
discuss
the
proposal
to
close
our
school,
we
were
told
they
were
not
allowed
to
meet
with
us
alone.
When
we
raised
concerns
about
the
rigged
rfp
process
for
the
field
house
on
mount
vernon
street,
a
process
from
which
our
school
community
was
entirely
excluded.
L
The
school
committee
chair
simply
kicked
our
concerns
back
to
the
same
central
employ
office.
Employees
who
had
excluded
us
in
the
first
place.
What
has
become
patently
clear
through
these
experiences
is
that
we,
the
students,
families
and
educators,
are
not
the
constituents
of
the
boston
school
committee.
Instead
of
seeking
to
understand
our
concerns
and
our
needs
through
outreach.
As
an
elected
official,
would
we
find
ourselves
begging
to
be
heard,
knowing
all
the
while
that
our
testimony
is
largely
performative,
as
the
decisions
have
already
been
made
behind
closed
doors
prior
to
actual
votes?
L
L
Until
this
year
I
was
a
civics
teacher.
I
taught
my
students
about
the
importance
of
checks
and
balances
in
democracy.
In
its
current
state,
there
are
virtually
no
checks
and
balances
on
the
power
of
the
boston
school
committee.
If
we
want
our
citizenry
to
engage
with
our
schools
to
believe
that
their
needs
their
voices
and
their
advocacy
matters,
then
we
have
to
create
a
governance
structure
that
is
actually
responsive
to
their
advocacy.
M
No
problem
good
afternoon,
everyone,
I'm
nasaj
ware,
a
bps
senior
and
former
boston
student
advisory
council
representative.
I've
attended
big
fest
schools.
All
of
my
life
I
apologize
for
the
background
noise
I
am
and
transit.
However,
there
have
been
countless
arguments
made
in
favor
of
an
elected
school
committee
and,
quite
frankly,
the
decision
should
be
clear.
However,
if
it
is
not
allow
me
to
yet
again
reinforce
the
many
reasons.
The
change
from
an
appointed
to
an
elected
school
committee
is
beyond
necessary.
M
M
Let's
start
with
the
application
process
that
allows
a
nominating
committee
comprised
of
racist
and
conservative
individuals
to
deny
qualified
candidates
in
order
to
protect
and
maintain
their
power
and
control.
This
bars
progressive
performers
from
the
opportunity
to
improve
a
system
clearly
built
to
suppress
people's
voice.
Next
is
the
current
function
of
this
ineffective
and
inefficient
school
committee.
The
standing
operation
of
school
committee
has
failed
students,
parents
and
staff
time
and
time
again.
M
I
can
provide
you
with
a
never-ending
list
of
examples,
but
that's
what
google
is
for?
An
elected
school
committee
has
already
been
implemented
in
boston's
government.
An
elected
school
committee
has
been
proven
to
work
well
in
neighboring
cities
and
towns
of
massachusetts
and
across
the
nation.
Essentially,
there
is
no
question
about
if
or
how
it
will
work.
M
The
majority
of
bostonians
indicated
that
they
wanted
an
elected
school
committee
on
the
ballot
and
it
is
the
city
council's
job
as
elected
officials.
To
make
that
happen,
it
is
your
duty
to
work
with
the
people
and
for
the
people,
and
voting
against.
An
elected
school
committee
is
actively
working
against
these
people.
M
A
Thank
you
nasof,
and
I
appreciate
everyone's
time
on
the
first
panel
we're
going
to
move
right
into
the
second
panel.
I
see
john
newtje,
former
member
of
the
boston
city
council,
former
school
committee,
member
clerk,
susan
neymar,
also
former
boston
school
committee
member.
I
see
tanisha
sullivan
president
of
the
naacp
in
boston
and
beth
huang
massachusetts
voter
table
director
if
they
can
accept
the
redesignation
as
panelists
that
carry
if
you
can
allow
the
second
panel
to
join
us
and
then
in
that
order.
A
N
I
can
thank
you,
mr
chairman,
and
thank
you
for
chairing
this
hearing
this
afternoon.
I
appreciate
that
very
much
and
my
thanks
go
out
to
counselors
mejia
and
arroyo
for
their
continued
leadership
on
this
issue.
We
appreciate
that
very
much
as
well.
Just
by
way
of
interdep
introduction,
I
am
currently
the
senior
vice
president
for
external
affairs
at
suffolk
university.
N
I
was
also
the
parent
of
three
older
now
bps
graduates,
all
of
whom
are
doing
very
well.
Thank
god.
N
I
served
as
a
city
councilor
at
lodge,
as
you
mentioned,
chairman
clarity,
and
I
also
served
four
years
as
president
of
the
elected
school
committee
from
1985
through
1989.,
when
over
the
years,
I've
been
asked
from
time
to
time
what
my
thoughts
were
about
a
return
to
an
elected
school
committee
and
opening
up
that
debate
and
I'll
admit
that
over
the
years
my
answer
was
usually
something
like
well,
I'm
not
sure
it's
worth
having
all
the
oxygen
taken
out
of
the
room
and
distracting
from
educational
issues
that
all
changed
for
me
on
november
3rd,
the
morning
of
november
3rd,
when
I
woke
up
after
the
election
results,
came
in
and
saw
the
overwhelming
mandate
that
was
given
far
in
a
return
to
an
elected
school
committee.
N
None
of
us
should
want
to
neglect
that
that
would
be
almost
criminal
neglect
to
neglect
that,
and
it's
I'm
so
great
to
hear
the
previous
speakers
talking
about
the
importance
of
that
mandate.
I'd
also
point
out.
There
was
a
very
organic
mandate.
It
wasn't
well
funded.
It
wasn't
run
by
a
mayor's
office
as
the
last
one
to
go
to
an
elected
school
committee.
Was
millions
of
dollars
were
spent?
At
least
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
were
spent,
as
were
city
hall
employees
utilized,
and
all
of
that
this
was
organic.
This
was
real.
N
There
is
no
doubt
in
anybody's
mind
that
back
in
the
early
70s,
there
was
unconscious
behavior
by
many
elected
officials
during
the
desegregation
crisis,
many
made
careers
on
the
desegregation
crisis.
They
ignored
the
federal
district
court
and,
as
a
result,
boston
had
a
very
bad
reputation
put
upon
itself.
Because
of
that,
but
stop
and
think
for
a
minute
that
that
was
50
years
ago.
That
was
a
half
century
ago.
N
It's
not
enough
to
just
use
that
to
condemn
all
the
elected
school
committees
that
came
before
that
period
of
time
and
all
that
served
following
that
period
of
time.
Hatred
has
also
talked
about
patriots
without
any
specificity.
Let
me
point
out
that
in
1987
and
I
was
president,
then
the
elected
school
committee
initiated
a
whole
new
petition
to
send
to
the
state
to
transfer
all
hiring
authority
to
the
superintendent
and
out
of
their
hands.
Why
to
eliminate
patronage,
so
that
didn't
happen
to
the
school
committee
that
was
initiated
by
the
school
committee.
N
I
can
only
talk
with
with
a
great
amount
of
knowledge
about
the
period
of
time
that
I
was
there.
I
can
tell
you
that
there
were
many
things
that
I
was
proud
of.
It
was
that
elected
commun
school
committee
in
september
of
1985,
that
elected
appointed,
I
should
say
the
city's
first
black
superintendent
of
schools.
N
It
was
that
school
committee
that
initiated
and
gave
great
support
to
the
public
commentary,
and
finally-
and
this
is
probably
the
proudest
thing
that
I
have
in
my
career-
it
was
that
elected
school
committee-
the
judge
gary
felt
enough
restored
confidence
in
to
return
control
of
the
schools
to
the
city
of
boston
in
court
orders,
which,
coincidentally,
are
called
morgan
v
gnucci
the
city,
the
federal
district
court
felt
that
it
had
restored
confidence,
and
it's
cited
by
name
myself
and
several
other
school
committee
presidents.
N
That
came
before
me
for
their
commitment
and
their
selflessness
and
that
the
fact
that
they
had
confidence
that
they
would
not
resegregate
the
schools
in
any
manner
shape
or
form,
at
least
not
consciously
as
the
private
school
committee
had.
So
those
are
all
important
accomplishments
that
I
think
need
to
be
mentioned.
When
talking
about
the
elected
school
committee,
then
there's
a
democracy
issue
which
I
think
speaks
for
itself
and
others
have
spoken
to
here
today.
N
What
always
troubled
me
is
why
boston
with
352
cities
and
towns,
there's
only
one
that
doesn't
have
the
luxury
and
privilege
and
right.
You
could
argue
to
vote
for
school
committee
members
and
that's
boston,
and
that
just
does
not
seem
right
and
what
is
supposed
to
be
the
cradle
of
liberty
and
the
athens
of
america.
We
should
be
not
looking
for
less
democracy.
We
should
be
looking
for
more.
N
That's
particularly
striking
to
me
when
I
drive
through
the
suburbs-
and
I
see
these
towns
where
they're
voting,
for
you
know
a
town,
assessor
or
animal
control
officer,
or
you
know,
positions
like
that
where
they
get
to
vote
and
here
in
boston,
perhaps
the
most
important
position,
which
is
school
committee,
because
it
might
be
the
most
important
function.
If
the
city
provides
there's,
not
the
opportunity
to
vote,
it
makes
no
sense
if
you
really
do
stop
and
think
about
it.
N
So
I
guess
what
I'm
saying
is
that
what
we
have
to
do
now
is
listen
to
what
the
people
have
said
and
how
loud
they've
said
it.
We
have
to
let
go
of
the
past
30
years
of
the
status
quo,
and
I
want
to
point
out
and
say
this
as
clearly
and
strongly
as
I
possibly
can
advocating
for
this
change
is
not
a
condemnation
of
the
past.
It's
not
a
calm
donation
of
the
people
who
served
on
the
appointed
school
committee.
N
There
are
incredible
amount
of
people
who
served
on
the
appointed
school
committee
who
are
selfless
public
servants
and
put
long
hours
in
and
deserve
our
thanks.
For
that.
This
is
not
about
condemning
them.
I
think
that
people
like
michael
o'neill
and
hayden
coleman
people-
I
consider
my
friends.
We
should
not
be
here
and
I
don't
think
we
are
here
to
condemn
them,
but
perhaps
it's
just
time
for
new
wise
for
new
hands
to
look
at
the
school
school
committee.
Problems.
Look
at
the
school
system,
problems
to
become
more
responsive.
N
I
heard
the
students
say
earlier
and-
and
she
was
absolutely
right-
that
elected
companies-
and
I
can
tell
you-
because
I
was
one
we
had
to
be
responsive.
We
had
no
choice.
We
could
have
not
if
we
could
not
ignore
people
who
were
calling
us
with
issues
and
problems
and
requests.
We
had
to
plug
them
into
the
system
and
have
their
issues
resolved.
We
had
to
be
responsible,
so
I
think
you
know
we
should
move
forward.
I
think
we
can
bring
this
city
together
through
this
process.
N
A
P
P
You
know
so
I
have
to
say
when
boston
went
to
an
appointed
school
committee
in
1991
I
was
a
parent
of
three
children
who
attended
boston,
public
schools.
I
was
active
in
their
schools
and
in
parent,
organizing
citywide
and
I
applied
to
serve
on
the
school
committee,
because
at
that
point
there
was
no
parent
voice
at
all
represented
on
the
school
committee,
and
so
I'm
speaking
from
having
been
on
the
inside
for
eight
years
and
then
I've
been
stayed
involved
in
other
ways
with
the
school.
P
Since
then,
and
there's
a
few
reasons
why
I
support
the
return
to
an
elected
body,
I
mean
one
obvious
one:
is
we
have
a
mandate
when
80
percent
of
voters
you
know
voted
for
this?
We
need
to
listen.
You
can't
be
much
clearer
than
that,
and
you
know.
When
I
sat
on
the
appointed
school
committee,
there
was
much
more
of
a
gap
between
who
voted
and
who
used
the
public
schools.
I
think
that
another
panelist
is
going
to
speak
to
that
in
terms
of
the
data
around
that.
P
But
back
then,
I
was
not
personally
confident
that
an
elected
school
committee
would
adequately
represent
the
families
who
use
the
schools
and
that
gap
between
voters
and
bps
users
has
shifted
a
lot
over
the
past
30
years
as
councilor
edwards
was
quoted
in
the
boston
globe
last
month
when
she
said
we're
more
informed
as
an
electorate
than
we've
ever
been
before.
And
if
you
look
at
the
make
up
of
the
city
council,
it's
pretty
concrete
evidence
that
the
electorate
is
more
closely
aligned
with
the
city's
population
than
it
was
in
1991.
P
P
Everybody
wants
to
fix
it
with
new
curriculum,
but
I
think
it's
really
about
the
culture
and
the
lack
of
trust
in
the
system
and
under
the
appointed
school
committee
there's.
You
know,
as
people
have
already
said,
there's
just
not
the
same
accountability
to
constituents
that
builds
that
voice
and
trust.
P
P
I
took
the
lead
to
organize
community
forums
on
behalf
of
the
school
committee
in
2001
and
2002,
and
I
you
know
I
got
the
okay
from
the
school
committee
to
do
it,
but
I
also
heard
from
a
number
of
my
colleagues
and
senior
school
department
staff.
Why
would
we
set
ourselves
up
to
be
yelled
at
for
three
hours?
P
And
there
was
you
know
a
bit
of
that
mentality.
So
we
had
these
community
forums
to
get
input
on
policy
decisions
that
were
in
front
of
us
and
we
did
the
things
that
we
all
know
engage
people.
P
You
know
we
reached
out
personally
to
grassroots
groups
and
youth
groups
and
neighborhood
groups
and
parents,
and
we
had
child
care
and
translators,
and
we
set
up
the
forum
so
that
everyone
had
a
chance
to
talk
and
listen
to
each
other,
and
we
had
hundreds
of
people
show
up
literally
hundreds
at
each
of
the
series
that
we
did
and
we
got
a
lot
of
really
valuable
input
on
some
of
the
policy
issues
we
were
dealing
with,
and
we
also
got
a
lot
of
appreciation
and
thank
yous
from,
and
it's
often
from
the
folks
who
were
the
ones
that
were
yelling
at
us
when
they
felt
like
they
couldn't
be
heard.
P
And
but
this
level
of
input
was
not
the
norm
and
it
still
isn't
for
the
appointed
school
committee.
And
so
you
know,
there's
just
not
the
structural
accountability
to
the
families
served
by
the
schools.
When
people
have
the
opportunity
for
input
they're
more
likely
to
be
engaged
in
a
way
that
builds
trust.
P
P
A
Q
Good
to
see
you
as
well
chair,
flaherty,
thank
you
and
to
the
members
of
the
government
operations
committee.
Thank
you
for
convening
this
hearing.
I
am
tanisha
sullivan
resident
of
the
hyde
park,
neighborhood
of
boston,
president
of
the
naacp
boston
branch
and
former
chief
equity
officer
for
the
boston
public
schools.
Q
I
also
want
to
take
a
moment
and
thank
both
counselors
arroyo
and
mejia
for
shepherding
this.
This
issue
through
the
city
council.
Q
It's
a
critical
issue
to
the
city
and
greatly
appreciate
their
their
their
partnership
and
diligence
nationally.
The
naacp
is
the
oldest
civil
rights
organization
in
the
country
and
the
boston
branch
of
the
naacp
being
the
first
branch
in
the
national
naacp
is
one
of
the
oldest
civil
rights
organizations
in
our
city.
Q
Indeed,
it
is
a
rare
occurrence
when
we
do,
but
when
we
do
agree,
it
is
imperative
that
we
act
and
that
we
act
expeditiously,
while
the
naacp
did
not
agree
with
the
dismantling
of
the
elected
school
committee
in
the
early
90s,
I'm
not
going
to
spend
a
lot
of
my
time
talking
about
the
past.
Q
I
also
want
to
be
clear,
similar
to
john
that
our
position
is
not
about
individual
school
committee
members.
The
fact
is,
we
have
deep
respect
for
many
school
many
school
committee
members
past
and
current
appreciate
the
work
that
they
have
done
of
the
work
that
they
are
doing,
even
when
we
disagree,
but
for
us
this
is
really
about
a
structural
matter.
This
is
not
about
individual
school
committee.
Q
There
is
simply
no
small
issue
when
it
comes
to
protecting
democratic
principles
and
protecting
our
voting
rights
is
one
of
the
most
freedom-minded
justice-centered
acts
we
can
take.
That
is
one
of
the
reasons.
The
voting
rights
debate,
of
course,
has
captivated
the
attention
of
so
many
across
our
country,
and
our
nation
is
in
fact
paralyzed
on
this
issue.
Q
We
all
know
what's
at
stake,
but
here
in
boston,
bostonians
have
clarity,
as
we
are
watching
from
thousands
of
miles
away.
Many
of
us
deeply
concerned
with
what
we
believe
is
an
attack
on
voting
rights
in
some
pockets
of
our
country.
On
november,
2nd
2021
voters
in
boston
held
a
mirror
up
to
ourselves
and
clearly
saw
our
own
limitations
on
the
issue
of
voting
rights,
and
it
is
imperative
that
we
remedy
what
is
a
stain
on
democracy
here
in
our
city.
Q
Q
A
R
Great,
thank
you
so
much.
My
my
name
is
beth
long
and
I'm
the
director
of
the
massachusetts
voter
table
for
a
statewide
coalition
that
advances
civic
access,
engagement
and
representation
to
increase
resources
and
power
for
people
of
color
and
working
class
people.
It's
a
pleasure
and
honor
to
join
to
join
you
today
and
testifying
about
this
important
issue.
We
believe
that
ordinary
people
should
have
a
say
in
the
decisions
that
impact
our
lives
and
that's
why
we
support
restoring
an
elected
school
committee
in
boston,
as
tanisha
said.
R
R
We
need
a
governance
structure
that
is
responsive
and
accountable
to
the
needs
of
a
majority,
bypac
city
and
then
overwhelmingly
by
poc
student
body.
This
year,
our
partner
organizations
in
boston
overwhelmingly
supported
the
yes
on
three
ballot
initiative.
We
contacted
over
twenty
thousand
unique
voters
through
twenty
twenty
nine
thousand
door
knocks
and
eight
hundred
and
forty
thousand
phone
calls.
While
we
talked
to
voters
ahead
of
the
election,
we
heard
remarks
about
how
this
issue
is
a
total
no-brainer.
R
R
However,
understanding
the
needs
of
students,
parents
and
educators
in
the
community
seems
like
a
very
good
qualification
for
candidates
for
higher
office,
certainly
not
a
problem.
Currently,
this
appointed
school
committee
centralizes
the
pipeline
for
civic
leadership
through
only
the
mayor's
office.
R
This
was
especially
important
to
address
the
challenges
borne
by
the
pandemic,
especially
issues
like
student,
mental
health.
We
have
a
deep
bench
of
community
leaders
in
boston
who
are
ready
to
do
the
same
here.
99
000
voters
across
the
city
supported
an
elected
school
committee.
This
clear
consensus
from
across
the
city
warrants
immediate
action
at
the
massachusetts
voter
table.
We
support
a
home
rule
petition
and
we
will
work
with
partners
in
boston
and
our
network
across
the
state
to
restore
the
elected
school
committee.
R
Thank
you
so
much
for
this
opportunity
to
speak
and
I'll
turn
it
back
to
the
chair.
A
Thank
you
very
much
ben
for
participating
with
us
and
it
was
obviously
a
very
informative
panel,
john
susan,
tanisha
and
beth.
A
So
I
appreciate
your
end
time
attention
to
this
issue
and,
as
mentioned
there'll,
be
at
least
one
possibly
two
working
sessions
in
the
follow-up
hearing
at
some
point,
so
your
report
will
be
much
desired
and
needed
and
we'll
move
right
into
the
third
panel
right
now
to
jonathan
collins
and
to
domingo
morel
if
they
could
accept
the
redesignation
as
a
panelist
and
kerry
can
facilitate
them
coming
on.
A
I
know
that
jonathan
has
a
as
a
time
sensitive
issue.
S
Hi,
thank
you,
michael
for
the
introduction,
I'll
be
a
very
quick
and
try
to
add
to
what's
been
a
very,
very
fruitful
conversation.
I'm
excited
that
blossom
is
considering
the
idea
of
transitioning
to
a
fully
elected
school
board.
I
was
excited
from
the
day.
S
I
saw
the
results
from
the
public
from
the
in
the
ballot
measure
and
honestly,
what
we're
seeing
with
the
ballot
measure
and
the
discussion
thus
far
reconciles
very
well
with
both
what's
been
discussed
so
far,
and
then,
ultimately,
what
the
academic
literature
tells
us,
and
so
I'll
just
hit
I'll
just
key
in
on
a
few
things.
You
know
the
big
thing
that
we
want
to
underscore
here,
that's
been
underscored
I
want
to
re-underscore
is
that
school
boards
like
the
school
boards
are
what
the
public
prefers,
whether
it's
you
know,
education.
S
Next,
that's
been
conducting
public
opinion
surveys
on
preferences
for
school
boards
for
well
over
a
decade
now,
or
some
of
the
recent
work
that
I've
done.
Examining
the
same
thing,
we
could
just
ask
the
public
more
broadly.
S
The
strong
preferences
are
for
school
boards
to
be
in
charge,
elected
school
boards
to
be
in
charge
of
schools
and,
in
addition
to
the
preference
for
like
the
school
boards
to
be
in
charge,
it's
important
because
it
also
has
a
very
sort
of
critical
value
for
local
democracy,
and
so
what
school
board
like
the
school
boards
do?
Is
they
produce
political
incentives
that
motivate
civic
engagement,
the
the
award
representation,
their
incentives
for
candidates
to
mobilize
community
stakeholders
in
pursuit
of
re-election?
S
And
so
that's
what
you
really
want
is
we
imagine
it's
sort
of
the
ideal
democratic
environment.
We
have
candidates
who
are
seeking
election
or
re-election,
and
they
have
to
have
ex.
They
have
to
have
routine
and
consistent
contact
with
with
their
stakeholders.
In
order
to
have
a
successful
prospect
of
reelection
having
the
elected,
the
school
board,
essentially
incentivizes
that
without
the
electoral
incentive
in
place,
then
the
fear
here
is
that
candidates
will
behold
into
either
of
major
donors,
which
has
become
an
issue
in
local
elections.
S
We
have
we've
reached
the
point
now
where,
in
over
the
past
couple
of
election
cycles
and
major
cities
we've
seen,
candidates
have
candidates
have
to
receive
as
much
as
a
million
dollars
in
donations
to
be
even
competitive
for
seats.
How
do
we
combat
the
sort
of
growing
influence
of
money?
It
has
to
be
the
incentive
to
contact
more
and
more
folks
at
the
local
level
at
the
community
level.
Providing
the
electoral
incentive
student
like
the
school
board
helps
us
to
do
that
elections
and
war-based
representation.
S
It
also
creates
a
landscape
to
foster
sort
of
a
board
representation
that
more,
that
is
more
reflective
of
the
district's
diversity
and
so,
and
what
we
see,
what
we
see
in
the
academic
literature
is
that
co-ethnic
representation
has
been
consistently
and
strongly
correlated
with
more
diverse
hiring
of
teachers
and
district
staff,
and
these
are
the
things
that
kind
of
that
are
really
critical.
When
you're
looking
to
sort
of
reduce
black
white
gaps
in
student
achievement,
school
board
elections
also
allow
for
cities
to
have
routine
assessment.
S
That's
based
specifically
on
education,
as
opposed
to
other
local
issues.
This
is
the
beauty
of
an
elected
school
board.
Is
that
you
know,
while
when,
when
the
mayor
has
too
much
control,
the
mayoral
elections
is
essentially
what
determines
the
policy
agenda
of
of
a
school
board,
and
this
could
mean
that
the
policy
agenda
gets
conflated
with
the
overall
municipal
agenda.
So
people
are
voting
in
local
elections
because
they
care
about
climate
change
and
zoning
ordinances
and
not
necessarily
because
they
care
about
schools
and
education,
but
we'll
be
having
like
the
school
board.
S
We
have
the
focus,
the
policy
focus,
the
agenda
focus
squarely
on
educational
issues
and
again
the
election
offers
these
routine
opportunities
to
assess
the
performance
of
the
school
board.
Members
elected
school
boards
also
provide
the
closest
indirect
pathway
to
accountability
for
superintendents,
and
so
with
our
superintendents,
typically
being
chosen
by
our
school
board
members
without
an
elected
school
board,
then
you
don't
have
a
you.
S
Don't
even
have
this
sort
of
close
closely
indirect
ability
to
hold
the
superintendent
accountable
and,
lastly,
like
the
school
boards,
provide
a
channel
for
accountability
for
stakeholders,
groups
or
interests
do
not
align
with
the
given
mayoral
administration,
and
so
what
you
want
is,
regardless
of
who
holds
power
in
city
hall.
You
want
the
folks
who
are
in
or
outside
of
those
coalitions
to
still
have
the
ability
to
hold
their
school
board
members
accountable,
and
it's
only
through
an
elected
school
board
that
this
is
possible.
S
A
T
Thank
you,
mr
chair,
and
so
my
good
friend
professor
collins
mentioned
much
of
the
stuff
that
I
was
going
to
talk
about
right,
and
so
we
won't
repeat
that.
But
I
do
want
to
focus
a
little
bit
on
the
history.
I
do
think
that
the
history
is
important
here
to
understand.
T
T
The
school
boards
have
provided
the
pathway
for
to
participate
in
a
democracy
when
other
avenues
under
other
domains
were
closed
off
to
to
african-american
communities
throughout
the
country,
and
so
we
saw
in
places
like
washington
dc
like
detroit,
like
in
newark,
where
I
teach
philadelphia
and
other
cities
that,
through
the
process
of
the
school
boards
and
school
participation,
communities
that
have
been
historically
marginalized
were
provided
the
opportunity
to
have
to
be
citizens
to
be
participants
in
their
democracy
and
so
in
the
case
of
boston.
What
we
see
is
just
like.
T
We
saw
in
other
places
across
the
country
african
americans,
historically
excluded
by
the
1970s.
There's
increased
participation
increased
pathways
and
it
is
at
the
time
that
the
african-american
community
and
other
communities
of
color
and
the
city
of
boston
are
on
the
verge
of
really
being
full
participants
in
the
school
process.
This
is
the
late
1980s
early
1990s.
T
Then
the
elected
board
is
removed,
essentially
disrupting
that
that
process
disrupting
the
opportunity
to
be
full
citizens
fully
inclusive
in
the
in
the
democracy
of
its
city.
So
and
and
in
this
case,
boston
was
not
alone.
Boston
was
essentially
at
the
forefront
of
this
movement
to
disrupt
these
opportunities
for
historically
marginalized
communities,
to
increase
their
their
participation
and
their
political
power,
their
ability
to
determine
their
own
destinies
as
related
to
schools.
T
They
were
at
the
forefront
new
york
city
chicago,
and
these
other
cities
were
doing
the
same
kinds
of
things,
and
so
I
salute
the
city
council.
I
salute
all
of
the
other
organizations
that
have
been
part
of
this
to
get
boston
to
the
point
where
they
leave
that
history
behind
and
look
forward
to
something
better
something
more
inclusive,
and
in
doing
that,
I
think
we'll
also
provide
a
model
for
the
rest
of
the
country,
because,
precisely
at
this
moment,
chicago
is
trying
to
undo
those
damages.
T
A
Thank
you
very
much.
Domingo
have
had
three
obviously
distinguished
panels
that
have
added
tremendous
value
to
this
debate,
so
I
appreciate
your
time
and
attention
and
spending
time
with
us
from
both
rectus
and
brown.
So
thank
you
very
much
for
that.
We're
gonna
shift
now
to
start
to
take
in
some
public
testimony.
A
F
A
A
Council
royale:
do
you
have
any
questions
of
about
professor
collins
or
associate
professor
morel.
A
Think
yeah,
I
think,
they're
still
hang
in
there
carry
you,
have
the
ability
to
grab
a
second
panel.
A
I
see
that
this
that
there's
still
john
nucci's
on
as
well
and
so
so
yeah,
while
we're
waiting
for
the
while
we're
waiting
for
the
that
panel
to
come
on.
I
I
also
see
eric
berg
from
btu.
I
know
eric
had
a
time
sensitivity,
I'm
just
going
to
give
him
a
courtesy
of
just
offering
a
brief
statement.
Eric
you
have
the
floor.
If
you
can
just
come
on,
introduce
yourself
quickly.
U
So
I
am
eric
berg,
I'm
the
father
of
two
who
attended
six
bucks
in
public
schools
throughout
their
k-12
education,
I'm
a
25-year
veteran,
elementary
school
teacher
and
I'm
currently
the
executive
vice
president
of
the
boston
teachers
union.
The
boston
teachers
union
strongly
supports
a
return
to
an
elected
school
committee.
U
U
U
U
A
Thank
you
very
much
eric
and
now
so
we're
going
to
shift
back
over
to
questions
so
council
royale
has
questions
of.
I
believe
he
mentioned
john
newton
or
the
second
panel.
The
full
second
panel
is
back
on
council
arroyo
and
councilman
here.
So
you
have
the
floor.
Council
royale
thank.
E
You,
mr
chair,
and
for
mr
newchi.
I
know
that
when
we
were
pushing
this
battle
referendum,
what
gets
brought
up
a
lot,
especially
by
the
press,
is
the
idea
of
politicizing
education.
E
I
think
everything's
political,
including
education,
all
of
the
time,
all
the
decisions
we
make
in
terms
of
funding
or
what
we
decide
to
implement
is
technically
political.
But
I
guess
my
question
for
you,
since
you
were
on
the
elected
school
committee,
is
in
terms
of
the
idea
of
politicizing
education.
How
much
of
that
do
you
actually
find
credence
to,
and
how
much
of
that
is
something
that
you
think
is
is
sort
of
overblown.
N
N
It
goes
along,
I
think
hand
in
hand
with
the
criticism
that
well
school
committee
members
want
to
run
for
higher
office,
and
I
can't
think
of
a
more
silly
criticism
than
that
school
committee
members
running
for
city
council.
I
know
I
did
that
city
council
has
run
for
mayor
state
representatives
run
for
state,
senator
and
and
representatives
in
congress
running
for
united
states.
Senator
that
happens
all
the
time.
There
is
nothing
inherently
wrong
with
that.
N
I
also
have
said
in
the
past
that
to
complain
that
a
move
to
an
elected
school
committee
politicizes
education
is
also
faulty,
because
the
alternative
to
that
is
it
appoint
the
school
committee
which
is
appointed
by
a
mayor
and
what
is
more
political
than
a
mayor's
job
in
the
city
of
boston
or
any
city
across
america.
So
you
know,
politics
is
always
going
to
be
in
public
education.
That's
why
it's
called
public
education.
E
I
appreciate
that
answer
in
terms
of
one
of
the
things
that
you
know.
I've
had
concerns
about
myself
as
a
counselor
is
the
conversation
about
district
towards
at
large.
I
know
as
a
district
counselor
when
it
comes
to
bps.
I
actually
am
big
on
advocating
for
this
the
school
system
as
a
whole,
because,
as
somebody
who
grew
up
in
high
park,
I've
never
actually
gone
to
a
school
in
the
district
that
I
am
in.
E
I've
gone
to
the
south,
greenwood
I've
gone
to
the
timothy,
I've
gone
to
o'brien,
and
so
I
recognize
that
for
many
of
my
constituencies
they
are
dependent
on
me
fighting
for
not
just
the
schools
in
my
district
but
citywide,
because
they're
going
to
schools
all
over
the
city,
whether
it
might
be
a
high
park
student
who's
in
brighton
or
a
mattapan
student
who's
in
roxbury.
But
I
think
the
question
for
me
to
you,
mr
newchain
also
miss
neymar.
E
N
I
think
I
think
the
accessibility
is
key
here
I
served
strangely
enough,
I
served
as
both
a
district
member
of
the
boston
school
committee
and
as
an
at-large
member,
I
ran
for
at
launch
halfway
through
my
my
period
of
time,
so
I
saw
it
from
both
sides.
I
think
the
advantage
of
a
district
member
of
a
school
committee
is
that
parents
have
more
access
to
you.
They
can
find
you
more
easily.
N
They
know
where
you
live
all
right
and,
and
I'm
sure
you
come
across-
that
as
a
district
city
council
you're,
never
off
the
clock,
so
yeah,
the
accessibility
is
certainly,
I
think,
increased
with
the
district
members.
The
advantage,
however,
of
an
at
large
member
is
you
have
a
more
global
view
of
the
situation.
You
are
responsible
for
the
entire
city,
voting
for
you
and
you're,
subject
to
the
entire
city
voting
for
you.
Thus,
you
have
to
have
a
more
broad
view.
N
I
I
think
that
the
the
majority
of
the
composition
of
whatever
school
committee
we
wind
up
with,
should
be
predominantly
district.
I
wouldn't
say
it's
necessarily
a
negative
to
have
that
lives
representation
as
well.
I
think,
from
both
perspectives
of
both
councils
district
and
at
large,
what's
important
that
those
members
you
know,
while
they
remain
accessible
to
the
people
who
live
in
their
district,
that
they
take
a
broad
system-wide
view.
Otherwise
parochialism
creeps
in
and
perhaps
would
wind
up
with
a
decision-making
process
that
is
not
as
pure
as
it
possibly
should
be.
P
Yeah
I'd
like
to
chime
in
on
this
ricardo,
I
agree
with
everything
john
nucci
said.
I
would
want
to
see
at
least
some
district
seats
because
you
know
I
often
think
about.
If
I
had
to
have
run
for
school
committee,
would
I
have
done
it?
Probably
not.
I
was
raising
kids
working
full
time
and
then
you
know
launching
a
campaign.
So
how
many
people
are
we
leaving
out
from
the
possibility
of
representing
who
care
but
would
have
to
launch
a
citywide
campaign?
P
You
know
the
effort
that
that
takes
would
just
exclude
a
lot
of
people
who,
I
think,
would
be
good
voices.
So
I
would
just
add
that
thought
to
the
ones
that
john
mentioned
around
district
versus
city-wide
and
then,
if
they
are
district,
then
it's
up
to
the
body
as
a
whole
to
wrestle
with
well.
What
does
this
mean
that
our
kids
are
going
to
schools
in
our
different
districts?
So
that
would
be
the
responsibility
of
the
committee
itself
to
sort
out.
You
know.
E
Yeah
and
for
time,
thank
you
both
of
these
answers.
These
are
all
very
thoughtful
answers
and
just
for
time
so
that
I
don't
take
up
too
much
of
the
time
that
other
counselors
may
have
for
questions.
I'm
going
to
ask
one
more
question,
which
is
also
for
mr
neuchini
and
for
miss
neymar,
and
I
know
that
my
father,
just
full
disclosure,
served
with
miss
neymar,
and
so
I'm
familiar
with
some
of
this
from
a
personal
standpoint.
But
how
do
you
believe
your
relationship
with
the
mayor
was
different?
E
You
both
were
in
two
different
situations.
One
was
elected
and
had
to
negotiate
with
the
mayor
around
school
budget
and
a
bunch
of
superintendents,
miss
neymar,
same
difference
except
you
were
appointed,
and
so
how
do
you
think
the
benefits
to
this
were
changed
by
having
an
appointed
or
having
an
elected,
because
I
know
that
one
of
the
things
that
folks
are
having
conversations
about
is
the
idea
of
a
hybrid,
and
that
would
impact
how
folks,
who
are
appointed
and
folks
are
elected,
are
negotiating
with
the
said
mayor.
N
That
might
be
the
most
important
question.
I've
heard
that's
a
very,
very
good
question,
and
I
think
the
answer
for
me
anyway
is
is
pretty
simple.
As
an
elected
school
committee
member,
I
felt
that
my
job
was
to
be
an
advocate
for
the
boston
public
schools.
As
a
result
of
that,
we
sometimes
wound
up
in
very
contentious
sessions
with
the
mayor
about
what
the
funding
level
for
the
school
system
should
be.
N
We
meaning
the
school
committee
was
always
on
the
side
of
wanting
resources,
adequate
resources,
often
more
resources
for
the
boston
public
school
children.
So
there
was
that
creative
friction
that
existed
between
the
elected
school
committee
and
the
mayor's
office.
If
the
school
committee
did
not
think
that
the
school
system
was
being
adequately
funded,
there
was
some.
There
was
some
tension.
There
was
some
negotiation
back
and
forth.
I
I
won't
speak
for
the
appointed
scooper.
I
didn't
serve
on
it,
but
I
think,
if
you're
appointed,
I
think
this
is
broad
brushed.
N
Admittedly,
but
if
you're
appointed,
you
know,
you're,
probably
less
likely
to
get
into
real
hard-nosed
bargaining
with
the
mayor
over
funding
levels,
because
that
mayor
is
the
source
of
your
appointments
at
school.
But
as
an
elected
school
committee,
I
didn't
need
the
mayor
to
return
to
the
school
committee.
I
need
the
people
and
the
parents
and
others
to
return
to
the
school
committee,
not
the
mayor's
office.
P
So
I
was
probably
an
outlier
on
this,
which
might
be
why
I'm
the
only
one
from
the
appointed
school
committee.
That's
I
got
this
position
as
ricardo
might
know
his
father
and
I
were
kind
of
the
outliers
in
pushing
things,
and
you
know
with
mayor
menino
I
mean
the
interesting
thing
was
there
is
no
process
for
recalling
an
elected
school
committee.
P
I
mean
appointed,
and
so
I
I
think
it's
just
like
an
attitude
people
have
when
they're
on
that
committee,
that's
appointed
by
the
mayor,
that
they
should
be
doing
his
bidding
when
I
was
reappointed
by
menino.
He
asked
me,
you
know:
do
you
ever
support
anything
that
you
know
we
propose,
and
he
reappointed
me
because
he
said
he
appreciated
having
you
know
my
push
for
broader
voices
to
be
heard,
but
I
I
was
definitely
an
outlier
around
that
and
there
there
was
pressure.
You
know.
P
Can
we
have
a
unanimous
vote
on
this
and
I
would
say
no,
you
know
so
it
was
as
much
the
culture
that
it
creates.
I
think,
as
the
the
reality
of
what
you
could
do,
I
don't
know
if
that
makes
sense,
but
that
was
my
experience
of
it.
T
Yes,
councilman
arroyo.
Thank
you.
I
just
wanted
to
add
one
other
thing
about
to
your
question
regarding
at-large
versus
district
elections.
So
we
know
you
know
from
the
scholarship
political
science
that
communities
who
have
district
versus
at-large
elections
are
more
likely
than
to
have
representatives
from
underrepresented
groups,
participate
in
that
body,
and
so,
as
is
it
important
as
part
of
the
conversation
that
has
been
going
on
today
that
that
boston
school
committee
is
representative
of
the
community.
T
We
just
know
from
scholarship
that
having
district
elections
is
going
to
increase
the
likelihood
that
that
happens
both
on
racial
representation
class.
You
know
income
and
so
forth,
and
so
I
just
wanted
to
add
that,
as
part
of
your
calculus,
your
decision
making
when
it
comes
to
to
deciding
what's
the
best
approach.
R
And
I
have
a
very
related
remark
comment
recently
in
lowell,
there
was
a
lawsuit
about
discriminatory
at-large
voting
systems
in
which
most
city,
councilors
and
school
committee
members
in
lowell
were
all
residing
in
the
same
wealthier
whiter
than
the
median
neighborhood
of
lowell,
and
that
was
after
seeing
several
election
several
cycles
election
results.
R
The
supreme
a
circuit
court
found
that
the
at-large
voting
system
or
the
all-at-large
voting
system
was
discriminatory
towards
racial
and
ethnic
minorities.
In
lowell
we
saw
a
potential
similar
lawsuit
in
worcester.
These
are
much
smaller,
but
still
somewhat
similar
cities
in
massachusetts.
A
A
A
Yes,
kerry
councilman
here
is
asking
if
we
can
bring
nate
back
she's
been
floated,
and
then
they
just
have
to
remember
to
hit
the
acceptor
redesignation
as
a
panelist
nasa.
F
Thank
you,
councillor
flaherty,
so
nasa
I'm
just
curious.
You
know,
as
a
young
person,
I'm
wondering
if
you
could
tell
us
what
you
think
what
your
vision
is
for
the
role
of
young
people
in
the
an
elected
school
committee.
What's
your
vision.
M
Yes,
definitely,
my
vision
is
that
a
student,
the
student
representative
on
the
selected
committee,
gets
a
vote
as
well
as
the
other
members,
and
that
the
student
representative
still
is
a
member
of
the
boston
student
advisory
council.
However,
that
looks
right
now
after
the
entire
situation
happened
last
year
and
that
the
student
representative
reports
back
to
the
other
student
representatives
in
the
boston
city
advisory
council,
so
that
they
are
gaining
the
full
perspective
and
opinion
of
the
general
student
body
of
bps.
M
F
You
thank
you
and
then
I'm
just
curious.
This
is
for
panel
one
and
then
I
just
have
two
questions
for
panel
two
for
everyone
on
panel,
one
if
they're
still
here,
you
know
when
I
founded
c
plan,
which
is
a
an
organization
designed
specifically
to
engage
parents.
F
We
were
really
frustrated
to
what
ruby
was
talking
about
in
regards
to
parents
showing
up,
and
it
seems
like
most
often
our
voices
were
not
heard
and
I'm
just
curious.
How
do
you
all
see
a
panel
excuse
me,
an
elected
school
committee,
making
sure
that
they're
working
in
deep
community
with
parents
to
ensure
that
the
voices
of
the
people
literally
get
heard.
Can
you
talk
a
little
bit
about
how
you
see
that
working,
I'm
not
sure
if
any
of
our
panelists
from
panel
one
are
still
here.
L
K
F
So
I'm
just
really
curious
about
what
role
you
think
the
elected
school
committee
can
play
in
making
sure
that
parent
voices
are
honored.
I
think
you
know
one
of
the
things
that
we
see
often
and
we've
seen
this
during
our
during
the
appointment.
The
appointed
school
committee
hearings
that
oftentimes
parents,
the
voices
of
the
parents,
are
not
being
honored
or
educators.
F
K
So
I
think
that,
with
an
elected
school
committee
we
would
be-
I
mean,
as
parents
and
students
and
and
even
educators,
we
are
the
biggest
consumers
right
when
it
comes
to
the
to
the
system.
So
the
way
that
I
see
it
is
that
they
would
be
more
responsive
instead
of
having
you
know,
two
minutes
to
talk
and
get
no
responses
about
the
issue
that
that
you
came
on
and
possibly
waited.
You
know
hours
long
to
testify
about.
K
K
I
I
think
that
it's
more
engagement,
I
liked
what
miss
neymar
was
saying
about
how
you
know
they
used
to
have
a
a
panel
where,
or
you
know
where
community
members
used
to
sit
down
talk
about
the
issues,
talk
about
the
concerns
and
have
a
back
and
forth
dialogue
right
now.
That
does
not
happen.
We
can't
have
a
back
and
forth
dialogue
with
anyone.
There's
no
responses,
we
just
go
there.
We
express
our
issues
and
hopes
that
someone
will
respond
or
that
it
will
change
policies.
K
That
would
benefit
us.
But
yes,
I
think
that
definitely,
transparency,
engagement,
accountability
and
responsiveness
would
be
the
difference
and
then
hopefully
we
would
have
you
know
like
I'm,
not
sure
how
they
figure
out
like
who
serves.
I
know
there's
a
nominated
panel,
but
we
would
definitely
like
this.
You
know
it
would
be
hopefully
more
more
folks
that
are
in
tune
with
the
community
and
that
you
know
can
can
be
responsive.
Sorry,
neema.
L
Yeah,
I
guess
I
just
outreach-
is
not
a
thing
that
happens
in
the
current
structure
of
the
school
committee.
No
one
is
seeking
to
understand.
L
If
you
want
to
be
understood,
you
go
to
school
committee,
you
wait,
for
god
knows
how
long
you
cry
and
bleed
in
front
of
people
who
sometimes
are
on
their
phones,
sometimes
they're
on
their
laptops,
sometimes
aren't
making
eye
contact,
and
then
you
hope
that
something
that
you
said
landed
and
maybe
you'll
see
something
a
couple
weeks
later
reference
to
it.
The
idea
that
members
of
the
committee
would
actually
go
out
into
the
community
to
understand
the
issues
before
voting
is
not
a
paradigm
that
currently
exists.
L
If
we
do
this,
what
are
the
consequences
going
to
be
for
the
young
people
at
this
school?
I
would
hope
that,
in
a
changed
model,
like
outreach
would
be
at
the
core
of
the
job
description,
that
the
very,
very
fundamental
basis
of
being
on
the
school
committee
would
be
that
your
job
was
to
seek
to
understand
in
making
decisions,
and
that
seeking
to
understand
means
you
leave
your
house,
you
leave
your
office,
you
go
to
the
place
where
people
are
impacted
and
you
listen
deeply
to
them.
L
Instead
of
expecting
that
the
way
that
people
share
is
by
showing
up
at
your
meeting
that
happens
at
the
time
of
day
that
you
set
that
happens
on
the
parameters
that
you
decide
and
that,
if
you
go
over,
people
call
a
police
officer
to
take
you
out
of
the
room
which
we've
seen
happen
right,
like
the
entire
paradigm,
is
not
a
service
oriented
paradigm,
a
constituency-oriented
paradigm,
an
understanding
paradigm,
it's
a
paradigm
where
it's
like
yeah,
come
and
cry
and
and
we'll
decide.
L
F
Thank
you.
Thank
you
for
that.
I
see
that
jonathan
has
his
hands
up
and
I
would
like
to
encourage
some
of
our
other
panelists
to
to
chime
in.
I
know
I'm
not
the
facilitator
of
this,
but
I
just
wanted
to
encourage
that.
You
know
we
really
do
value
your
expertise
and
your
time
here
and
I
just
wanted
to
make
sure
that,
because
I
see
your
hand
up
wanted
to
call
on
you
and
then
I
do
have
one
more
question
for
tanisha.
S
I
just
thank
you.
Thank
you.
I
just
want
to
chime
in
very
quickly
to
make
it
clear
that
you
know
we
do
if
guilloches
are
different
from
what
we
do
with
like
board
meetings,
and
those
are
two
different
obstacles
that
we
have
to
confront
on
the
one
end
increasing
the
electoral
capacity
of
the
board.
It
changes
the
nature
of
how
people
campaign
for
it.
It
changes
the
nature
of
how
people
pursue
opportunities
to
be
a
part
of
it.
It
doesn't
necessarily
change
the
dynamics
of
the
meeting
every
month.
S
Those
that's
a
different
type
of
reform
that
then
this
newly
constructed
board
will
then
have
to
sort
of
work
through,
but
I
think
the
so.
What
we
have
to
do
is
we
have
to
go
in
with
very
clear
expectations
of
what
this
does
and
what
this
will
accomplish
and
what
it
won't
accomplish.
You
know
and
like
the
school
board
again
is
great
because
it
increases
the
con,
the
opportunities
for
contact
between
people
in
their
sort
of
everyday
communities,
and
then
the
representative,
who
makes
decisions
on
their
behalf.
S
What
it
doesn't
necessarily
do
is
make
sure
it
is
ensured
that
that
decision-making
body
behaves
a
certain
way.
That's
up
to
the
people
who
steal
the
seats
and
that's
up
to
the
rules
and
the
structures
of
the
way
in
which
the
meetings
themselves,
the
structure,
the
kinds
of
committees
and
subcommittees
that
they
that
they
sort
of
create
and
construct.
S
K
And
can
I
can,
I
just
add
something
else,
miss
me
all
right
so
and
then
one
other
thing
I
wanted
to
add.
So
I
am
also
a
parent
organizer
with
baja,
and
I
know
that
outreach
is
is
very.
It
is
hard
to
do
like
I
mentioned
before.
K
I'm
part
of
the
parent
council,
the
school
site
council
and
a
city-wide
parent
group
as
well-
and
I
would
you
know
it
it's
hard,
but
there
are
things
certain
steps
that
we
have
to
take
in
order
to
make
that
possible
and
right
now
that
is
not
happening.
I
feel
like
parents
and
parent
groups
are
sometimes
used,
or
sometimes
like
meetings
come
about
just
so
that
parent
voice
could
be
used
as
a
check
off
versus
you
know,
it's
just
checking
a
box
versus
actually
engaging
and
truly
listening
to
us
and
addressing
our
concerns.
K
F
Yeah,
I
I
could
co-sign
and
agree
with
you
100
on
that
one
suleiga,
so
I
just
have
two
more
questions
and
they're
both
for
president
sullivan.
F
One
is,
if
you
could
help
our
those
who
are
tuning
in
understand
how
this
particular
issue
is
a
voting
rights
issue
here
in
the
city
of
boston,
yeah,.
Q
So
there
are,
I
have
a
number
of
comments,
but
I
in
answering
your
question
I
mean
I
think
it
goes
back
to
what
I
said
in
in
the
in
our
opening
testimony.
This
really
is
about
restoring
a
voting
right
that
was
taken
away
right.
The
right
to
elect
those
people
who
sit
on
the
school
committee
is
not
a
small
issue.
The
reason
it's
not
a
small
issue
is
because
the
school
committee
is
a
policy.
Is
the
policy
making
body
of
our
school
district?
Q
Okay?
That
means
that
any
policy
decision
from
budgetary
to
what
the
priorities
or
strategic
priorities
are
of
the
school
district,
making
decisions
about
issues
around
facilities
where
things
get
built
when
things
get
built,
all
of
the
major
decisions
of
our
district
rest,
not
the
final
decisions
rest
not
with
who
is
sitting
in
the
central
office
on
the
fifth
or
sixth
floor,
whatever
floor.
It
is
at
this
point,
but
really
with
our
school
committee.
Q
Q
That
is
not
insignificant,
and
so
the
fact
that
we
do
not
have
the
right
to
elect
those
individuals
is
a
major
voting
rights
issue.
Okay,
and
so
this
is
about
restoring
that
right,
we're
not
asking
for
something
that
we're
not
entitled
to
we're
asking
for
the
restoration
of
something
or
demanding
asking
how
everyone
say
it
for
the
restoration
of
a
right
that
was
taken
away
right
from
from
from
the
people.
The
other
piece
I
want
to
say
is
that
this
is
about
accountability,
yes,
but
it
is
also
about
responsibility.
Q
It's
shared
accountability
and
shared
responsibility
right,
and
so,
whenever
you
have
a
government
structure
where
there
is
more
participation
by
the
people,
we
don't
get
just
get
to
check
the
box
vote
for
the
elected
official
and
walk
away
and
say
do
your
job.
It
actually
brings
about
more
responsibility
on
our
parts
as
as
residents
as
citizens
to
actually
get
in
there
and
to
support
the
work
and
to
have
shared
responsibility
so
that
we
are
then
in
a
position
to
hold
elected
officials
accountable.
Q
The
last
piece
I
want
to
mention
and
really
want
to
emphasize
what
dr
collins
just
said.
It
is
critically
important
that,
as
we
start
to
open
up
this
conversation,
that
we
are
very
clear
about
what
an
elected
school
committee
will
accomplish
and
what
it
will
not
the
elected
school
committee
in
and
of
itself
doesn't
just
make
all
of
the
problems
go
away.
It
is,
it
is
rather
a
structure
through
which
we
are
able
to
wrestle
in
a
more
engaged
way,
hopefully
with
the
policy
issues
and
the
in
the
in
the
challenges
that
are
already
there.
Q
So
I
do
want
to
make
sure
that
we
as
a
city
understand
that
it
again
that
goes
back
to
that
shared
responsibility
who
we
elect
will
matter
if
that
will
matter
in
terms
of
the
engagement
that
parents
and
educators
and
other
stakeholders,
stakeholders
are
talking
about.
An
elected
school
committee
in
and
of
itself
does
not
necessarily
make
for
a
more
engaged
school
committee.
Member.
F
Thank
you
for
that,
and
just
one
last
question
as
we're
talking
about
accountability
and
voice.
I'm
just
curious.
F
It's
hard
to
ignore
the
significance
of
pushing
for
an
elected
school
committee
specifically
to
help
support
and
ensure
that
the
voices
of
black
and
brown
families
are
heard
and
I'm
just
curious.
What
can
we,
as
a
city
and
a
community,
do
better
to
make
sure
that
black
and
brown
voices
are
continually
centered
in
the
process
of
creating
an
elected
school
committee,
but
also
after
an
elected
school
committee
is
established.
Q
Yep,
so
this
is,
this
is
a
critical
question.
I
think
that
we
absolutely
need
to
ensure
that
we
have
a
structure
of
engagement.
That
again
this
is
that
shared
responsibility.
I
don't
believe
that
it
is
solely
the
responsibility
of
the
city
council
to
create
those
spaces
for
this
dialogue.
I
actually
believe
in
hope
that
we
will
do
this
in
partnership.
Q
Both
you
know
documented
official
hearings
that
are
led
by
the
city
council
as
we
work
through
structure,
but
also
that
we
are
actively
engaging
community-based
neighborhood-based
organizations
to
co-convene
some
of
these
conversations
to
ensure
that
all
voices
are
heard.
So
we
get
the
best
structure
out
of
this
right,
so
that's
one!
The
second
is,
I
also
want
to
mention
this
district
versus
at
large,
and
this
this
is
this
is,
and
that
this
is
an
important
issue
and
to
beth's
point
we
have
to
be
very
mindful
of
kind
of
the
legal
landscape.
Q
That's
already
out
there
in
massachusetts
on
this
question
representation
and
the
structure
of
representation
will
matter
and
so
making
sure
that
you
know
that
we
are
thinking
about
the
district
vis-a-vis,
the
at-large,
but
as
we're
doing
that
thinking
again,
I
would
caution
us
against
looking
at
our
current
city
council
and
saying:
oh,
you
know
we,
we
have
no
problem,
electing
a
diverse
at
large
city
council
cohort,
because
we've
had
one
for
the
last
two
three
cycles.
Q
I
encourage
us
not
to
do
that,
because
that's
that's
individual
driven
from
a
structural
standpoint
is
the
lens
through
which
we
should
be
looking
at
this
right,
and
so
I
do
think
and
and
would
lean
more
towards
a
structure
that
is
more
district-based
to
help
ensure
that,
regardless
of
what
season
we
are
in
as
a
city
that
we
are
more,
that
we
are
more
likely
to
yield
representative
government.
F
A
Counselor
murphy,
indoor
councilor
bark
any
questions
of
the
panels
before
we
move
on
to
public
testimony.
H
No,
I
would
just
reiterate
you
know
back
to
the
pros
and
cons
of
the
members
either
being
elected
district
or
city-wide,
I'm
definitely
in
favor
of
having
like
was
mentioned
earlier,
a
three-at-large
nine
district
structure
just
coming
off
an
at-large
city-wide
election.
I
know
how
daunting
it
is,
and
you
know
the
amount
of
time
and
money
you
need
to
spend
to
be
successful.
H
Also,
knowing
that
my
intention,
when
I
resigned
my
job
as
a
boston,
public
school
teacher,
was
hoping,
I
would
win
that
I
would
have
a
new
job,
and
this
is
now
my
full-time
job,
but
we
know
school
committee
members.
They
still
keep
their
daytime
job,
they
still
have
a
full-time
job.
So
how
are
we
expecting
people
to
successfully
run
such
a?
You
know
large
campaign.
H
So
it's
something
that
I've
been
thinking
about
ever
since
this
conversation
has
started
also
on
you
know
in
knowing
also
that
many
voices
would
be
left
out,
many
neighborhoods
pockets,
so
I've
always
been
in
favor
of
whatever
the
number
is.
I
originally
had
said
on
the
campaign
trail
if
it's
nine
district
matching
up
with
our
already
structured
city,
district
councillors
and
then
some
at
large,
but
definitely
in
favor
of
looking
at
a
couple
at
large,
knowing
also
ricardo
counselor
arroyo
had
talked
about.
H
I
mean
every
district
counselor
knows
that
their
voice
coming
to
schools
is
citywide,
because
we
know
families
are
placed
at
schools
all
over
the
city
and
middle
school
and
high
schools
are
not
district
oriented.
So
that
is
my
opinion
on
you
know
just
going
forward
with
this
conversation
really
looking
at
the
structure
is
important
to
me
to
make
sure
all
voices
are
continued
to
be
heard.
So
thank
you.
A
Thank
you,
council
murphy,
councillor,
bach,
any
questions
of
the
first
three
panels
before
we
allow
them
to
move
till
we
go
to
public
testimony.
J
I
mainly
just
wanted
to
say
thank
you
so
much
to
all
the
panelists
for
testifying.
I
think
it's
been
really
thoughtful
and
thanks
to
the
co-sponsors
for
their
questions,
I
think
they
were
most
the
questions
I
wanted
to
ask,
including
about
district
and
at
large.
I
guess
one
just
sort
of
like
question
for
the
folks
who've
looked
at
these
models
elsewhere.
J
Is
there
anywhere
that
that,
like
districts,
get
weighted
by
like
family
census
data,
I'm
just
thinking
through
this
question
of
my
guess
is:
is
that
most
everywhere
just
goes
with
the
simple
kind
of
electoral
math
divide
the
city
evenly
when
you
do
districts,
but
I
was
just
thinking
about
those
statistics
that
beth
gave
and
the
fact
that
we
we
do
have
substantial
parts
and
communities
in
our
district
that
are
more
represented
in
the
public
schools
and
so
trying
to
think
to
counselor
mahia's
point
about
about
relative
voice.
J
I
don't
know
if
anybody's
tried
something
more
creative
as
like
the
base
for
representation
anywhere.
Q
So
if
no
one
I
I
can
I'll
I'll
start
and
then
kick
it
to
beth,
because
this
is
a
question
that
we
that
we've
wrestled
with-
and
I
do
think
it's
it-
it
is
from
a
legal
standpoint.
Q
Counselor
bach
there
will
be
some
guard
rails
that
we
will
have
when
it
comes
to
drawing
the
district
lines,
because
it
is
an
elected,
these
will
be
elected
positions,
and
so
they
will
be
subject
to
voting
rights,
laws
at
the
federal
and,
of
course,
state
level,
and
so
there
will
be
limitations
in
terms
of
what
the
denominator
can
actually
be.
We
did
ask
a
specific
question
from
the
naacp.
Q
We
asked
a
specific
question
of
some
attorneys
recently
about
whether
or
not
that
denominator
could
correlate
with
the
number
of
school-age
children
and
the
response
that
we
received
was
that
is,
is
a
no
and
again
that's
just
being
in
line
with
the
voting
rights
voting
rights
guard
rails,
both
at
the
federal
and
state
level.
I
don't
know
beth
or
dr
collins
on
that.
R
Similarly,
yes
agree
with
everything
that
tanisha
just
shared.
I
think
every
municipality
draws
their
school
committee
lines
if
they
have
school
committee
districts
by
total
population.
R
However,
there
is
the
ability
to
deviate
from
ideal
population
size
by
5
according
to
massachusetts,
state
statute,
so
it
let's
say
we
wanted
to
make
use
of
that
five
percent
to
take
into
some
consideration
student
population
size.
I
wonder
if
that
is
allow
that
should
be
allowable
and
then
I
in
general,
if
there
are
districts,
I
think
aligning
them
with
the
city.
R
Council
districts
avoids
voter
confusion
so
that
a
parent
in
district,
one
in
city,
council
district,
note
one
knows
who
their
city
council
member
is
knows
who
their
school
committee
member
is,
I
think,
avoiding
voter
confusion
is
always
useful.
J
Yeah,
that
makes
sense-
I
guess
the
I
guess
it's.
The
one
thought
I
would
have
is
that
for
folks
you
know-
and
this
is
really
for
our
subsequent
working
sessions,
but
much
as
it
seems
like
you
know.
I
think
a
lot
of
us
are
thinking
about
having
preserving
that
student
representative
and
obviously
the
student
representative
would
not
be
a
city-wide
election
right
by
virtue
of
the
fact
that
it's
a
particular
subset.
J
I
think
I
I
know
that
there's
been
some
nervousness
about
like
about
a
hybrid
right
when
it
comes
to
mayoral
control,
but
I
think
there's
another
kind
of
hybrid
which
is
acknowledging
a
couple
of
these
sort
of
stakeholder
groups,
and
so
you
could
have
a
student
member
who's,
not
a
city-wide
elected
I'd,
be
interested
in
the
question
of.
Is
there
a
parent
member
who's,
not
a
city-wide
election
like
just
thinking
about
about
some
other
forms
of
hybridity?
That
could
make
sure
that
some
voices
that
we
know
we
want
in
the
mix
or
in
the
mix.
J
S
Could
I
jump
in
really
quickly
just
because
there
there's
a
there's
a
model?
That's
pretty
much
much
more
theory
than
practice
on
this
idea
of
cumulative
voting
that
a
harvard
law,
professor
lonnie
ganir,
has
been
writing
about
for
well
over
a
decade,
and
the
idea
with
cumulative
voting
is
essentially
you
give
people
multiple
votes
so
because
of
the
way
in
which
the
voting
works.
S
Just
from
a
constitutional
standpoint
it
you
know,
the
one
person
for
vote
principle
is
at
its
core,
but
what
ganir
is
proposing
is
that
you
give
essentially
every
every
voter
multiple
votes,
and
this
is
supposed
to
be
something
that
creates
a
an
imbalance
of
power
across
groups,
because
groups
with
more
unified
interests
use
their
multiple
votes
in
more
strategic
ways,
and
this
actually
helps
to
kind
of
create
a
more
a
clear
balance
of
power
between
larger
groups,
with
multiple
options
versus
like
smaller
marginalized
groups,
with
fewer
options.
S
And
so
it's
again
it's
more
theory
than
practice.
But
this
is
the
idea
that
has
kind
of
been
circulating
as
a
way
to
sort
of
overcome
the
the
problem
kenzie
that
you've
been
talking
about
and,
of
course,
there's
ranked
choice,
voting
which
has
gotten
some
momentum.
It's
sort
of
been
criticized
a
little
bit
more
recently,
but
the
theory
behind
ranked
choice
voting
is
that
it
creates
corporations
as
a
competition
and
vision.
S
When
you
think
about
a
school
board
election,
you
would
like
to
see
canada's
engaging
more
collaborative
and
more
cooperative
campaign
strategies,
as
opposed
to
creating
issues
of
division
that
then
carry
over
into
the
way
in
which
they
govern.
S
So
I
think
some
electoral
strategies
again
there's
this
sort
of
purely
much
more
theory
than
practice
accumulated
voting
idea
and
then
there's
this
idea
of
ranked
choice
voting,
but
you
could
think
of
mechanisms
that
could
at
least
change
the
structure
of
the
way
people
campaign,
and
I
think
the
way
people
campaign
very
much
affects
the
way
in
which
folks
govern.
So
just
throwing
that
out.
There.
J
I
think
it
might.
We
might.
It
might
take
us
a
little
bit
to
sell
people
on
it
and
on
ranked
choice.
Voting
I'm
a
huge
advocate,
especially
for
single
winner
elections.
I
think
it's
a
little
more
straightforward
for
a
district
seat
than
it
is
at
large.
Just
we've
seen
some
weird
some
weird
aspects
of
the
mask
that
can
play
out
in
cambridge
across
the
river,
but
but
I
think
certainly
for
district
races,
you're
right
it
it.
It
has
a
lot
to
recommend
it
but
anyways.
J
Thank
you
thanks,
mr
chair,
and
I
know
we've
got
folks
still
looking
to
testify
good.
A
No
thank
you
very
much
and
that'll
conclude
our
panel
discussion
today.
So
I
thank
the
panelists
for
penal
one.
Two
and
three
you
guys
are
free
to
free
to
leave
you're
free
to
stay.
We're
gonna
shift
gears
now
go
right
into
public
testimony
and
cheers
prerogative
carrie.
A
If
you
could
allow
counselor
elect
tanya
anderson
on
as
well
as
former
senator
dianne
wilkinson,
and
I'm
also
gonna
take
this
opportunity
right
now
to
read
public
testimony
into
the
record
from
joyce
fairy
boo
bowling,
who
just
recently
lost
her
mom,
so
she's
not
able
to
be
with
us
this
evening,
but
she's
afforded
a
statement
good
evening.
My
name
is
joyce
ferrybo
bowling,
my
husband
was
bruce
bowling
and
he
served
not
only
in
the
boston
city
but
city
council,
but
on
the
education
committee.
A
One
of
the
items
on
his
bucket
list
when
he
died
in
2012,
was
for
boston
to
return
to
an
elected
school
committee.
He
and
I
representing
many
generations
of
proud
public
school
graduates,
never
ever
wanted.
The
disenfranchisement
of
an
elected
school
committee
represented
not
to
mention
the
embarrassment
of
being
the
only
school
committee
in
the
state
without
elected
representation.
A
Under
the
appointed
system,
we
have
made
little
to
no
progress.
We
cannot
afford
to
lose
another
generation,
sincerely
joyce,
very
verbally
and
so
on
behalf
of
the
city
council.
Our
thoughts
and
prayers
are
with
joyce
and
her
family
for
the
passing
of
her
mom,
and
with
that,
if
we
have
carrie
is
the
public
testimony
lined
up?
Do
we
have
his
concert
elect
tommy
anderson?
Is
she
available
right
now.
A
Good,
I
see
former
senator
diane
wilkinson
diane.
Are
you
ready
to
testify.
I
I
I
am
one
of
those
people
who
happen
to
have
been
there
in
90,
89
1991,
then
serving
as
the
general
counsel
for
the
boston
branch
naacp,
who
fought
aggressively
to
to
stop
the
elimination
of
the
elected
school
committee,
but
for
purposes
of
today
there
are
a
few
things
I
I
wanted
to
share
with
you
one
it
hasn't
been
ray,
so
it
may
in
fact
be
news
to
the
council.
I
If
you
look,
I
don't
know
how
many
people
have
actually
read
the
bylaws
for
the
appointed
school
committee,
but
very
interesting
section
4b.
It's
just
one
line
really
for
today,
and
it
says
the
school
committee
acts
as
the
governing
board
of
the
city's
public
school
system
and
then
section
b
says
the
school
committee
sets
operational
policies
and
procedures
to
ensure
a
safe,
efficient
and
effective
learning
environment
for
all
students,
safe,
efficient
and
effective
hold.
I
That
thought,
because
it
was
actually
news
to
me
to
learn
that,
despite
what's
very
clear
in
the
language
around
the
responsibility
for
the
school
committee,
the
school
committee,
the
appoint
sitting
current
school
committee,
took
the
position
that
it
had
no
authority
to
vote
to
approve
a
coveted
19
plan
return
plan
for
our
school
students.
It
has
got
to
be
the
most
bizarre
thing
that,
as
it
has
consumed
our
lives
for
the
last
20
months,
that
I'm
not
sure
how
they
read
that
what
they
read,
but
they
actually
never
voted
on
a
return
plan.
I
And
it's
and
as
a
result
of
that,
the
sole
focus
of
our
plan
was
students
had
to
in
and
teachers
administrators
had
to
wear
masks
and
and
that
they
tried
to
get
ventilation
in
all
of
the
classrooms.
That's
it
that
was
it
this.
Despite
the
fact
that
it
is
common
knowledge
that
more
than
half
of
the
the
male
students
in
our
public
schools,
school
system
are
designated
a
special
need.
I
Counselor
murphy
must,
you
know,
I'm
sure
is
aware
of
that
as
a
as
a
reset
of
the
teacher,
but
some
25
percent
of
the
girls
as
well,
and
even
given
that
there
was
never
a
plan
to
address
the
isolation,
the
impact
of
the
mental
health
complications
and
consequences
of
our
students
being
isolated
for
almost
14
months.
It's
insane
everyone's
acting
shocked
that
we
are
seeing
the
stories
of
students
acting
out
and
and
the
reality
is.
I
I
don't
think
that
the
council
or
the
community,
the
public,
has
a
way
to
really
understand
what
is
going
on.
This
wasn't
just
about
the
kennedy
it's
going
on
across
our
system,
because
the
students
are
acting
out,
and
this
count
this
committee
said
not
me
now
one.
So
I
just
if
there's
no
other
that
doesn't
justify
or
explain
why
there
needs
to
be
an
accountability
process.
So
we're
here
talking
to
you,
which
is
part
of
the
irony,
the
council,
because
there
is
no
way
for
parents
and
people
who
have
concerns
to
address
and
hold
accountable.
I
Anyone
in
the
system
where
you
know
for
those
of
us
who
are
parents,
can
you
think
of
anything
more
frustrating
than
talking
to
your
children,
and
they
don't
talk
back
to
you
because
we've
all
been
there.
It's
always
like
answer
me.
So
parents
wait
six
seven
hours
to
testify,
they
speak,
they
pour
their
heart
out
and
they
and
the
counselors
are
not
allowed
to
respond.
I
The
other
thing
that
is
news
that
is
news
to
me
that
I
learned
that
they
have
a
policy
that
they're
not
allowed
to
visit
schools
unless
they're,
I
guess
they're,
two
of
them
or
it's
something
crazy
like
they
just
don't
do
it.
They
have
to
have
permission
and
one
of
the
people
has
to
be
the
chair,
so
I'm
not
sure
the
basis
and
again
councilman
murphy
may
be
able
to.
I
Should
I
see
her
shaking
her
head,
but
what
kind
of
nonsense
is
that
the
reality
is
is
that
the
school
system
right
now
needs
a
body
whose
sole
focus
is
to
focus
on
that
school
system.
You
cannot
do
it
because
you're
now
I
mean
I
think,
of
all
the
issues.
One
of
the
reasons,
mr
chairman,
while
we're
all
so
familiar
to
you,
because
we
come
before
you
on
all
those
two
things,
because
you've
got
a
full
plate.
The
mayor
has
to
run
the
city
which
really
gets
to
the
second
point.
I
So
I
don't
know
that
that
professor
collins
is
still
on
or
guillermo,
but
well
I
think
it's
guadal
at
rutgers,
so
the
university
of
rutgers
center
for
women
in
politics
is
probably
the
center
source
of
you
know:
research
on
women
and
and
how
and
why
women
get
into
politics
and
what
happens
when
they
do.
Why
is
this
relevant?
Because
you
should
know
that
the
majority
of
women
entering
politics
in
our
country,
not
just
in
massachusetts
and
in
boston,
come
through
school
committees.
It's
like
some.
I
Some
30
40
of
the
is
the
largest
percentage
of
the
career
path
for
women.
Entering
politics,
so
this
idea
that
we
can't
have
an
elected
school
committee
because
people
are
going
to
be
using
as
stepping
stones
as
if
that's
some
kind
of
a
curse.
It's
just
nonsense,
but
I
do
think
it
is
worthy
and
important
that
you
have
understanding
of
the
particular
negative
impact
that
it
has
on
women,
and
you
know
I
I
don't.
I
don't
want
to
do
anything
more
than
that,
because
I
think
that
so
much
has
been
said.
I
This
last
thing
is
this:
in
1991,
when
we
disbanded
our
elected
school
committee,
boston
had
two
black
city-wide
elected
school
committee,
members
electives,
something
by
the
way
that
our
city
council
has
never
done
so
and
no
other
that
I
know
other
than
you
know
the
springfield
councils,
but
not
in
boston.
So
this
idea
that
that
you
know
we
just
arrived,
I
think,
with
respect
to
schools.
I
Our
residents
in
this
city
have
always
been
ahead
of
the
game
because
they
they
vote
close,
and
I
think
there
is
absolutely
a
way
to
structure
a
system
that
answers.
The
issues
that
I
think
counselor
bach
has
raised
that
I
heard
from
councillor
murphy
and
gets
to
the
point
that
councilman
here
and
council
royal
have
raised
too
and
having
representation
that
respects
the
needs
of
parents
who
want
to
hold
a
system
accountable.
I
The
reality
is,
you
all
know
that
we
are
not
one
issue
voters
and
so
the
mayor
cannot
ser
or
he
or
she
could
take
the
system
and
because
people
like
what
they
do
in
other
areas,
they'll
be
re-elected.
If
the
school
committees
don't
work
like
that,
if
you're
not
doing
what
residents
or
voters
believe
you
should
do,
that's
going
to
be
their
sole
issue
right
now.
That's
what
our
students
need.
That's
what
they
deserve.
I
I'm
looking
forward
to
getting
you
know
to
the
conversation
counselor,
mr
chairman,
in
the
working
sessions
to
figure
out
the
devils
in
the
details,
but
I
am
optimistic
that
we
can
work
it
out
and
just
couldn't
stress
to
you
how
important
is
for
us
to
do
this.
Sooner
or
later,
we
need
someone,
a
body
that
is
solely
focused
on
resurrecting
our
school
system
and
I'm
I'm
confident
that
you
all
will
do
that.
Thank
you,
mr
chairman.
Thank.
A
You
senator,
and
you
brought
me
back
to
that
famous
statement-
judge
me
by
the
schools
and
judge
me
harshly.
N
X
A
And
the
schools
they
got
a
free
ride
on
it,
but
nonetheless,
so
that
was
a
good
history
lesson.
Thank
you.
Senator
gary,
if
you'd
be
kind
enough
to
admit,
roberto
jimenez,
and
then
we
have
pam
coker
and
just
right
right,
one
after
another,
we
can
get
into
the
public
destination,
roberto,
jimenez
rivera.
You
have
the
floor,
followed
by
piankoka,
followed
by
sharon.
Scott
chandler,
followed
by
lisa
greene,
followed
by
dan
french
by
sharon,
hinton
and
we'll
go
from
there.
Y
I
am
outside
with
the
carrying
of
the
baby,
so
excuse
me
if
he
starts
getting
really
excited
about
the
game.
So
hello,
my
name
is
roberto
jimenez,
I'm
an
organizer
with
the
boston
teachers
union
and
a
member
of
nihente
boston,
assemblya,
a
grassroots
organization
of
the
next
people,
organizing
for
economic,
racial
climate
and
denver
invested.
I
am
also
an
elected
member
of
the
chelsea
school
committee.
Y
I
want
to
thank
council
clarity
for
holding
this
hearing
today
and
counselors
and
arroyo
for
introducing
this
petition
and
for
spearheading
the
return
of
democracy
to
western
public
schools.
Today
we
have
heard
and
we'll
hear
from
many
perspectives
on
why
bostonians
deserve
an
elected
school
committee.
Y
The
biggest
mandate
for
the
city
of
boston
on
election
night
was
to
make
an
elected
school
committee
a
priority,
and
I
hope
that
you
will
move
on
this
promptly.
As
a
school
committee.
Member
myself,
I
can
tell
you
that
being
accountable
to
the
voters
is
not
an
easy
task
and,
of
course
I
know
I'm
patient
to
the
choir
here,
because
being
a
boston
city
councillor
is
by
no
means
an
easy
role.
It
means
having
conversations
with
people
we
disagree
with.
Sometimes
those
people
are
fellow
members
of
the
school
committee.
Y
Y
If
one
of
the
purposes
of
public
education
is
to
instill
in
our
students,
the
values
of
democracy,
why
are
we
okay
with
telling
them
that
democratic
values
don't
have
a
place
in
the
way
their
schools
are
run,
and
regarding
the
idea
that
school
committee
members
could
stepping
stone?
As
mr
anushi
earlier
mentioned,
this
is
a
silly
criticism.
Y
Congresswoman
catherine
clark,
member
of
the
melrose
columbia,
congressman
richie,
neil
chair
of
the
springfield
committee
state
senate
president,
karen
silke
former
chair
of
the
ashland
school
buddy,
sorry,
those
were
all
former.
Obviously
they
have
often
spoken
of
the
great
benefit
that
this
role
gave
them
in
order
to
be
advocates
for
their
community.
If
the
boston
school
committee
were
to
produce
leaders
of
that
caliber
wants
them
to
be
elected.
I
don't
think
the
voters
from
boston
will
see
that
as
a
negative.
Y
This
is
about
voting
rights.
It
is
about
civil
rights.
It
is
about
increasing
democracy
in
a
time
when
our
democracy
is
increasingly
imperial.
I
look
forward
to
the
day
when
I
can
work
alongside
fellow
elected
committee
members
from
boston,
so
that
we
can
not
only
make
boston
public
schools
better
but
improve
education,
regionally
and
statewide.
Y
After
all,
as
beth
long
mentioned
earlier,
having
more
elected
leaders
who
are
connected
to
parents,
students
and
educators
is
a
plus
and
not
a
minus,
it
will
give
more
voices
to
the
people
of
boston
and
amplify
their
voices
as
we
fight
for
a
better
city
and
a
better
commonwealth.
Thank
you
for
your
time.
Today,.
A
Z
Z
Z
Z
I'm
also
thinking
about
a
process
the
process
of
electing,
rather
than
appointing
school
committee.
Members
is
not
a
guarantee
for
more
city
residents
from
diverse
backgrounds
to
have
their
voices
heard.
Elections
can
result
can
lead
to
results
that
reward
the
loudest
voices
and
those
with
the
most
resources
behind
them.
Z
If
this
passes
to
see
about
the
other
opportunities
to
create
more
opportunity
for
candidates
in
the
community
who
want
them
to
run
for
school
committee,
a
couple
of
comments
about
the
proposal
itself
and
the
structure
of
the
proposal
regarding
the
first
phase
of
the
proposed
restructuring
of
the
city
accounts,
I
mean
I'm
sorry
of
the
school
committee,
the
eight-member,
hybrid
and
elected
appointed
school
committee.
What
is
the
mechanism
for
breaking
a
tied
vote
among
this
even-numbered
committee?
Z
What
is
the
potential
for
the
during
those
two
years
to
perhaps
reduce
the
challenges
that
have
been
identified
in
the
past
for
a
hybrid
model
to
negatively
impact
this
two
two
year
phase
proposed
so
that
the
mayor
appointed
members
voting
in
a
block
focused
on
meeting
a
mayor's
priorities.
Don't
overwhelm
the
community
electeds
priorities.
Z
You
know
particularly
thinking
about
what
does
that
mean
at
a
time
when
a
school
committee
might
be
made
up
of
elected
boston
residents,
including
for
the
first
time
in
a
number
of
years,
and
what
would
it
mean
with
city
council
having
increased
authority
to
engage
when
we've
got
a
new
elected
group
of
school
committee
members,
it
seems
like
there
might
be
a
little
bit
of
cognitive
dissonance
there
between
those
two
opportunities
for
electeds
and
school
committee
versus
city
council,
electeds,
stepping
more
into
boston,
public
schools,
activities.
Z
The
change
in
city
council,
budgeting
powers
approved
by
the
voters
last
month
would
be
a
substantial
change
in
city
budgeting,
and
that
would
impact
both
the
operations
and
budgeting
of
the
for
the
major
budget
for
the
entire
city
and
therefore
also
potentially
impact
the
approval
of
a
boston
public
schools
budget.
Z
Because
again,
if
this
proposal
for
an
elected
school
committee
passes
there'll,
be
a
significant
amount
of
implementation,
both
on
specifically
to
the
elected
side
of
school
committee
and
then
also
with
the
impact
of
what's
going
on
in
the
larger.
D
Z
And
anything
that
would
be
passed,
whether
it's
our
something
that
the
research
career
organization
would
prefer
or
not.
The
most
important
thing
we
want
is
to
make
sure
that
whatever
happens
going
forward
on
this
issue,
clearly
it
needs
to
serve
boston
well,
particularly
our
boston
residents,
in
particularly
those
that
are
engaged
in
the
boston
public
schools.
Z
A
A
W
W
Although
there's
a
lot
of
history,
which
I
don't
have
time
to
go
into
between
abcd
and
the
city
struggles
with
equitable
education
over
the
many
years
since
the
60s,
I
do
want
to
express
that
abcd
knows
the
fundamental
role
that
education
plays
in
combating
poverty
and
injustice
in
our
city,
through
its
community
action
programming
and
almost
60
years,
serving
hundreds
of
thousands
of
children
and
families
in
our
head
start
program,
alternative
high
schools
and
other
programs.
W
An
important
example
I
want
to
highlight
is
that
in
in
our
head
start
program,
parents
elect
their
representatives
to
a
city-wide
policy
council
to
partner
directly
with
us
to
make
decisions
about
everything
from
hiring
to
program,
design
to
food,
menus
and
other
services,
and
we
are
accountable
to
them
for
their
children's
education.
As
such,
we
understand
firsthand
how
parents
are
children's
first
teachers,
as
well
as
their
lifelong
advocates,
and
make
caring
thoughtful,
well-informed
decisions
about
the
education
of
their
children.
W
Likewise,
the
boston
school
committee,
which
is
the
critical
educational
policy
making
board
whose
decisions
affect
the
current
and
future
lives
of
more
than
50
000
children
each
year,
should
be
accountable
to
all
parents
and
city
residents.
Parents
have
a
vested
interest
and
want
a
voice
in
their
entire
school
system.
W
As
we
have
heard,
boston
is
the
outlier
among
all
other
school
committees
across
the
commonwealth,
where
members
do
not
answer
directly
to
its
parents
or
its
voters.
Having
elected
school
committee
is
fundamentally
a
voting
rights
issue,
a
civil
rights
issue,
an
equity
issue
and
a
parental
rights
issue.
Our
firm
families
deserve
the
right
to
have
their
voices
heard
and
represented
through
the
people
they
elect,
and
this
ordinance
would
re-enfranchise
them,
particularly
families
of
color,
who
have
been
stripped
of
that
larger
voice
and
input
in
their
children's
education.
W
It's
clear
that
one
of
the
city's
greatest
needs
today
is
that
parent
engagement
in
the
policies
having
an
elected
school
committee
would
also
foster
more
collaboration
throughout
the
larger
community
and
residents
of
the
city
and
our
public
schools.
Abcd
has
supported
the
return
to
an
elected
school
committee
for
many
years
and
has
been
said.
The
time
is
long
overdue,
and
for
many
of
us,
this
critical
right
never
should
have
been
taken
away.
W
However,
it's
also
been
said:
there's
no
need
to
look
back
only
to
look
forward
with
deliberate
speed
toward
a
better
and
more
responsive
educational
system
for
all
our
children,
and
we
at
abcd
stand
ready
to
support
and
help
out
in
any
way
needed
to
re-engage
communities
and
put
parental
voice
and
direct
representation
back
into
the
system.
Thank
you
again
for
the
opportunity
to
speak
this
afternoon
and
for
your
leadership
in
moving
this
forward.
A
A
AA
I'm
lisa
green,
I'm
on
the
steering
committee
of
boston
coalition
for
education,
equity
and
was
chair
of
bostonians
for
an
elected
school
committee.
The
coalition
behind
the
yes
on
three
campaign,
bostonians
love
to
argue
about
politics,
but
there's
one
major
issue
on
which
we
overwhelmingly
agree.
We
want
to
elect
our
school
committee.
That's
why
a
resounding
79
of
voters
cast
their
ballots
for
an
elected
school
committee
on
election
day,
winning
majorities
in
all
255
boston
precincts.
AA
Why
15
organizations
representing
thousands
of
members
joined
our
steering
committee
to
plan
and
execute
our
campaign?
Why
dozens
of
organizations,
elected
officials
and
leaders
from
every
part
of
our
community
endorsed
a
yes
vote
and
why
hundreds
of
volunteers
and
supporters
donated
their
time
and
money
to
support
our
grassroots
campaign?
AA
It
was
an
inspiring
collaborative
community
effort,
one
that
shows
just
how
seriously
bostonians
take
their
democracy.
We're
profoundly
grateful
to
all
who
work
to
deliver.
This
amazing
result
and
we're
grateful
to
the
city
council
for
acting
without
delay
on
the
people's
powerful
mandate
to
schedule
this
hearing
today,
30
years
after
our
mayoral
takeover,
the
restoration
of
democratic
control
over
boston's
public
schools
is
long
overdue.
AA
AA
AA
AA
Professor
morel
has
written
that
this
moment
is
right
for
reimagining
the
possibilities
of
a
more
equal
and
just
society
where
education,
wages,
health
care
and
housing
are
sources
of
human
flourishing,
not
misery.
However,
imagination
is
not
enough.
Transforming
imagination
into
reality.
Will
require
the
dismantling
of
the
decades-long
assault
on
democratic
rights
aimed
at
separating
communities
of
color
from
the
democratic
mechanisms
of
political
power.
AA
Let
boston
lead
the
way
back
to
democracy
in
urban
public
schools
and,
let's
start
in
our
city
council
today,
bostonians
for
an
elected
school
committee
calls
upon
the
city
councilor
at
the
city
council
and
our
new
mayor
to
carry
out
the
undeniable
will
of
the
voters
and
work
to
promptly
approve
a
home
rule
petition
that
restores
boston's
right
to
elect
our
school
committee.
Thank
you.
A
Thank
you,
lisa
dan,
french,
dan
euron
good
to
see
you
and
please
your
name
and
affiliation
for
the
record.
You
have
the
flaw.
Thank.
AB
AB
AB
An
elected
school
committee
is
a
fundamental
democratic
and
civil
right
in
one
of
the
most
racially
and
language.
Diverse
communities
in
the
state
boston
is
the
only
city
or
town
in
which
voters
are
denied
the
right
to
democratically
elect
school
committee
members
and,
as
has
been
mentioned,
boston
voters
have
spoken
with
almost
four
out
of
five
voters
saying
they
want
to
transition
to
an
elected
school
committee.
The
city,
council
and
mayor
should
respect
the
will
of
the
people,
even
the
national
school
boards
association
states.
AB
A
AC
Good
evening
and
thank
you
chair
and
my
name
is
sharon
hinson,
I'm
a
hyde
park
homeowner,
I'm
an
educator,
I'm
a
mom
of
a
graduated
bps
student.
I
attended
boston,
public
schools,
I'm
also
the
founder
and
executive
director
of
black
teachers
matter
and
a
member
of
boston,
education,
justice
alliance
and
the
boston
coalition
for
education
equity.
I
congratulate
all
the
people
who
have
been
reelected
michael
you're.
There.
That's
great
and
also
I
congratulate
councillor
julia
here
for
her
recent
appointment.
AC
As
the
chair
of
the
education
committee,
I
met
her
on
the
picket
lines
years
ago,
when
we
were
both
advocating
for
quality
education,
and
I
also
thank
all
of
the
advocates
and
the
city
councils
council
mejia.
As
I
said
before,
and
ricardo
arroyo
for
sponsoring
this
home
rule
petition,
there
will
always
be
politics
in
the
school
committee.
There
will
always
be
politics,
always
whether
it's
elected
or
appointed.
AC
However,
I
think
out
of
all
of
the
people
that
you'll
hear
from
tonight,
arguably
I'm
the
only
one
who
actually
applied
to
be
appointed
to
the
boston
school
committee
in
the
last
four
selection
processes,
as
we
are
in
this
meeting
now,
there
is
another
meeting
that
was
going
on
with
the
nominating
panel
of
the
boston
school
committee,
selecting
who
are
going
to
be
the
next
two
appointees
and
it
was
a
competing
times.
They
started
at
three.
We
started
at
3
30.,
so
I
was
dual
zooming
for
a
while,
because
clearly
I
have
an
interest.
AC
I'm
an
educator.
I've
also
been
a
boss
bus
monitor
a
cafeteria,
monitor.
I
worked
in
the
school
department
during
busing
when
they
were
selecting
people
in
the,
and
I
also
worked
for
the
esar
project
that
monitored
desegregation.
AC
I've
worked
in
as
a
teacher
as
an
educator
in
middle
school,
high
school
undergraduate
graduate
independent
schools
charter
schools,
public
schools,
I'm
actually
going
for
my
doctorate
of
education.
I
have
a
master's
degree
in
education.
I've
got
extensive
experience
as
an
educator,
and
yet
I
wasn't
even
selected
after
even
being
a
finalist
in
the
first
two
selections.
AC
There
is
a
problem
with
the
system
and
until
this
system
the
entire
system
is
revamped,
the
entire
process
of
who
gets
selected
or
elected,
and
we've
got
to
look
at
both
of
those
systems.
We're
going
to
have
a
problem,
there's
going
to
be
corruption,
it's
going
to
be
tainted
and
it's
going
to
be
flawed.
AC
Mayor
wu,
I
congratulate
her.
She
is
steadily
satisfying
her
campaign
promises,
but
I
noticed
that
there
hasn't
been
any
anyone
specific
that
has
been
appointed
as
a
education
czar.
So
I
encourage
her
to
look
at
that.
AC
I
encourage
everyone
who's
involved
in
this
process
not
to
give
up,
but
I
know
that
there
are
people
who
have
applied
who
are
equally
as
qualified
as
me,
or
even
more
qualified,
who
are
turned
down
to
this
problem.
This
process,
this
nominating
process
to
participate
in
the
system
as
it
is
now
I
can't
wait.
AC
My
father
was
one
of
along
with
ruth
batson
and
gene
mcguire
that
formed
operation
exodus
that
became
mecco,
so
I've
been
in
education
for
my
life
and
I've
seen
what
has
happened
to
my
people,
black
people,
african-americans
in
this
in
the
city
being
pushed
out.
There's
less
there's
ten
thousand
less
voters,
black
voters,
and
so
I'm
not
so
confident
in
the
election
process.
I've
seen
what
happened.
We
had
significant
people
on
the
school
committee
and
then
the
school
committee
became
you
know
appointed.
So
politics
is,
is
it's
a
beast
and
boston?
AC
It's
different,
but
I
encourage
the
people
in
boston
this
step
right
here
and
I
I
support
an
elected
school
committee,
but
I'm
also
cautiously
going
to
be
involved
in
the
process
until
it's
it's
final,
because
I
know
what
happens
and
I'm
a
bostonian
I've
seen
what's
happened
when
backdoor
things
happen
and
people
have
discussions
and,
frankly,
there's
not
enough
african-americans
or
people
of
color
at
the
table
making
these
decisions.
So
I
have
issues
with
that.
AC
The
people's
voice
has
to
be
heard,
and
I
I
admire
the
people
that
have
come
that
have
stayed
with
this
process.
Tanisha
sullivan,
lisa,
greene,
there's
a
lot
of
people
that
have
been
involved
in
this
for
a
long
period
of
time.
So
I
admire
that
trying
to
do
the
right
thing,
but
there's
a
lot
of
people
that
think
they're
doing
the
right
thing
and
it
ends
up
years
later.
Just
like
you
know,
the
mayor
thought
he
was
doing.
AC
Flames
thought
he
was
doing
the
right
thing
by
making
it
an
appointed
committee
and
then
he
actually
before
he
went
to
the
vatican
penned
a
memo.
That
said,
maybe
that
wasn't
the
right
thing,
and
so
we
can
look
back
on
it
and
people
are
saying:
don't
look
back,
you
have
to
look
forward,
but
we
have
to
look
at
what
happened
in
order
to
make
the
right
moves
forward,
and
I
appreciate
all
the
research
as
a
doctoral
candidate.
AC
You
have
to
have
that
research
and
so,
as
people
move
forward
and
they
talk
about
community
meetings
and
someone
mentioned
we
need
to
have
meetings
at
night.
There
were
two
meetings,
two
important
meetings
that
happened
at
the
same
time,
and
so
we've
got
to
be
mindful
of
what
that
means.
I
congratulate
the
people
that
are
on
the
school
committee
and
who
will
be
selected,
but
the
lack
of
accountability.
There's
no
reason
why
boston,
the
first
place,
the
birthplace
of
the
boston,
public
schools
and
public
school
system
across
the
country,
can't
lead
the
way.
AC
Now,
if
it's
a
hybrid
system,
there
is
no
successful
hybrid
model
in
a
city,
the
size
of
boston
in
a
school
committee.
So
we
maybe
we
can
do
that.
We've
got
you
know
the
most
universities
and
colleges
per
mile
than
any
place
else
in
the
globe,
bring
the
minds
together.
We've
got
the
people
here
and
we
need
to
be
able
to
elect
the
people.
Hold
them
accountable
and
I've
been
involved
in
boards
that
had
mayoral
appointments
and
the
power
dynamic
is
still
very
different.
AC
A
AD
Thank
you.
My
name
is
lisa
gene
graf
and
I
am
a
bps
parent
and
a
resident
of
the
fenway.
For
nine
years.
I've
created
counter
proposals
for
all
of
the
major
initiatives
that
have
been
rolled
out
by
bps
as
a
way
to
advocate
for
a
more
equitable
district
to
support
this
goal.
I've
also
applied
to
the
boston
school
committee
six
times
as
a
policy
activist
artist
and
neurodivergent
individual.
I
wish
to
share
my
unique
perspective
when
I
first
applied.
I
didn't
really
question
the
fact
that
members
were
appointed
not
elected
as
time
passed.
AD
I
have
come
to
trust
democracy,
much
more
than
appointments
to
provide
full
representation.
The
boston
public
school
website
states
that
it
is
the
goal
of
the
mayor
to
choose
applicants
that
reflect
the
racial,
ethnic
and
socio-economic
diversity
of
the
city.
To
some
extent
reflecting
the
racial
and
ethnic
ethnic
diversity
has
been
successful.
AD
However,
socioeconomic
diversity
has
not
been
achieved.
Also
only
recently
has
there
been
strong
representation
for
individuals
whose
native
language
is
not
english.
In
addition,
there
has
been
no
representation
from
the
disability
community,
even
though
25
of
both
the
bps
student
population
and
the
city
population
is
disabled
over
time.
I
have
come
to
realize
that,
although
the
school
committee
nominating
panel
is
composed
of
a
varied
group
of
stakeholders,
no
applicants
will
be
recommended
to
the
mayor
who
did
not
match
the
mayor's
agenda.
AD
AD
Hearing
varied
perspectives
would
make
it
easier
for
members
to
be
able
to
diagnose
complex
issues
more
fully
so
that
they
are
able
to
work
together
to
develop
best
practices.
Also,
importantly,
appointed
members:
don't
have
the
same
accountability
to
school
communities.
That
elected
members
will
it
is
human
nature
to
want
to
give
back
to
the
persons
or
person
who
gave
you
a
position.
It
takes
a
lot
of
courage
and
mindfulness
to
just
focus
on
student
needs
and
not
political
pressure.
AD
AD
A
Thank
you
very
much.
Lisa
kerry.
Could
you
kindly
admit
roseanne
tong,
mary
battenfield
and
krista
magnuson,
and
if
they
can
also
remember
the
panelists,
they
have
to
accept
the
redesignation
as
panelists
to
be
admitted.
AE
Thank
you
counselors
to
royal
mejia
for
sponsoring
this
home
rule
petition.
I
am
roseanne
tung
education,
equity
researcher
and
parent
of
a
recent
bps
alumna.
Today
I
represent
the
massachusetts
asian
american
educators
association
or
my
in
our
strong
support
for
boston
to
return
to
an
elected
school
committee.
AE
AE
AE
Every
precinct
voted
yes
to
an
elected
school
committee
in
november.
These
results
confirm
that
the
people
of
boston
want
control
over
our
schools.
An
elected
school
committee
would
engage
our
historically
marginalized
communities
and
give
them
a
greater
chance
at
representation
in
governance
and
policy.
AE
Asian
american
residents
of
boston
would
have
more
voice
and
agency
in
how
our
schools
are
run
and
held
accountable,
as
would
our
black
and
brown
communities.
I
would
even
go
further
and
suggest
that
all
parents
of
bps
students,
including
non-citizens,
be
able
to
vote
for
school
committee.
An
elected
school
committee
is
an
urgent
civil
rights
objective
that
will
ultimately
improve
our
schools.
Thank
you.
A
AF
My
name
is
mary
battenfeld,
I'm
a
resident
of
jamaica,
plain,
a
member
of
the
grassroot
parents,
group
quest
quality
education
for
every
student
and
most
important,
a
parent
of
three
children.
All
recent
boston,
public
school
graduates
quest
joins
the
community
groups
of
elect
the
bsc
and
the
over
99
thousand
city
residents,
who
gave
you
a
mandate
to
restore
a
democratically
elected
boston
school
committee.
AF
Three
years
ago
I
spoke
at
a
hearing
convened
by
councillor
isabey
george,
on
bps
governance.
I
used
then
congresswoman
elect
diana
presley's
motto.
Change
can't
wait
to
ask
the
city
council
to
restore
an
elected
school
committee.
This
change
is
not
something
to
be
feared
or
delayed,
but
welcomed
and
expedited.
Indeed,
as
roseanne
tung
just
said,
it's
critical,
I'm
thrilled
to
see
this
change
on
the
horizon
as
a
bps
parent
who
has
attended
almost
every
boston
school
committee
meeting
in
the
last
20
years.
AF
I
kid
you
not
my
children
don't
like
it,
but
I
have
I've
often
experienced
the
frustration
expressed
by
other
speakers.
I've
also
seen,
as
other
speakers
have
described,
the
power
that
comes
when
parents
come
together.
Despite
our
disenfranchisement
in
varied
languages
and
from
diverse
backgrounds,
we've
come
together
to
name
document
and
devise
solutions
to
long-standing
problems
from
racial
inequities
and
student
assignment
and
exam
school
admissions
to
unsafe
levels
of
lead
in
school,
water
to
inadequate
and
inequitable
funding.
AF
AF
Like
those
steps,
the
change
can't
wait.
2022
must
be
the
year
we
end
30
years
of
community
disenfranchisement.
2022
must
be
the
year.
We
advance
democracy,
accountability
and
racial
justice.
You
can
and
should
speedily
advance
a
whole
home
rule
petition
for
a
fully
elected
boston,
school
committee,
and
I
thank
you
for
your
time
and
your
work.
A
Thank
you,
mary
welcome,
krista
magnuson.
Please
did
you
name
in
any
affiliation
for
the
record
and
you
have
the
floor.
AG
Good
evening
my
name
is
kristen
magnusson.
I
am
a
co-chair
of
the
jamaica
plain
progressives.
We
are
a
steering
committee
organization
for
bostonians
for
elected
school
committee,
I'm
also
a
bps
parent.
I
have
a
sixth
grader
at
the
curly
school
and
a
fourth
grader
at
jfk
elementary,
I'm
here
today,
first
to
thank
the
city
council
for
taking
this
first
step
by
holding
the
hearing
and
to
urge
them
to
proceed
with
all
due
speed
toward
a
home
rule
petition
that
restores
a
fully
elected
school
committee
to
bostonians.
AG
AG
The
ability
to
vote
is
the
ability
to
hold
our
elected
officials
accountable
for
their
actions
and
their
policies,
but
in
the
institution
that
our
children
know
best
bps.
Voters
don't
have
that
opportunity
to
hold
anyone
directly
accountable
for
the
actions
and
the
policies
put
in
place
by
that
governing
body.
AG
The
school
committee,
the
school
committee's
actions
and
decisions
affect
us
all,
and
especially
our
bps
families,
and
the
committee
should
be
directly
accountable
to
bostonians
and
to
the
families
that
it
is
meant
to
serve
jp
progressive
volunteers,
knocked
on
a
lot
of
doors
this
summer
and
fall
talking
to
voters
not
only
about
the
various
candidates
that
we
supported,
but
about
the
ballot
question
question
three
that
has
led
us
to
be
here
today.
AG
Once
we
got
past
the
surprise
of
many
people
at
the
fact
that
this
democratic
right
had
been
stripped
away
from
them
and
they
hadn't
even
necessarily
realized
support
for
restoring
an
elected
school
committee
was
extremely
high
among
the
people
we
talked
to,
and
obviously,
as
is
shown
by
the
more
than
99
000
votes,
that
the
ballot
question
received
and
the
fact
that
it
won
every
single
precinct
in
all
of
boston.
There
is
widespread
support
for
an
attorney
to
an
elected
school
committee.
AG
A
A
D
A
A
A
AH
Introduce
myself
my
name
is
kristen
johnson,
I'm
a
part
of
the
boston
coalition
for
education,
equity
and
one
of
the
signers
of
the
ballot
question,
and
I'm
here
to
just
add
my
own
comments.
Any
written
testimony
I
had
has
fallen
by
the
wayside.
After
all
of
those
great
presentations
from
all
the
panelists.
AH
It
is
so
heartwarming
to
me
that
so
many
leaders
in
this
city
share
my
view
that
we
need
an
elected
school
committee.
It's
such
a
big
difference
from
the
2018
hearing
that
mary
battenfelt
just
mentioned,
so
I've
become
sort
of
a
historian
on
the
boston
school
committee
and
I
wanted
to
share
one
story
that
hasn't
come
up
and
that
was
in
1896.
AH
Dr
sam
courtney
was
one
of
the
first
black
men
elected
to
the
boston
school
committee.
He
was
a
freed
slave
and
he
was
a
northern
organizer
for
booker
t
washington
and
in
1896
he
was
elected
to
the
school
committee
and
you'll,
never
guess
what
happened
in
january.
You
know.
A
few
months
later,
the
white
leaders
in
boston
went
to
the
state
house
and
tried
to
change
the
school
committee
to
a
seven-member
board
appointed
by
the
mayor.
AH
So
this
is
a
cyclical
thing
that
has
unfortunately
happened
in
our
city
before
that
effort
ended
up
failing,
but
the
white
leaders
in
the
city
did
successfully
redistrict
the
northern
slope
of
beacon
hill,
effectively
dismantling
black
political
power.
So
it
is,
it
runs
in
cycles
and
in
1996
hubie
jones,
who
was
one
of
the
architects
of
the
appointed
school
committee,
said
you
know,
we'll
go
back
to
elected
one
day,
because
these
things
are
cyclical
and
we,
I
think
it's
obvious
to
everyone.
AH
V
V
I
am
a
parent
of
two
elementary
school
children
at
manning
in
jamaica,
plain,
I'm
also
a
primary
care
physician
at
brookside
community
health
center
in
egleston
square,
and
I'm
a
member
of
the
group,
families
for
covid
safety
and
we've
been
advocating
since
september,
around
safety
issues,
coveted
protocols
in
the
school
outside
time,
testing
and
just
general
ventilation
issues
as
well.
V
I
think
one
of
the
things
I
would
say
to
you
that
hasn't
been
brought
up.
Well,
I
guess
senator
wilkins
wilkerson
brought
it
up,
but
this
is
also
a
safety
issue
to
me.
There's
some
urgency
to
to
transition
to
this
elected
body,
because
we've
been
trying
our
hardest
to
advocate
with
bps
with
the
school
committee
and
no
matter
how
kind
or
receptive
the
school
committee
is
to
our
thoughts.
V
V
So
to
me,
this
accountability
and
the
voting
rights
issue
is
also
a
safety
issue,
especially
as
we're
living
through
a
pandemic
and
thanks
I'll
I'll
see
back
my
time.
I
really
appreciate
it.
Thank
you
all.
A
Thank
you
very
much
bevin
carrie.
If
you'd
be
kind
enough
to
let
in
hessian
brett's,
remember
where
mooney
and
also
mike
heichmann,.
A
Sean
you
have
the
floor
if
you
could
just
state
your
name
in
any
affiliation,
if
you
have
it-
and
my
apologies
for
I
may
have
mispronounced
your
last
name.
So
if
you
could
set
it
straight
for
the
record,
so
I
won't
make
that
mistake
again.
AI
Thank
you,
mr
chair,
and
thank
you
for
having
me
good
evening,
panelists
and
thank
you
also
councillors
may
here
and
arroyo
for
bringing
forward
this
issue
on
behalf
of
the
residents
of
boston.
My
name
is
heishan
berensweir
mooney.
I
am
a
bps
parent
and
a
parent
of
a
recent
bps
alum,
I'm
a
jamaica,
plain
resident,
I'm
former
co-chair
of
the
city
white
parent
council,
that
represents
the
38
000
families
of
bps,
a
former
member
of
the
boston
school
committee's
opportunity
and
achievement
gap,
task
force
and
a
former
city
council
staffer.
AI
When
I
was
city
council,
luther
jackson,
senior
education
advisor
when
councillor
jackson
said
on
this
honorable
body
as
its
chair
of
education.
I'm
here
today
to
ask
you
all
to
support
the
clear
and
overwhelming
will
of
the
people
who
voted
overwhelmingly
one
month
ago
for
an
elected
boston,
school
committee.
AI
No
one
can
really
argue
with
the
fact
that
this
is
a
landslide,
almost
unmatched
in
recent
memory,
and
no
one
can
argue
that
this
is
not
a
mandate.
The
voters
of
boston
understand
that
this
that
what
they
were
doing
is
part
of
the
process
of
rewriting
a
great
wrong
boston.
Voters
are
barred
from
reclaiming
our
right
to
vote
for
our
school
committee
of
the
351
towns
and
cities
in
massachusetts.
AI
Let
me
remind
you
that,
as
an
elected
school
committee
is
really
nothing
new,
don't
forget
that
in
massachusetts
alone
there
are
approximately
two
thousand
500
elected
school
committee
members
that
many
like
tracy,
novak
of
the
worcester
public
schools
in
the
worcester
school
committee
are
elected,
trusted,
respected
educational
experts
not
only
throughout
the
common
local,
but
also
nationally.
AI
For
the
past
30
years,
citizens
of
color
and
poor
white
citizens
have
been
locked
out
of
being
able
to
do
exactly
what
our
neighbors
in
newton
brookline,
cambridge
somerville,
wealthy
western,
take
for
granted
as
their
basic
right
and
though
I've
served
on
one
of
the
appointed
boston,
school
committee's
task
forces
and
I've
worked
closely
with
many
of
its
present
members
over
the
years.
AI
We
have
to
redress
the
civil
rights
and
virtual
suppression
wrong,
and
this
has
been
a
deep
30-year
old
civil
rights
struggle
waged
by
boston,
black
and
brown
communities
vote
to
uphold
the
overwhelming
bushes
in
boston
voters
and
remember
no
one,
not
even
any,
of
the
civil
of
the
city
councillors
here
have
a
right
to
vote
for
our
own
school
committee.
AI
A
Thank
you
very
much
to
see
you
hashem,
michael.
Thank
you.
I
think
you
may
be
last
public
testimony
here.
If
kerry
can
just
double
check
to
make
sure
there's
anyone
else
that
has
signed
up
to
offer
public
testimony
to
make
sure
that
they're
all
teed
up
to
get
in
the
waiting
room.
But
with
that
mike
good
to
see
you
and
if
you
just
name
an
affiliation
and
you
have
the
flaw.
O
Thank
you
mike
heischmann
dorchester,
member
of
boston,
education,
justice
alliance,
there's
something
honest
about
the
city
of
boston.
Having
an
unelected
school
committee.
The
united
states
is
not
a
democracy,
most
of
the
wealth
and
power
in
the
hands
of
the
rich
and
powerful.
Why
should
boston
continue
to
not
have
an
elected
school
committee?
The
only
one
in
the
state
there
are
forces
out
there
who
have
believed
that
low-income
people
of
color
should
not
be
trusted
to
make
important
decisions.
O
O
Basia
strongly
supports
an
elected
school
committee
with
participation
for
student
representatives,
who
would
have
a
voice
vote
and
stipends,
but
basia
believes
that
we
should
put
our
trust
in
the
people.
Why
should
we
have
an
elected
city
council?
Maybe
we
should
have
a
hybrid
with
half
of
you
appointed
by
the
mayor,
wouldn't
that
be
better
and
cheaper.
If
the
mayor
would
appoint
its
members,
the
citizens
of
boston
spoke
loudly
that
they
wanted
elected
school
committee.
The
citizens
of
boston
spoke
loudly
that
they
support
democracy.
O
I
don't
like
my
district
city
councilor
in
the
last
election.
I
supported
his
opponent.
That's
my
right.
I
have
testified
at
every
regular
school
committee
committee
meeting
since
march
2020.
What
can
I
do
when
I
disagree
with
them?
I
have
screened
from
time
to
time
it
doesn't
help
after
I
scream
they're
still
there.
I
had
nothing
to
do
with
them
being
in
front
of
me.
This
is
what
democracy
doesn't
look
like.
O
I
agree
with
dr
tong's
idea
that
she
expressed
earlier.
I
support
non-citizens
having
the
right
to
vote
in
municipal
elections.
Members
of
the
city
council.
Do
you
believe
in
democracy?
If
you
do,
the
most
democratic
structure
would
not
be
a
hybrid.
The
mayor
has
plenty
of
power.
The
most
democratic
structure
would
be
a
fully
elected
school
committee.
Thank
you.
So
much.
A
Central
staff
informs
me
that
there
are
no
additional
requests
for
public
testimony,
so
this
will
conclude
the
public
testimony
portion
as
we're
approaching
the
the
hour
three
I'm
going
to
now
turn
it
over
to
the
two
lead
sponsors
to
close
us
out
and
chair
at
this
time,
recognizes
city,
council,
ricardo
arroyo.
E
Thank
you
and
I
just
want
to
again
acknowledge
counselor
flaherty,
who
has
chaired
this
hearing
and
done
a
great
job.
This
would
not
have
happened
in
this
cycle.
Had
council
clarity
not
taking
the
time
to
do
this
on
very
short
notice,
and
so
thank
you
very
much
counselor
flaherty.
Thank
you,
michelle
goldberg,
for
your
efforts
and
thank
you
to
everybody
who
participated
in
public
comment
and
who
served
on
this
panel,
but
again
my
highest.
Thanks
to
you,
council
clarity.
E
A
And
the
chair
recognizes
council
julie,
mejia
to
close
us
out.
F
Yeah,
thank
you,
council
flaherty.
I
want
to
echo
my
deep
appreciation
for
you
in
making
this
a
as
as
as
quickly
as
possible,
I'm
getting
on
the
calendar.
So
thank
you.
It's
essential
staff
as
well
just
wanted
to
thank
all
of
our
panelists
and
those
who
have
given
a
public
testimony.
It
is
quite
clear
that
not
only
do
we
have
a
mandate,
but
we
also
have
a
responsibility
to
heed
the
voices
of
the
people
and
making
sure
that
we
understand
that
this
is
as
tanisha
president
sullivan
mentioned.
F
This
is
an
issue
of
voting
rights
and
I
so
deeply
agree
with
that.
You
know
I
often
talk
about
being
a
bps
graduate,
a
bps
parent
and
having
worked
in
the
education
space.
F
I
think
that
this
is
due
time,
for
this
is
such
a
great
restorative
justice
moment,
so
really
looking
forward
to
the
next
set
of
conversations
that
we'll
have
to
move
the
work
forward.
Thank
you
all
very.
A
Good,
thank
you,
council,
mejia
and
council
ricardo
arroyo
for
the
for
the
lead
sponsors
to
being
the
lead
sponsors
on
this
and
for
all
of
my
colleagues
for
attending
and
with
respect
to
dark
at
zero,
eight,
nine,
nine,
and
that
is
the
committee
on
government
operations.
It's
a
petition
for
a
special
law
regarding
an
act
relative
to
the
reorganization
of
the
boston
school
committee.
A
It
appears
based
on
conversations
with
the
lead
sponsors
on
the
chair,
that
this
will
be
one
of
a
couple,
more
meetings,
apparently
through
working
sessions
and
or
maybe
an
additional
public
hearing.
But
with
respect
to
this
docket
in
this
calendar
year
talking
zero.
Eight
nine
nine
committee
on
government
operations
is
adjourned.
Thank
you
all
for
your
time
and
attention
thanks
to
the
panelists
for
my
colleagues
and
for
those
that
participated
in
profit
public
testimony
and
also
thank
you
to
central
staff
for
pulling
this
all
together
good
evening
and
go
patriots
thanks.