We continue to be inspired by the youth leadership in Boston Public Schools. Their walkout on March 7th helped restore some of the high school cuts, but as we wrote several weeks later, budget cuts persist in the high schools and in many of the elementary and middle schools. Schools with higher concentrations of students with Autism and Emotional Impairment are being disproportionately impacted because their budgets have been balanced by reducing per pupil spending amounts by $1332 for each child with Autism, $3030 per pupil for elementary students identified as having Emotional Impairment, and $1025 per pupil for middle and high school students with Emotional Impairment.
Today the students of BPS chose to walk out again. Edward Tapia of Boston Student Advisory Council said, “The main reason why I am walking out is because I am tired of Marty Walsh playing with us as if we don't know anything about the budget cuts, and also I want us to prove to the city that having the City Council hearings during school hours will not hold us back from advocating, empowering student voice and fighting for our rights.” Excel High School student Trinity Kelly said, “We’re telling Mayor Walsh we are not misinformed.” BPS student Gabi Pereira wrote, “I have a little brother with an IEP, his education is under attack and so is mine.”
The students are walking out to ask that BPS is fully funded, not only for themselves, but for their younger brothers and sisters, cousins, friends and the future students of BPS. Additionally, they want an end to high stakes testing because they feel that it’s being used against them as a tool to identify which “failing” schools to close. They want restorative justice practices implemented across the district and an end to overly punitive suspensions and expulsions.
In his interview with the Boston Herald yesterday, Mayor Walsh said, “It seems like there’s adults behind this situation.” That is absolutely true; Boston Green Academy Senior Jahi Spaloss and some of his fellow students leaders have already turned 18. We encourage them all to register to vote.
Baldwin Early Learning Pilot Academy
• Losing $166,000
Boston Arts Academy
• Losing $120,000
• Losing administration staffing
Boston Community Leadership Academy
• Losing over $500,000
• 1 Librarian, 1 math teacher, 1 science teacher, 1 history teacher, 1 theater teacher, 1 leadership coordinator
• Losing gym class
• Losing Strategies for Success (9th grade class helps kids get organized, read for meaning)
• Losing Numeracy (10th grade class that works on math problem solving and MCAS skills)
• Losing Writers Workshop (10th grade class that works on writing and MCAS skills)
• Losing SAT prep (11th grade class that works on SAT skills and college readiness)
• Losing AP Biology
• Losing AP World History
• We had to change our schedule from a 6-period day (teachers teach 4 of 6) to a 5-period day (teachers teach 4 of 5), with longer classes, less collaborative time for teachers, and fewer options for students.
• Cuts to autism program
Boston Day and Evening Academy
• Losing over $150,000
Boston Latin School
• Losing $95,701
• Losing 8th grade science
Boston Teachers Union (BTU) K-8 School
• Losing $224,000 after salary increases factored in
• Losing two teachers: one middle school and one ESL
• Funds for partnerships (Family Services, Playworks etc), field trips, supplies cut
Brighton High School
• Losing $124,000
Channing Elementary
• Losing a music department that included drums, string instruments and online learning
• SPED program cut, gaining ELL class
Charlestown High
• Losing $350,000
Chittick Elementary
• Losing the specialist that Chittick got to make ELT work last year; going down to 4 specialists
Edison K-8
• Losing one K0 teacher and one K1 teacher
Excel High
• Losing $368,000
Guild Elementary
• Losing $151,239
• Losing 3 positions
• Cut 1.3 esl teacher , cut .6 specialist , cut. 8 resource too and very low supply line
Haley Elementary
• Losing $215,000
Haynes Early Education Center
• Losing $150,000
• Losing four 0.5 paras + one Community Field Coordinator
Jeremiah Burke High School
• Technology teacher cut
JFK Elementary
• Losing $126,189
• Losing 1 teacher, 1 para, 2 lunch monitors, limited field trip budget and $0 for supplies
Joseph Lee K-8 School
• Losing $253,000
• Losing Debate Team
Lyndon K-8
• Losing $253,000
• Losing 1 middle school ELA teacher, 1 lower school science teacher, 2 provisional teachers, 2 provisional paraprofessionals
• Losing Special Ed (SAR)
• Losing Dance Program
• 3rd year in a row that our school has had to adjust to a budget cuts
Manning Elementary
• Losing 5.1%, or over $91,000
• Losing two part-time resource specialists, which is the equivalent of one full-time position.
• Losing library services, dropping the librarian from 1.0 FTE to 0.8 FTE.
• Losing Playworks and music program
Mather Elementary
• 2 positions cut, 2 positions hours reduced
• Loss of funding for Playworks and ANET materials.
Mendell Elementary
• Losing $85,000
• Losing Playworks coach
• Potential loss of interns who support inclusive practice in grades 1-5
• Lost lunch monitor
• Supply budget cut to $0
Mission Hill School
• Losing $100,000
• Losing interns, music, & para-professionals
• Losing “Election to work” agreement
Roger Clap
• Losing $53,000
• 4 Inclusion classes only .5 resource teacher
Roosevelt K-8
• Losing $319,000
• Eliminating Assistant Principal, so only admin remaining will be the Principal
• 2 paraprofessionals cut
• 1 ELL position cut
• No librarian
• No physical education or music program, so specialist classes will have to alternate between art and science classes.
Snowden School
• Losing $240,000
• Losing part time librarian, calculus teacher, registrar, guidance counselor
Timilty Middle School
• Losing $390,000
• Losing Registrar, the history teacher, and the cluster substitute
• Gym teacher and the resource room/IEP teacher reduced to part time
Tobin K-8
• Losing $150,000
• Losing 1 teacher and 1 para-professional
West Zone Early Learning Center
• Losing $477,000. The total school budget was about $2 million, so this cut is almost ¼ of the overall school budget.
• Losing the Reading Recovery Coach for 1st graders, 4 part-time bus attendants to go on the buses with the 3 and 4 year olds.
• Losing all “special” classes: Music classes, drumming, choir, swimming, & tennis cut
• Losing 6 paraprofessionals for extra classroom support during the extended learning time from 2:30 - 4:30 daily
Young Achievers K-8
• Losing $470,000
• Losing 2nd adults in the full inclusion classrooms
• Losing the grade level learning specialists who serve the special needs students
• Losing the designated SEI classrooms for K-4th ELL