Earlier this month, Boston Public School Superintendent Tommy Chang projected a $50-million deficit for the system’s budget in the upcoming fiscal year. More than $1 billion, nearly one third of the entire city budget, is set aside to fund the BPS.

The superintendent will present his preliminary budget to the School Committee at its Roxbury headquarters on Wed., Feb. 3 at 6 p.m.
The first in a series of budget committee hearings will be begin on Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. the Lilla G. Fredrick Middle School in Dorchester. Both the meeting and the hearing will be open to the public.

In a letter sent to BPS families last week, Chang wrote, “On Feb. 3, I will be taking to the School Committee a proposed line-by-line budget for their consideration.”

The proposal includes steep cuts to both the BPS bureaucracy and to individual schools in the system ranging from $300,000 to over a million dollars. Two high schools face losing their accreditation if the budget cuts force the schools to get rid of their only librarians.

“I can’t fathom how people are downplaying this,” said City Councillor Tito Jackson, chairman of the council’s Education Committee. “A $50-million cut would absolutely bring BPS quality as well as competitiveness to a halt.”

Jackson called the BPS budget a “value statement,” saying, “the indication is really how we invest in our education.”

Mayor Martin Walsh stressed his commitment to education and highlighted the school system’s successes in his State of the City address last week. The mayor also called for increased state funding to support city efforts for early education programs. Outside Symphony Hall, some 100 parents, teachers, students, and activists stood in protest of the budget cuts. Protesters held signs imploring the mayor to “fully fund” the schools. One held a poster that read in large lettering: “Charter Schools cheat our teens of diplomas.” Others held messages blaming charter schools for the budget deficit. Putting the blame on the charter school system “is warranted” said Jackson.
Boston is exploring the establishment of a Unified Enrollment plan that would simplify the process of applying to both public and charter schools.

The School Committee is expected to approve the budget at a meeting on March 23.