All of the citywide candidates for Boston City Council support a dramatic change to the way the city governs its school district, according to a survey prepared by The Reporter and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau this month. The nine respondents say they want at least some of the school board’s members to be elected by voters.
Members of the current committee have all been appointed by the mayor, a system that has been in place since 1992. A non-binding referendum in 20-21won overwhelming support from Bostonians for a shift back to an elected body. In 2023, Mayor Wu vetoed a council-led effort to seek state approval for that change, essentially killing the move.
The Reporter-BMRB survey asked: “Do you favor a return to an elected School Committee?”
Julia Mejia, running for her third term on the council, said that she “strongly” supports an elected committee and noted she is the lead sponsor of a Home Rule petition on the matter currently before the council for review and vote.
“I believe that we must carry out the will of the voters, as 79 percent of Bostonians supported an elected School Committee in 2021.”
Mejia’s petition would abolish the current model and replace it with members elected in the same way the council is structured, with four at-large members and nine from districts, with two additional student members who would not have a vote on the proposed body.
Ruthzee Louijeune, the current council president, said she supports an elected model “because it strengthens accountability and gives residents a direct voice in who is shaping education policy.”
She added: “I’m open to either a fully elected model or a hybrid approach that blends elected and appointed members, as long as it ensures transparency, responsiveness, and broad representation.”
Henry Santana, a Roxbury resident seeking to be re-elected, said he supports an elected model because the committtee “as currently constructed, isn’t held accountable to the public in any way.”
Santana added: “BPS is truly at a breaking point in terms of leadership and oversight. Involving the community more, not less, will undoubtedly go a long way in increasing representation and better community and education outcomes.”
Incumbent Erin Murphy, a former Boston Public School teacher whose grandfather was a BPS principal, agreed, writing, “An elected body would be more directly accountable to the community, giving parents, teachers, and students a stronger voice in educational decisions.”
Alexandra Valdez, a 33-year-old first-time candidate from Hyde Park, said she, too ,supports a “hybrid approach,” where a portion of members are elected and another portion are appointed.”
“This structure allows for community representation through elections while ensuring that there is also a clear pathway for qualified individuals to be appointed based on expertise,” Valdez wrote.
Frank Baker also said he favors a “hybrid model,” adding “When I was on the city council, I filed legislation for a hybrid school committee.”
Will Onuoha, 42 of Dorchester, agreed, writing: “Bostonians should have greater input… which is why certain members should be elected.” But he added: “A fully elected” committee “could result in the over-politicization of education policy.” He prefers that “subject area experts” also serve by appointment.
Rachel Miselman, a 52-year-old East Boston woman running at-large, said she supports a hybrid model as well.
Marvin Mathelier, a Jamaica Plain resident running for the first-time, wrote: “Yes, the people have spoken on this at the ballot box, and we should listen to them.”
The School Committee was an elected body for decades until former Mayor Ray Flynn led an effort to move to an all-appointed model. The elected school board was the governing body at the center of the anti-segregation lawsuit that led to federal court-ordered busing decisions in the 1970s.
The full Reporter/BMRB survey responses can be reviewed online at DotNews.com.
