Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s State of the City Address wasn’t all standing ovations from the pro-Mayor invited guests. There were some demonstrations protesting what they called “The Walsh Administration’s failure to apprehensively advocate for adequate funding.”
The group, including North End parents, a broad-based coalition of public education stakeholders, made up of families, students, educators, community members and groups representing public schools throughout Boston also expressed the city’s failure to make investments needed to create success for every single student and all Boston Public Schools.
Budget shortfalls which negatively impact all of the schools appeared to be the theme of the protest.
The group demanded that Mayor Walsh, at a minimum, do the following:
- Join in solidarity with Boston’s students, families and community members to aggressively advocate for our Boston Public Schools at state and federal levels.
- Through strategic planning and ambitious revitalization, reduce the BPS shortfalls of $50 million this year and $140 million over the last three years.
- Invest in fully-resourced community public schools with wraparound service for Boston’s children.
- Work with the true stakeholders of Boston Public Schools: students, families, educators and community members to fully audit BPS’ budget in order to assess community needs and address inequalities.
- Collaborating with the true stakeholders, demand democratically controlled public schools through an elected Boston School Committee.
Protesters stated, “In Boston, the stakeholders have come together to build a new vision for our public schools and our children-one that champions great public schools as the heart of our neighborhoods and ensures that every student, regardless of zip code, receives the highest quality education available. Our stakeholders have developed a community-driven movement for the benefit of all of our students and we will hold all of our elected officials accountable to us as their constituents and voters.”