Wu answers Murphy's questions on BPS contracting with a list of fixes and a pointer to the Nov. 12 hearing

Mayor Michelle Wu has answered City Councilor Erin Murphy's formal requests for information on how Boston Public Schools buys goods and services. The answer comes 33 days after the council passed them and 12 days after Murphy complained on the floor that she had heard nothing. The response is on the council's Nov. 4 agenda as docket 2091.

Taxpayers have a stake in this. In August, Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro reported that BPS spent at least $857,261 improperly or in violation of state procurement law from 2018 to 2024, WBUR reported. Shapiro said investigators found no evidence of fraud or criminal conduct. The findings included payments routed through vendors that already had contracts, with markups of at least $77,000, and a water-testing purchase the report described as a sham procurement, according to WBUR.

What the response says

The mayor's cover letter, dated Nov. 2, says the council has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 12 on these topics, that BPS has been invited and that the administration looks forward to "answering questions about these topics at the hearing." For now it attaches an Oct. 9 letter from Superintendent Mary Skipper to the Inspector General. That letter says:

• The payment pause. BPS paused payments on non-essential vendor contracts from Aug. 31 to Sept. 18 and reviewed 905 invoices. Of those, 518 were paid after meeting all criteria. 374 were already on hold until schools confirmed they received the goods. 13 were held or adjusted, for reasons including invoice mismatches, duplicate supplier accounts and items not covered by a state contract.
• Oversight. Corporation Counsel Mike Firestone and a senior adviser to the superintendent were named to lead the response. Corporation Counsel will review payments with markups and recommend whether to seek repayment.
• Rules. BPS reissued "zero-tolerance" directives banning pass-through invoicing and the use of contracts for unrelated work, and requiring written contracts for anything over $10,000.
• Restructuring. By Oct. 30, BPS was to complete a plan to move all procurement and accounts payable under the chief financial officer. The letter also describes a redesign of contracting through fiscal 2028. The 17F response does not say whether that plan was finished.

Skipper's letter puts the findings in context: BPS has 104 schools, 46,000 students, 11,000 staff and a fiscal 2026 budget of $1.635 billion.

What our records add

What Murphy asked. The council passed Murphy's orders under a suspension of the rules on Sept. 30: docket 1853 on procurement, payment controls and the Inspector General's recommendations, and docket 1852 on a former BPS employee named in the report. The mayor's letter says it answers both. Wednesday's agenda title cites dockets 1853 and 1854 instead. Murphy's third order that day, on roadway changes at Tremont and Parker streets (1854), is not addressed in the letter.

The push for answers. On Oct. 21, the council backed Murphy's follow-up order demanding responses to her unanswered 17F requests (docket 1969; our story). The record shows 13 votes in favor.

The Nov. 12 hearing. The hearing the mayor refers to is on docket 1716, an order from City Councilors Benjamin Weber, John FitzGerald and Julia Mejia. Twelve councilors are sponsors. It was referred to the Committee on Post-Audit, which FitzGerald chairs, on Sept. 16. The hearing notice sets it for Thursday, Nov. 12, at 10 a.m. in the Iannella Chamber, with public testimony in person or online.

Other answers arriving. The same agenda includes responses to Mejia's February request on White Stadium costs and Flynn's June request on parking meter revenue. See our other stories today.

What's next

The council meets Wednesday at noon (agenda). Written comments for the Nov. 12 hearing can go to ccc.postaudit@boston.gov, according to the notice. The Inspector General's summary of the report is posted online.