Elected School Committee hearing order goes to Mejia's own committee as the mayor's office fills two appointed seats

City Councilor Julia Mejia's call for a hearing on how an elected Boston School Committee would work was referred on Wednesday to the Education Committee, which she chairs (docket 2044). That means the timing of the hearing is largely in her hands.

The order lands while the city is filling two seats on the appointed board the old-fashioned way. Applications for two four-year School Committee terms are due Friday, Nov. 13, at 11:59 p.m., according to the city's announcement. A 13-member nominating panel of parents, educators and others reviews applicants and recommends finalists, and the mayor appoints from that list. Virtual interviews are planned for Dec. 1, 2 and/or 3, and the new members start Jan. 1, 2027. The announcement says chair Jeri Robinson is stepping down after 12 years.

Nearly 80% of Boston voters backed an elected school board in a nonbinding 2021 ballot question. In February 2023, two days after the council advanced a home rule petition to return to an elected board, 7-5, Mayor Michelle Wu vetoed it, GBH News reported. We covered the order's background in our preview.

What happened Wednesday

At Mejia's request, the council added City Councilors Brian Worrell and Henry Santana as original co-sponsors under Rule 12. Our records list 10 sponsors in all: Mejia, Worrell, Santana, Liz Breadon, Miniard Culpepper, John FitzGerald, Ruthzee Louijeune, Erin Murphy, Enrique Pepén and Benjamin Jacob Weber. Gabriela Coletta Zapata, Sharon Durkan and Ed Flynn are not listed. Not signing on to a hearing order is not a vote against it, and none was taken; hearing orders go to committee without a roll call.

The order asks how best to put an elected committee in place to improve the schools' services, programs and community engagement. It does not itself change how the board is chosen. That would take a home rule petition approved by the council, the mayor and the Legislature.

What our records show

• A crowded committee. By our count, the Education Committee holds 37 items, 27 of them hearing orders. The oldest hearing order there was referred Feb. 4.
• A rescheduled hearing. The committee had planned a hearing today, Oct. 29, on the effects of Boston Public Schools staff cuts on students with disabilities (docket 1333), filed by Flynn, Mejia and Murphy in July. That session was canceled and has been reset for Monday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m. in the Iannella Chamber.
• Earlier hearing. The committee held a hearing on Oct. 13 (meeting page) that our preview drew on.

What's next

A hearing notice for docket 2044 would be posted on the city's public notices page. The council's remaining regular meetings this year are Nov. 4, Nov. 18, Dec. 2 and Dec. 9, according to its 2026 schedule. The School Committee application deadline, Nov. 13, comes first.