Boston schools will have layoffs, classroom consolidations due to budget cuts

BOSTON - Big cuts are coming to Boston Public Schools.

The school committee approved a $1.5 billion budget Wednesday night and it will include layoffs and consolidating classrooms.

The Condon School in South Boston will be losing eight classrooms, the most of any school in the city. About 77 managerial staff positions are on track to be cut and there will be layoffs from other positions across the district but that's still in flux at the moment.

At the school committee meeting on Wednesday night, Superintendent Mary Skipper thanked Mayor Michelle Wu for adding $80 million to the budget from the city's general fund. But with the loss of federal pandemic relief funding, known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund or ESSER, the extra money was not enough to cover all the positions in the district.

"The anticipated end of ESSER in September of 2024 makes the FY2025 budget one of the most difficult in a decade," said Skipper.

While the budget did pass, it was not a unanimous vote.

"I want to vote yes for the budget because I want to be an ally in the work and I want to be a good soldier," said school committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez. "And at the same time, I find myself still left with a lot of uncertainty."

Skipper said school districts all across Massachusetts and the country are facing challenges with their upcoming budgets due to the loss of ESSER.