Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts.
Leadership
The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by the mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified stakeholders. The School Committee sets policy for the district and approves the district's annual operating budget. This governing body replaced a 13-member elected committee after a public referendum vote in 1991. The superintendent serves as a member of the mayor's cabinet.
From October 1995 through June 2006, Dr. Thomas Payzant served as superintendent. A former undersecretary in the US Department of Education, Payzant was the first superintendent selected by the appointed School Committee. Upon Dr. Payzant's retirement, Chief Operating Officer Michael G. Contompasis, former headmaster of Boston Latin School, became Interim Superintendent, and was appointed superintendent in October 2006. Dr. Manuel J. Rivera, superintendent of the Rochester City School District, had agreed to become the next superintendent of the BPS, but instead accepted a post as deputy secretary for public education for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. In June 2007, the Boston School Committee voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Carol R. Johnson as the next superintendent, beginning in August 2007. Dr. Johnson had served as superintendent of the Memphis City Schools since 2003. Dr. Johnson's tenure ended in summer 2013, and John McDonough served as interim superintendent until July 1, 2015. The superintendent was Dr. Tommy Chang until his resignation in 2018. Laura Perille served as interim superintendent until July 2019 when Brenda Cassellius began her tenure. Cassellius resigned effective June 2022, and was replaced on an interim basis by Dr. Drew Echelson. Mary Skipper will serve as superintendent effective September 2022.
The mayor and Boston City Council have control over the overall appropriation for the Boston Public Schools, but the School Committee has control over how funding is allocated internally, and has control over policy.
List of superintendents
Nathan Bishop (1851–1856) John Dudley Philbrick (1856–1878) Samuel Eliot (1878–1880) Edwin P. Seaver (1880–1904) George H. Conley (1904–1905) Walter S. Parker (1905–1906) Acting Stratton D. Brooks (1906–1912) Maurice P. White (1912–1912) Acting Dr. Franklin B. Dyer (1912–1918) Frank V. Thompson (1918–1921) Jeremiah E. Burke (1921–1931) Patrick T. Campbell (1931–1937) Arthur L. Gould (1937–1948) Dr. Dennis C. Haley (1948–1960) Dr. Frederick Gillis (1960–1963) Dr. William H. Ohrenberger (1963–1972) William J. Leary (1972–1975) Marion Fahey (1975–1978) Robert Coldwell Wood (1978–1980) Paul Kennedy (1980–1981) Acting Joseph McDonough (1981) Acting Robert R. Spillane (1981–1985) Dr. Laval S. Wilson (1985–1991) Lois Harrison-Jones (1991–1995) Dr. Thomas Payzant (1995–2006) Michael G. Contompasis (2006–2007) Interim Dr. Carol R. Johnson (2007–2012) John McDonough (2012–2015) Interim Dr. Tommy Chang (2015–2018) Laura Perille (2018–2019) Interim Dr. Brenda Cassellius (2019–2022) Dr. Drew Echelson (2022) Interim Mary Skipper (2022-)
History
BPS is the oldest public school system in America, founded in 1647. It is also the home of the nation's first public school, Boston Latin School, founded in 1635. The Mather School opened in 1639 as the nation's first public elementary school, and English High School, the second public high school in the country, opened in 1821. In 1965, the state enacted the Racial Imbalance Law, requiring school districts to design and implement plans to effect racial balancing in schools that were more than 50% "non-white". After years of consistent failure by the Boston School Committee to comply with the law, the U.S District Court ruled in 1974 that the schools were unconstitutionally segregated, and implemented as a remedy the busing of many students from their neighborhood schools to other schools across the city.[12]