City Council

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Good afternoon, everyone.

We're all angry now.

I'll have to explain.

Good afternoon everyone. I call to order today's meeting of the Boston City Council. Viewers may watch the council meeting live on YouTube at boston.gov backslash city dash council At this time, I ask my colleagues and those in the audience to please silence your cell phones and electronic devices. Also, pursuant to Rule 42, I remind all those in the Chamber that no demonstration of approval or disapproval from members of the public will be permitted. Thank you. Mr. Clerk, could you please call the roll to ascertain the presence of a quorum?

Oh, you need the mic. There you go. There you go. Councillor Breen.

Here.

Councillor Coletta Zapata. Culpepper, Durkan, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Councilor Weber, and Councilor Worrell.

Thank you Mr. Clerk. Mr. Clerk, would you kindly offer an invocation to begin our meeting today? and then we'll follow that as we will recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you.

Good morning. Let us pray. We gather once again to do God's work, the work of peace. May we seek to renew a right spirit within our own souls and a right spirit among our sisters and brothers gathered here today. So that we may carry the spirit of the God of peace into the world to relieve the suffering of all sentiment beings. Reaching inward, we prepare our hearts to be at peace, to work with our colleagues in peace. and to bring peace to the world. We hear the words of our teachers echoing the understanding and wisdom of our many spiritual traditions. And so now as we turn to our work at this meeting

May our greatest passion be compassion, and our greatest strength be love. So may it be. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. We have no presentations today, so we'll move on to approval of the minutes. Now, the first order of business is the approval of the minutes from the meeting of March 4th, 2026. All in favour say aye. All those opposed say nay. The ayes have it. The minutes of the March 4th meeting are approved. We will move on to communications from Her Honour the Mayor. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket 0500?

Docket number 0500, messaging on authorizing the City of Boston. to accept and expend the amount of $2,315,966.88 in the form of a grant for fiscal year 26 state elder lunch program grant awarded by the Mass Executive Office of Elder Affairs to be administered by the Age Strong Commission. The grant will fund nutrition services for older adults in the city of Boston. at a rate of $7.39 per meal for up to 313,392 meals.

the Committee on Human Services. Councillor Murphy, you have the floor.

Thank you Madam Chair. I am rising and I'm going to read a description and I hope my colleagues join me in passing this today. The State Elder Lunch Program is part of the funding for the Senior Nutrition Program. The funding is part of the state budget and comes to Age Strong through the Executive Office of Aging and Independence because we are Boston's Area Agency on Aging. When they combine this funding with additional federal and city funds and make community grants out to partners who operate the programs in Boston. The Senior Nutrition Program provides older adults with healthy and nutritious home delivered and community group meals throughout every Boston neighborhood. The program aims to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition, promote socialization and support the health and well-being of Boston's aging community.

In FY25, more than 300,000 mails were provided at over 30 free community mail sites across the city, in addition to over 2.3 million home delivered mails. There are five components to the program. Home delivered meals delivered directly to the home and also serving as a check-in for isolated older adults, Congregate mails open to all people over age 60 and delivered to over 30 community sites across Boston neighborhoods. These sites often pair the delivery of a mail with programming design to reduce social isolation and builds connection. Nutrition Education, delivered in group settings by a registered dietitian. Nutrition Assessment, delivered one-to-one for all program participants. Nutrition Counseling, delivered one-to-one as needed. Program menus are approved by registered dietitians.

All meals meet one third of the RDA and are culturally appropriate with male types, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Caribbean, Kosher, Traditional American, Italian, Vegetarian, Puree, Allergen-Friendly, and Therapeutic Meals for Dietary Restrictions Based on Any Medical Needs. In Boston, the program is operated by non-profit partners, Ethos, in collaboration with multiple local kitchens, and the Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Centre. There are multiple funding streams for the program, with some of the funding primarily federal and state with the city contribution coming as pass-through grants from AidStrong Boston's Area, as it said, Agency on Aging. So the Age Strong also plays a monitoring role for the program and ensures compliance and making sure that this money is spent properly and put into The food that our seniors need and programming for combating isolation.

So I hope my colleagues join me in passing this today.

Murphy, the Chair of the Committee on Human Services seeks suspension of the rules in passage of Docket 0500. All those in favour say aye. Mr. Clerk, could you please take a roll call vote on docket 0500?

Roll call vote on docket number 0500. Councilor Breadon?

Yes.

Councilor Breadon, yes. Coletta Zapata. Yes. Councilor Coletta Zapata. Yes. Councilor Culpepper. Yes. Councilor Culpepper. Yes. Councilor Durkan. Yes. Councilor Durkan. Yes. Councilor Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, yes, Councilor Flynn, yes, Councilor Flynn, yes, Councilor Louijeune, Councilor Mejia, Councilor Mejia, yes, Councilor Murphy, Councilor Murphy, yes, Councilor Pepén, yes, Councilor Pepén, yes, Councilor Santana, Santana, yes, Councilor Weber, yes, Councilor Weber, yes, and Councilor Worrell. Document number 0500 has received 11 votes in the affirmative.

Thank you. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0501?

Docket number 0501, message in order. Authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount. of $97,000 in the form of a grant for fiscal year 26 local consumer aid fund grant awarded by the Mass Attorney General to be administered by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing. The grant will fund Staff costs, outreach materials and operational expenses to conduct the consumer affairs programme.

Thank you. This docket 0501 will be referred to the Committee on Labour and Economic Development. We're now on to reports of public officers and others. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Dock at 0502 and 0503?

Stocking up 0502, notice we receive from the mayor of the appointment of Catherine Davis Wheeler as a trustee of the Boston Groundwater Trust. for term expiring March 9th, 2030. And docket number 0503, communication from Council of Pepén regarding stalled transportation projects.

Thank you. Docket 0502 and Docket 0503 will be placed on file. We're on to matters recently heard. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0283?

Number 0283, order for a hearing regarding elder scamming and fraud prevention.

The chair recognizes the chair of the Committee on Human Services, Councillor Murphy. Councillor Murphy, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. We had a hearing on Monday to discuss how the City of Boston is working to prevent elder scamming and financial exploitation. It was co-sponsored with myself, Councilor Flynn, and in attendance was also Councilor Culpepper. The panel included Emily Shea, the Commissioner of Age Strong, Kathleen Joyce, the Chairwoman of the Boston Licensing Board, Superintendent Chin from the Boston Police Department and Deputy Superintendent Cahill from The Brick. Issues we discussed during this hearing, the administration described the work being done across several departments, including Aid Strong, the police, and the Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing to educate residents, investigate complaints, and support victims of fraud.

The administration highlighted the importance of community education and outreach, including presentations in neighborhoods and senior centers, public awareness campaigns, and partnerships with organizations such as the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and AARP. The administration also discussed the role of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing in assisting residents who believe they have been targeted by fraud including helping residents report scams, mediating consumer complaints, and connecting individuals with appropriate agencies for investigation. The administration testified that the city closed more than 1,000 consumer cases last fiscal year and helped recover more than $264,000 for residents who had experienced consumer fraud. Council has emphasized the scams targeting seniors remain a serious concern, particularly scams involving home repair fraud, impersonation scams, and online or phone-based financial scams.

We also highlighted scams targeting veterans, including situations where individuals are asked to pay for assisting assessing benefits they have already earned. So thank you, Councilor Flynn, for always Reminding our veterans out there that you never need to pay someone to help get the benefits you earned. Council has also noted that older adults may be targeted because they often own homes, have savings, or have strong credit that make them The discussion underscored the importance of continuing to strengthen coordination among city departments and community partners while expanding education and outreach so residents know how to recognize SCIM. I also wanted to mention that the police did say that although they have about seven million dollars that are reported that they know that's way underreported because many Seniors and others who get scammed don't want to share that they've been scammed. They feel shamed by it.

So we did want to find ways and everyone here in the city was telling us that they'd help us share the information they have so we could use our platforms to communicate that with seniors across the city. Culpepper did ask for out of the 264 recovered in the past year how much was recovered for elders and also it says how I asked for copies of that information because I think all of us do want to help Share the information to our residents, not just our seniors, but anyone who feels like they've been a victim of scam, that there are resources and just ways to help stop it before it happens. Thank you.

Thank you Councillor Murphy. Docket 0283 will remain in committee.

The Chair recognizes Councillor Fitzgerald.

Councillor Fitzgerald, the Chair on Public Health Homelessness Recovery, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. The Committee on Public Health, Homelessness, and Recovery held a hearing on Monday, March 9th, 2026 on the following docket in order for a hearing to discuss the regulation of kratom in the City of Boston, docket 0175. This matter was sponsored by myself and Councilor Flynn and was referred to the committee on January 28, 2026. I was joined by my colleagues Councilor Flynn, Councilor Murphy, Councilor Culpepper, Councilor Weber, and Councilor Durkan. Docket 0175 was filed after hearing from many residents and family members. It was brought to our attention that synthetic kratom, and I'm sure many of you have received a bunch of emails between whole leaf and synthetic. that synthetic kratom is being sold at local gas stations, smoke shops, corner stores, etc. Synthetic kratom is often overlooked, unregulated, and commonly marketed product sold in many forms including dry leaf powders capsules,

teas, gummies, energy drinks, concentrated extracts, and inhalants that are widely accessible to our communities and can be harmful and often fatal. The committee held a hearing on Monday, March 9, 2026. The committee heard testimony from city officials, doctors, recovery experts, and those who have lost loved ones due to the use of synthetic kratom. There are several other cities and towns throughout Massachusetts that have a ban on synthetic kratom. With many others taking votes in the coming weeks. From all the information gathered, it is clear we need to have a working session to work through the technicalities with the appropriate parties. As Chair of the Committee of Public Health, Homelessness Recovery, I recommend this matter remain in committee. Thank you.

Thank you. Docket 0175 will remain in committee. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0276 and Docket 0277 together?

Document 0276, order for a hearing on transparency and accountability in service provision and spending for English learners. And Document 0277, order for a hearing to audit Boston Public Schools Special Education, and Return on Investments.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. The chair recognizes Councillor Mejia, the chair of the Committee on Education.

Thank you, Madam President. On March 10th, the Committee on Education held a hearing on docket 0276, in order for a hearing on transparency and accountability in service provision and spending for English language learners, which was sponsored by myself, Councillor Culpepper, and Councillor Santana. The committee also heard docket 0277 in order for a hearing to audit Boston Public Schools special education spending and return on investment sponsored by myself, Councilor and Councilor Murphy. The hearing included participation from Councilors Flynn, Pepén, Santana, Murphy, Breadon, Weber, Fitzgerald, Culpepper, and Louijeune. The committee panel included Edith Bazil of Black Advocates for Educational Excellence, Ari Brands of St. Stephen's Youth Programs, Dr. Maria Serpa of LaSalle University, Katie De La Rosa of the Boston Teachers Union, and BPS student Nyla Hicks. The administration panel included

Dr. Simone Wright, Deputy Superintendent of Academics, Joelle Germier, Chief of Office of Multicultural and Multilingual Education, Kay Seale, the Chief of Specialized Services, and Christine Trebenson, Senior Advisor for Specialized Services. During the community panel and public testimony, speakers raised concerns about the district's approach to multilingual and special education services. And advocates noted that BPS currently operates 12 Bilingual programs with two additional programs planned, while fewer than 10% of multilingual learners are enrolled in dual language programs. Testimony also highlighted that thousands of The multilingual learners remain in English-only settings and that the proposed budget includes reductions of 110 bilingual teacher positions and 28 bilingual paraprofessionals.

Community members called for a long-term plan to expand bilingual programs, greater transparency on Title I funding, and stronger supports for multilingual learners with disabilities. Kevin Bolt of the Multi... Cultural Education Training and Advocacy testify that recently released records show that more than a million dollars in Title I funds for English language servers went unspent. Speakers also noted that approximately 553 million of the 1.7 billion BPS budget is allocated to special education while concerns remain about proposed reductions of 167 Special Education positions, staffing shortages, and continued reliance on out-of-district placements. The administration reported early indicators including a 4% increase in English proficiency

among students in grades seven and nine, increased graduation rates for multicultural, excuse me, multilingual learners and students with disabilities, and plans to expand additional dual language pathways. Councilors raised concerns about Staffing reductions, educator trainings, and the use of evidence-based educational practices. BPS officials stated that staffing changes are tied to enrollment shifts and quote-unquote service mapping Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Experiences raised by students, families, and advocates, this hearing will remain in committee. And I also would just like to uplift, I'm really excited to see the progress that we have made in our graduation rates.

But during the testimony, we heard some conflicting data and our office will continue to dive in a little bit deeper to some of those discrepancies.

Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Mejia. Docket 0276 and Docket 0277 will remain in committee. Mr. Clerk, could you please record that Councillor Worrell has joined us? Thank you. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket 0201 and 0202 together?

Docket number 0201, order for a hearing to discuss Boston's fiscal year 27 operating budget. Dr. Number 0202. Order for a hearing to discuss Boston Public Schools' fiscal year 27 operating budget.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. The Chair recognizes Councillor Webber, the Chair of Wesson Mains. Weber, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, Madam President. Last night, the Committee on Ways and Means held a public testimony session on dockets 201 and 202, hearing orders to discuss the FY27 operating budget and the and the Boston Public Schools FY27 operating budget. I'd like to thank Councillors Durkan, Mejia, Culpepper, Pepén, Louijeune and Worrell. for attending yesterday's listening session. I'd also like to thank Megan, Ethan, and Candice from Central staff for their assistance. And I'd also like to acknowledge we received an absence letter from Councillor Flynn. We were in the chamber for about an hour and a half. We heard from residents about investments we should be making in the budget that'll be released on April 8th. Just to give you a brief overview,

We heard from a few dozen folks who wanted to see more investment in youth jobs and youth programming, and they called out. You know, increases in amounts we're spending on the Boston Police Department and most specifically on overtime. which is I think slated to be over a hundred million dollars in this fiscal year. We heard from and advocates who wanted to see investments in student-facing staff in Boston Public Schools. We heard about... We also heard from someone from BPS's attendance office. I know we've all heard from Corey McCarthy about how important it is to get students to school every day.

This office, it seems like they're cutting that office staff in half in this budget and it's going to impact our BPS students. from housing advocates to highlight how we've done an incredible job the last two years in investing in the City Housing Voucher Program, how important that's gonna be. And also we heard from several folks from The Democratic Socialists of America, they were here. I know they showed up as a group at our snow hearing advocating for, I think, Shovel Corps. They came last night talking about we need investment for public bathrooms across the city and they pointed out how few we have and and How important of an issue that is and I think we have a World Cup most likely coming here this summer and all these public events we need to make sure we have The restrooms in place across the city. I just want to thank everyone who showed up last night for their important testimony.

We will be doing this again on March 24th at 6 p.m. We will have a flyer for everyone to send out to their constituents and organizations which you think could be benefited by showing up and testifying. We're also just want to highlight we're having a working session tomorrow at 2 p.m. to go over a letter on budget priorities. So I hope to see you there. So I think this I guess gets kept in committee, Madam President. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Docket 0201 and Docket 0202 will remain in committee.

Yes, Councillor Worrell, you have the floor. Thank you, Madam President. I would like to revisit our return to docket number 0501. Certainly.

Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket 0501? I think you read it already, but we're going to revisit it.

Document 0501, message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend the amount of $97,000 in form of a grant for fiscal year 26 local consumer aid fund grant. Awarded by Mass Attorney General to be administered by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing. The grant will fund staff costs, outreach materials, and operational expenses to conduct the Consumer Affairs Program.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. The Chair recognizes Councillor Worrell, the Chair of Labour Economic Development, the Committee of Labour and Economic Development. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. This is a small dollar amount grant through the Attorney General's Consumers Fund. that help support the City's Consumer Affairs Division in the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing. The funding helps staff assist residents with resolving consumer disputes, things like billing issues, scams, or problems with products and services. are also providing consumer education and outreach in our communities. Through this program alone, the city has helped resolve over 1,000 consumer cases each year and recover hundreds of thousands of dollars for Boston residents.

For those reasons, I would like to suspend and pass this low dollar amount grant. All those opposed say nay. Mr. Clerk, could you please take a roll call vote on docket 0501.

Roll call vote on docket number 0501. Councilor Breadon.

Yes.

Councilor Breadon, yes. Councilor Coletta Zapata, yes. Councilor Culpepper, yes. Councilor Culpepper, yes. Councilor Durkan, yes. Councilor Durkan, yes. Councilor Fitzgerald, yes. Councilor Fitzgerald, yes. Councilor Flynn, yes. Flynn, yes, Councilor Louijeune, yes, Councilor Louijeune, yes, Councilor Mejia, yes, Councilor Murphy, yes, Councilor Pepén, yes, Councilor Santana, yes, Councilor Weber, Councilor Webber, yes, and Councilor Worrell, yes. Councilor Worrell, yes. Dock number 0501 has received a unanimous vote in the affirmative.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. We're now on to motions, orders and resolutions. A reminder that under Rule 39, remarks on new matters not up for a vote today shall be limited to three minutes for the lead sponsor and two minutes for the co-sponsors. Last week, I erroneously allowed for a point of information on a hearing order not up for a vote. To be clear, if councillors have points of order specifically calling attention to a breach of rules or an error in procedure, those can be asked of me as chair. Points of clarification regarding invited panellists at a hearing or questions about the details of a hearing should be asked of the relevant committee chair in a setting other than a council meeting and will not be permitted.

Could you please read docket 0504? Docket number 0504. Councilor Flynn offered the following. Petition for a special law regarding an act relative to military buyback for veteran municipal employees.

Thank you Mr Clerk. The Chair recognises Councillor Flynn. Councillor Flynn, you have the floor.

Thank you Madam Chair. The implementation of the HERO Act provisions governing the buyback of military service time has significantly altered the timeline under which veteran municipal employees must opt in to purchase credible military service. Under prior practice, veteran employees were permitted to buy back up to four years of military service at any point during their municipal career, allowing such decisions to be made later in life when financial and career circumstances are clearer. Under the current framework, veteran employees are required to enter into agreements and payment plans for the buyback of military service time within one year of reaching pension vesting eligibility. which occur after 10 years of credible service with the city.

This requirement compels veteran employees, particularly firefighters and police officers, to make substantial non-refundable financial commitments at a relatively young age in early stage of their municipal careers, often at a time when they are raising young families and carrying significant financial obligations. Firefighters typically reach their 10 year vesting milestone between the ages of 35 and 40, leaving them with 18 to 25 or more years remaining in active service. At that point, it is not reasonably possible for employees to know whether they will ultimately retire at the earliest eligible retirement date or continue working beyond that date. Payments made toward the buyback of military service time are currently assigned to the employee's annuity account with the Boston Retirement System and are non-refundable.

even if the employee remains in service beyond the earliest retirement date made possible by the dieback. As a result, veteran employees who remain employed beyond the earliest retirement date may effectively forfeit the benefit they paid for despite having contributed substantial sums towards the purchase of that benefit. This concern is particular for firefighters whose post-retirement life expectancy has been declining due to occupational cancer, illness, and exposures, raising the likelihood that Veteran employees may never fully realize the benefit of the military service buyback they funded earlier in their careers. This home rule petition will allow veteran municipal employees to buy back their military service time later on in their career.

I look forward to hearing to discuss. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Councillor Flynn. Would anyone else like to speak?

Do you wish to speak? Would anyone like to add their name? Culpepper, Durkan, Fitzgerald, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell, and please add the chair. Thank you. Docket 0504 will be referred to the Committee on Government Operations. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0505?

Docket number 0505. Councilor Verpan offer the following. Order for a hearing to discuss the achievements of the Mattapan Square Task Force and other municipal support for Mattapan Square.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councillor Pepén. Councillor, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. May I add Councilor Worrell as my second co-sponsor? Councilor Worrell is so added. May I suspend the rules and add Councilor Louijeune as my third co-sponsor?

Hearing and seeing no objection, Councilor Louijeune is added as a third.

I am pleased to bring forward this hearing order to hear from the Mattapan Square Task Force that was created last year and review their work thus far. This hearing will provide an opportunity to discuss how we can revitalize Mattapan Square address transportation, commercial challenges, service challenges, and ensure that our neighborhood has the leadership, resources, and support it needs to thrive as a safe, vibrant, and economically strong community hub. I believe it is imperative that we give Mattapan Square the support it needs to strive as a safe and vibrant community hub. And we need to ensure that Mattapan Square Task Force is also working and trying to do that. Just a few days ago, I was able to meet with the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition and just learn the amazing work that Chevelle and her team are doing. And they just want to make sure that we are continuing to advocate for these exact resources. And just Mattapan Square is one of the beautiful Main Streets districts in my district. I want to make sure we are following through with updates. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilor Pepén. The Chair recognizes Councilor Worrell.

Councilor Worrell, you have the floor. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you to Councilor Pepén for adding me. as original co-sponsor. A lot of energy going on right now in reimagining and revitalizing Mattapan Square. And I appreciate all the work that the city is doing in Mattapan to engage not only the residents, but also the businesses. But I also want to take a time to just shout out all the city departments that are helping engage in this work, Inspection of Services, Public Works, The Boston Police Department, the coordinated response team, and the many, many, many community groups that are engaging and showing up. and volunteering their time to increase the quality of life in Mattapan Square. I'm happy that you're continuing this conversation and that we're gonna be bringing it into this room To hear from the residents on their vision and the task force and to hear from them what more support would they need from the city.

So thank you and shout out to the whole task force. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Worrell. The chair recognizes Councillor Louijeune. Councillor Louijeune, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to thank Councillor Pepén for adding me. This is an important topic. Mattapan Square. There's so many people who are working for a better and brighter Mattapan Square and that includes members of this task force. It includes members who are not on this task force. I've been continuing to have a lot of conversations about Mattapan because there's so much potential with planned Mattapan that allows for a vision of Mattapan that is more expansive than what we see now. So I think there's a lot of incredible opportunity as someone who was born in Mattapan and as someone who lives a 10-minute walk from Mattapan. I'm constantly hoping and wishing and dreaming for something more for the residents and there's a lot of possibility there and I look forward to supporting the work of the task force but also working in collaboration with Would anyone like to add their name?

Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Durkan, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Santana, Weber, Worrell, and please add the chair. Docket 0505 will be referred to the Committee on City Services. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0505?

0506. Dr. Number 0506, Councilor Durkan offered the following. Order for a hearing on modernizing permitting systems to improve accessibility related to transportation, Curbside Management, Construction and Development.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councillor Durkan. Councillor Durkan, you have the floor.

Thank you so much, Council President Breadon. I would like to add Councillor Coletta Zapata, and then I'd also like to suspend the rules and add Councillor Pepén as a third original co-sponsor.

Coletta Zapata is added and seeing and hearing no objections. Who is your second?

Pepén.

Councilor Pepén is added as a third.

Thank you. Since the day I put my name on the ballot, I committed to making government work better for our residents. This hearing order stems from that commitment. Across Boston, work is happening on our streets every day and as the weather gets nicer, we're reminded that construction season is right around the corner. Issues related to construction and street work are some of the most common concerns from our office hours. And this is a timely moment to think about how we can better manage permitted work happening across our city. Every neighborhood faces challenges. In Beacon Hill, aging infrastructure and narrow streets make coordination especially difficult. In the Fenway and the Back Bay, commercial activity places significant demand on already limited curb and sidewalk space. Across all Boston neighborhoods, permitted work can bring disruptions from noise and mobility challenges to street closures and parking obstructions. affecting daily residents' lives and shared public spaces. The biggest challenge is often a lack of clear, accessible information.

I don't know about you, but the top issue I hear from my constituents is that they need more information about what's happening on our streets. I want to thank Lauren Carmi, our quality of life liaison, Tony Baez, our operations director, Lily Sweeterman, my chief of staff, who are often responding to constituent concerns on the daily. But we need to make this easier for residents. In a hearing I held last year on contractor parking, of which I was the only attendee out of our council, it became clear that part of the problem was outdated systems and fragmented coordination across city departments. That conversation led me to ask a simple question. How can the city use technology to better coordinate this work? And what if we created a platform where residents could access real-time information and what's happening in our neighborhoods? Recently, Mayor Wu issued a technology modernization executive order directing the city to begin citywide permitting reform, starting by moving applications online.

This is a huge step. But as the city begins that work, I believe we have an opportunity to think bigger. Beyond digitizing applications, we should explore how we can make permitting information more accessible to the public.

Providing residents— Councillor, may I interrupt for a moment? I'd ask all my colleagues to be quiet and no crosstalk while our colleagues are speaking, just out of respect. Thank you.

Thank you so much. I do that too and I'm sorry because I do have a disability and it's really important for me that I be able to focus so I do appreciate That. Thank you so much, Councillor Brayden. As the city begins that work, I believe that we have an opportunity to think bigger. Beyond digitizing applications, we should explore how we can make permitting information more accessible to the public. Providing residents with real-time information about their permitted work in their neighborhood could make systems more predictable and easier to navigate. Through this hearing, I'm excited to explore how we can better coordinate across departments and the potential for outward facing platform where residents can easily see what permitting work is happening around them. I'll just tell you, I've had some of these conversations within city departments. We need to bring the conversations out in the open. Nobody wants to fix this without pressure, but the reality is that we have to. Residents demand more accessibility, and I'm excited as the chair of planning development and transportation to have that conversation about curbside management and the other issues facing our neighborhoods.

Thank you and thank you to my co-sponsors.

Thank you Councillor Durkan. The chair recognizes Councillor Coletta Zapata. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. And I want to thank Councilor Durkan for bringing this important hearing order forward and adding me as a co-sponsor. Tech governance is essential to making government work better for our residents. When systems are modern, transparent and coordinated, we are able to deliver services faster, build trust with the public, and make it easier for residents and businesses to interact with City Hall. In real time, I'm trying to figure out who opened up the sidewalk at the corner of Prince Street and Thatcher Street on February 27th and why somebody fell into it. Unfortunately, they're fine. But we're trying to understand who owned that permit, what happened, and it seems like there was a little bit of cross-communication or a gap in interdepartmental coordination. So something like this would help avoid this situation. For years, I've pushed for upgrades to systems like CoBox, which is the City of Boston utility coordination system, which tracks and manages street excavation and construction permits.

These tools are critical, but they need modernization and better integration so residents can actually see what's happening in their neighborhoods in real time. Through the budget process, in partnership with all of you, we've worked to make sure that the Department of Innovation and Technology has the resources it needs to be successful because investing in digital infrastructure is investing in better government. Modernizing our permitting systems will help us coordinate across departments, reduce confusion, and ultimately provide higher quality services for the people of Boston. So thank you, Councillor Durkan, and I look forward to the conversation.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councillor Pepén. Councillor Pepén, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Councillor Durkan and Councillor Coletta Zapata, for having me as the third co-sponsor. Our permanent process should not be a relic that holds projects and communities back. Time and time again, my office receives calls from residents asking what a construction site is doing, on their street, or how long your road will be closed when they walk out their doors first thing in the morning. Digitizing the permanent process and building a real-time notification system will relieve a lot of that stress in our neighborhoods, especially as we go into the construction season of 2026. I do want to give a shout out to Carrie and Chief Garza because just last week, early last week, they had a press conference in Roslindale about how they're updating the permanent process for small businesses. So I know that this is already starting.

but I would love to see obviously all departments receive this and I remember last year we did a city services hearing where Coletta Zapata was able to bring in Eversource and National Grid and how it would be even helpful to know what work they're doing Pepén.

Would anyone like to add their name? Culpepper, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Santana, Weber, Worrell, and the Chair. Docket 0506 will be referred to the Committee on City Services. Mr. Clerk, Councillor Durkan, you had a question?

Yes, so I wrote specifically that to go into planning, development, and transportation to follow up on a hearing order I did about curbside management. I'm fine. I think the chair of city services would do a great job with this. But I do just want to tell you that I wrote it specifically to talk about to get transportation and development to that conversation.

I think we reviewed your hearing order. We looked at the description of the different committees and it seems like city service is the most appropriate place for it to land. I think this is an issue that affects all of us in our districts so I look forward to a timely hearing under the leadership of Councillor Flynn and I think this is something that's really important, especially now at the start of the construction season. We need to get to it, so thank you. Flynn, you had a question?

I would just commit to Councillor Durkan that I would have a hearing within 30 days if that's helpful to Councillor Durkan.

Thank you. We appreciate that. Thank you so much. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket 0507?

Docket number 0507. Councilor Weber offered the following. Order for a hearing to discuss strategies to prevent homelessness among students in the Boston public schools.

Thank you.

The chair recognizes Councillor Webber. Councillor Webber, you have the floor. Thank you, Madam President. I would like to add you as a co-sponsor and suspend the rules and add Councillor Mejia as a third.

Thank you. Councillor Breadon's added as a second, and seeing and hearing no objections, Councillor Mejia is added as a third.

Okay, thank you very much. I think all of us see numbers that shock the conscience. Eight dollars from the 2015 Federal Reserve Bank of Boston study that found that Average worth of black households in Boston was $8. 9.3 years. The average gap in life expectancy between black males and other males in the city of Boston. Another one of those numbers is 5,000, which is the number of Boston public school students experiencing homelessness We've been told that that number is expected to go up. How can we expect our kids to learn if we can't even keep them in stable housing? I was proud to join

Brayden, everyone here two years ago to start the Access to Council pilot program. which has helped dozens of families over the last year stay in their housing. And we've also heard how that saves, for every dollar we spend on programs like that, and many more. We have $3 to $10 in public spending that would be The numbers suggest that in the 2024-2025 school year, the number of BPS students experiencing homelessness rose to 5,405.

Response to our RFIs that we received from BPS in our working session with the school superintendent, we were told that the BPS's Emergency Homeless Intervention Program, which has been used to find stable housing for thousands of BPS families since 2020 and which facilitates the Access to Council program has losing its external grant funding for next school year. So I think we all need to get together and figure out how we're going to provide the most basic of services for our BPS students. As a body, we can't go into classrooms and teach kids how to read or teach them how to do math Coach the basketball teams, but we can come together to figure out how to allocate resources that are going to be used to keep those kids in class so they can learn All those great things.

So I really look forward to working with everyone here on this and figure out how we're going to tackle this persistent problem.

Thanks. Thank you, Councillor Webber. The Chair recognizes Councillor Mejia. Councillor Mejia, you have the floor.

You are a second co-captain. Go ahead. Thank you, Madam President. So I think it's really important. And first of all, let me just thank Rubber, Madam President for allowing me to rise and Councilor Rubber for adding me as a co-sponsor. We have well over 5,000 students experiencing homelessness in our BPS system and we know What an immense impact it has on our young people's well-being and educational outcomes. And they cannot focus on their mental health, social and emotional well-being while they're also trying to navigate where they're going to sleep at night. Addressing the housing crisis in Boston goes hand in hand with addressing the needs for our students and ensuring that they have access to basic necessities. High rents and housing that is not deeply affordable puts our families at risk. BPS Homelessness Intervention Program and Access to Counsel Program have proven to be successful, and we should be looking to expand these programs instead

We're losing $750,000 in funding for these services. With this loss, we can anticipate seeing more homeless among BPS students grow. I'll just put this to the side. I want to just kind of uplift that earlier this week we hosted a People's Agenda Summit and we had over 150 people attend, but we had a section dedicated just to young people. And I was so overwhelmed with the notion that every single young person that was there, normally we hear about other things that they care about, but the number one priority for them was housing. And when you have young people who are talking about issues of homelessness as their number one priority, we have to stop and pause in the work that we need to do here on the council in terms of really making more investments and putting in plans in place to support RPPS students.

So it was the first time in my time here. Usually I hear about youth jobs and things of other issues, Homelessness was the number one priority for young people too. So if that doesn't say anything to us, then I don't know what will. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Heer. Would anyone like to add their name? Culpepper, Flynn, Louijeune, Fitzgerald, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Worrell, and Councilor Coletta Zapata, and please add the Chair. Docket 0508 will be referred to the Committee on Education. Oh, sorry, Docket 0507 will be referred to the Committee on Education. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0508?

Docket number 0508. Councillor Santana offered the following order for a hearing regarding the use and impact of high-quality instructional materials in Boston public schools.

Thank you. The Chair recognises Councillor Santana. You have the floor.

Councillor Santana Thank you Madam President. High quality instructional materials allow our public schools to provide a standardised curriculum to students in all of our neighbourhoods. by doing that they allow for consistent and rigorous instruction to all of our youngest learners. Given the centrality of these materials to the educational offerings of our public schools, It's important that we understand how these materials are chosen and how they're implemented in practice. I look forward to a productive, informative hearing that will shine further light on the role these materials have in our schools. Thank you.

Would anyone else like to add their name to this? Coletta Zapata, Collins, Culpepper, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Weber, Worrell, Chair. Docket 0508 will be referred to the Committee on Education.

Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0509? Docket number 0509, Councillor Santana, and for the following. Porter for a hearing regarding Boston Public Schools' efforts to improve chronic absenteeism.

Thank you, Madam President. The first step to learning is showing up and for our BPS students, that refers to their attendance. Since COVID, chronic absenteeism is on the rise and our schools are taking proactive steps to combat it. However, addressing chronic absenteeism in many cases also means combating broader issues Weber. Issues of housing instability, as Councilor Weber just did a filing on that. Unmet social and emotional needs or health and healthcare access. The circumstances that give rise to chronic absenteeism requires Our city's agencies to take a collaborative approach. I look forward to discussing what we can do to strengthen interagency collaboration to give our youth a strong start to the school day. One that allows and encourages them to get through our school doors

I also look forward to hearing from our BPS administration and educators about the programs that are currently in place, what progress has been made, and how these efforts can be strengthened.

Thank you. Add their name. Councillor Coletta Zapata, Councillor Culpepper, Councillor Fitzgerald, Councillor Flynn, Councillor Louijeune, Councillor Mejia, Councillor Murphy, Councillor Pepén, Councillor Weber, Councillor Worrell, and please add the chair. Thank you. Docket 0509 will be referred to the Committee on Education. Mr.

Clerk, could you please read Docket 0510? Docket number 0510. Councilor Santana for the following. Order for a hearing to discuss career and technical education in Boston Public Schools and its impacts on students' college and career readiness.

The Chair recognizes Councillor Santana. Councillor, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Can I please add Councilor Worrell as an original co-sponsor? Councilor Worrell is so added. and then can I suspend the rules and add Councilor Culpepper as an original co-sponsor?

Hearing and seeing no objections, Councilor Culpepper is added as a third.

Thank you, Madam President. Our public schools offer robust career and technical educational opportunities allowing our students to learn about particular industries through hands-on experience. These opportunities open pathways for our youth, giving them the ability to enter higher education or the workforce with essential skills cultivated through years of specialized instruction. In holding a hearing, we can better understand what these programs look like in the day-to-day and the long-term impacts they have on college and career readiness. I look forward to discussing the structural impacts of these programs with our BPS staff. I also just want to give a special shout out My co-sponsor, Councillor Worrell, who's been leading on this issue since the day he stepped on the City Council. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you. Chair recognizes Councillor Worrell. Councillor, you have the floor.

Thank you Madam President. Thank you to Councilor Santana for filing this hearing order and for adding me as a co-sponsor. And thank you to Councilor Culpepper as well. I believe we have to measure our success by how well We are preparing our students for life after high school. If BPS is truly building a cradle to career pathway, you'll probably hear me say that more and more, then our students shouldn't just be attending Boston's world-class colleges and universities, they should be working in them, leading in them, and building careers through them. They should see themselves becoming doctors and nurses and medical professionals serving at our world-renowned hospitals. They should see pathways into the union trades that build our city, into the biotech sector that drives our innovation economy, and to clean energy and to the industries that continue to grow Boston. Because if any city should be able to create real opportunities for public school students, it should be Boston.

We hope to find public education in this country We are surrounded by world-class institutions, industries, and employers. The problem is not that we lack resources. The problem is that we have been too uncoordinated in connecting those resources to our young people. And that's the work in front of us. because when students and families can see a real pathway from BPS to the trades, from BPS to college, from BPS to careers in our hospitals Our biotech companies and the industries that power our cities, that is when we will start creating real belief and buy-in to our system. Over the last two budget cycles, this council made that commitment clear. This body passed budget amendments that created funding for college and career readiness programs to support our young people. Over the past two years, these grants have served over 4,300 Boston students. I want to take time to acknowledge some of those organizations doing incredible work.

Young Man with a Plan, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Squash Busters, Boston Higher Education Resource Center, EV Kids, Crystal Ray, Boston Project Ministries, Minds That Matter, The Pathway Initiative, The Possible Zone, Young People's Project, Trinity Boston Connect, The Steppenstone Foundation and High Square Task Force. Thank you for all your work. I'm looking forward to continuing this conversation. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Whale. The chair recognizes Councilor Culpepper. You have the floor.

Thank you, Councilor Santana, for following. for this important hearing order and for adding me as a co-sponsor. A strong public school system prepares students for life after high school, by providing multiple pathways to success. I'm proud to have Madison Park Technical Vocational High School in my district, Boston's only technical vocational high school. and to welcome Franklin Cummings Tech, a technical college, to Nubian Square. Both offer accessible, hands-on education that provides real world preparation and Career Pathways students might not otherwise have. Understanding the scope and impact of these programs can help strengthen Post-graduation opportunities for more Boston Public Schools students. I look forward to this discussion.

Thank you, Councillor Culpepper. Would anyone like to add their name? Coletta Zapata, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Weber and please add the chair. Docket 0501 will be referred to the Committee on Education. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0511?

Docket number 0511. Councilor Mejia offered the following. Order for a hearing to review the mid-year implementation and educational impact of the Boston Public Schools fiscal year 27 budget.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councillor Mejia. Councillor Mejia, you have the floor.

Thank you Madam President and I would also like to add Councilor Culpepper as an original co-sponsor to this docket. Councilor Culpepper is so added. His permission, I'm just going to ask whether or not Councilor Weber would like to be added as an original co-sponsor to this.

Are you agreeable? Hearing and seeing no objections, Councilor Weber is added as a third co-sponsor.

Thank you so much to my colleagues for jumping on board I think it's really important for us and especially in this moment to really start thinking about how all of this work is interconnected and if we really want to help support our BPS families then Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank and BPS impacts our students and their success. So I'm really looking less at the dollars, but more about the quality of impact that we are seeing in the outcomes of our students. As a city council, it is our duty to ensure that public resources are used effectively. By conducting more frequent reviews of BPS expenditures and by adding mid-year reviews, we can better understand the implementation of the BPS budget and identify how that translates into educational outcomes and programming.

The academic success and wellbeing and opportunities of all BPS students is vital to this body and all Bostonians. And a mid-year review provides us an opportunity for us to receive feedback on how the current allocations are functioning in practice. How are those programs manifesting the intent of what The goal of the proposed was. And so this information as we look ahead to the next fiscal year's budgeting, it would be a good way for us to understand and how we can adjust in real time. We recently learned that There was over a million dollars that went unspent to support multilingual learners, and this is an opportunity for us have a little bit more oversight. The city's investments in BPS should lead to improved educational outcomes, stronger programming, and adequate supports for students and educators, including services for English language learners and students receiving special education services.

especially in the financial situation that our city finds itself in. We must ensure that our students, educators, and staff do not face the consequences of inadequate budgeting. This mid-year review will also provide an opportunity for increased Transparency and Accountability in BPS Budgeting, something that community continues to ask for. Looking forward to the budget cuts that BPS is facing next year, we must first understand how BPS is functioning currently and if we can really afford to cut educator staff and more in terms of educational outcomes programs and student support. So this would really be an opportunity for us to bring in community advocates, parents, nonprofit organizations, and those who are doing the work to really talk about the educational outcomes in terms of the returns on those investments.

My hope is that as the Chair of Education, I can continue to work in collaboration with the Chair of Ways and Means to host maybe joint committee meetings around this issue so that way we are lockstep working collaboratively. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Mejia. The chair recognizes Councillor Culpepper. Councillor Culpepper, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councillor Mejia, for your leadership on this matter. and for adding me as a co-sponsor. Investing in our education system is essential to supporting the success of the BPS and everyone who keeps our schools running. Teachers, students, parents, Facility staff, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, bus monitors, and more. A mid-year budget review allows the City Council to assess whether resources are improving outcomes, strengthening programs, and advancing district priorities, student learning, and even educational equity. I look forward to this conversation and to ensuring VPS schools across Boston and in every neighborhood have what they need to thrive. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilor Culpepper. The chair recognizes Councilor Weber.

Councilor Weber, you have the floor. Okay, thank you. I haven't prepared anything because I didn't know it was co-sponsoring, but I want to thank Councilor Mejia for the invitation. I think we've seen over the last few weeks that the time and energy we spend on BPS is not wasted. There's lots of conversations to be had. and I think these hearings help focus us on a very you know incredibly important issue for the city and all our families and I look forward to being part of the conversation and for us to work together for a better BPS.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Would anyone like to add their name? Coletta Zapata, Collins, Durkan, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Murphy, Pepén, Santana. Please add the chair. Docket 0511 will be referred to the committee on post-audit. Mr.

Clerk, could you please read Docket 0512? Docket number 0512. Councilor Culpepper, I offer the following. Porter for a hearing to examine Boston's 48-hour parking space saver policy following snow emergencies.

Every one of Boston residents shove out parking spaces in front of their homes and understandably want to protect the time and effort they put into clearing them. At the same time, There are public streets and we have a responsibility to make sure parking remains accessible and fair for everyone. The 48-hour rule was created to strike that balance. But after the recent snowstorms this winter, many residents have raised concerns that space savers are remaining well beyond the allowed time and that enforcement appears inconsistent across neighborhoods. This hearing is about bringing some clarity and accountability to a policy that often leads to confusion, and sometimes conflict between neighbors. And I might add, on my way in this morning, I got a call from someone that had an altercation. They're now in court.

Waters had a fight over a space and they asked me to represent them. I did say I'm no longer in private practice. I'm now on the city council, but I would take their concern to the council. And Madam Chair, I don't think we understand how serious this issue is, especially when not only are they left in the streets past 48 hours, But I've got some pictures here that I would like to show my colleagues about what the neighborhood looks like when those space savers stay there for three days, four days, or weeks. Even yesterday, I took pictures. So when we think about these space savers, I think it's a serious issue that we need to address. I think residents deserve to know what the rules are, how they are enforced, what steps they can take when the policy is not being enforced. So we need to hear directly from relevant city departments so we can better understand how the current system is working or isn't working.

Identify where enforcement or communications may be falling short. and explore practical ways to enforce the rules and make sure they are applied consistently so that Boston streets remain fair, safe and accessible all winter.

Thank you Madam Chair. Would anyone like to add their name? Councillor Coletta Zapata, Councillor Durkan, Councillor Fitzgerald, Councillor Flynn, Councillor Louijeune, Councillor Mejia, Councillor Murphy, Councillor Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell, and please add the Chair. Docket 0512 will be referred to the Committee on City Services. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0513?

Docket number 0513, Councillor Culpepper, I offer the following. Order for a hearing to examine options to improve public safety and quality of life in the Nubian Square area.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. The chair recognizes Councillor Culpepper. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. This is a place where residents shop, work, commute, and gather. But many people who live and do business here are telling us that conditions on the ground have changed. Business owners and neighbors are reporting increased drug use, illegal activity that affects the daily life of many in the square. Many in the community are also noticing new faces in the area. and believe that some of the increased activity we are seeing is connected to the city's ongoing response to mass and chaos as people are displaced from one part of the city and begin appearing in others such as Nubian Square.

At the same time, I want to be clear that the goal here is not to criminalize or over police communities that have historically experienced disproportionate surveillance and enforcement. The people of Roxbury deserve safety, but they also deserve solutions that are thoughtful, balanced, and rooted in dignity. The people who live and work in Nubian Square care deeply about the future of the district and many have already tried to take matters into their own hands, installing gates, hiring security, and doing what they can to keep their storefronts and sidewalks safe. But this cannot be something the community has to solve alone. We need a coordinated response that brings together public safety, public health, sanitation, and economic development so that New Bern Square

Remains a place where families feel comfortable walking, businesses can thrive, and residents feel supported rather than overlooked. This hearing is an opportunity to listen directly to the community and work towards solutions that protect both the safety and the long-term viability of Nubian Square. Madam President, I would like to add Councilor Lou... Lou... Councilor Lou... Lou... as a second original co-sponsor. And I'd like to request suspension of the rules to add Councilor Worrell as a third original co-sponsor. Thank you, Madam President.

Louis-Jeanne is added as a second and hearing and seeing no objections, Councillor Worrell is added as a third. Councillor Louis-Jeanne, you have the floor.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Culpepper. Louie like your Louis Vuitton bag and Jen like your friend Jen, Louie Jen. But it takes a minute to get it, so it's all good. Thank you for adding me as a second original co-sponsor on this hearing order. I also want to thank you, Councilor Culpepper, for recently holding that. Meeting in Nubian Square where we heard from residents about the need to make sure that we are paying attention to what's happening in Nubian Square. This is Something that I've cared about deeply since I first came on this body and I just probably like you get the emails, the calls, the texts, the videos of things happening in Nubian Square that we wouldn't allow to happen. and any other economic center of our neighborhood. So I'm really looking forward to how we can move forward this conversation. In some ways, the solutions are simple. How do we get sustained city services in Nubian Square? Such that we're not always having to call things in. We know it's needed. We're getting more lights in Nubian Square that we're

able to get more Hokies in Nubian Square that we're able to look at programs and models that exist like the New Market Bid and Sue Sullivan and the Workforce Development Program that they have. How do we bring that to Nubian Square so that it feels like It's the people of Nubian Square who are also taking care of Nubian Square. I think there are a lot of good examples of individual things that have happened in Nubian Square, but not without an overall collective plan in terms of how do we sustain it. So I'm looking forward to this hearing order because I think the residents and the business owners and everyone who is currently investing in Nubian Square to make it the strong square that it is, that they know that we are working on this actively and that we I also care about the future, the present and the future of Nubian Square. So thank you, Councilor Culpepper, and I look forward to this year.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Worrell. Councilor Worrell, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you to Councilor Culpepper and Councilor Louijeune for bringing this forward and adding me as a co-sponsor. And as investments continue to get put into Nubian Square, I stand with my colleagues on making sure that We have a more of a coordinated approach. I do want to shout out the work of the Nubian Square Task Force that has been taking place. But we have other agencies and organizations that we can learn best practices from to be implemented here in Nubian Square. So just looking forward to working with my colleagues. Community Partners, people on the ground, the businesses in that area, to make sure that we invest and revitalize or continue to grow New Bees Square into the business district that we know it all can be. Thank you.

Thank you. Would anyone like to add their name? Councillor Coletta Zapata, Councillor Durkan, Councillor Fitzgerald, Councillor Flynn, Councillor Mejia, Councillor Murphy, Councillor Pepén, Councillor Santana, Councillor Weber, and please add the chair. Thank you. Docket 0513 will be referred to the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0514?

Docket number 0514. Councillor Flynn offered the following. Porter for a hearing to discuss Boston Groundwater Trust and groundwater infrastructure in the City of Boston.

Much of the land in areas of Boston was created through filling the land and is supported by wood pile foundations that rely on consistent groundwater levels to remain structurally sound. Many buildings that are built on filled land in Boston include the Bay Village, Back Bay, the South End, Fenway, the North End, and other areas. When groundwater level drops in exposure, In exposure of these woods pilings to here, they begin to rot, potentially weakening building foundations and leading to costly structural damage, climate change, development patents, drainage systems, and underground infrastructure. may contribute as well to groundwater levels. In 1986, the City of Boston established the Groundwater Trust, which works to monitor and address groundwater levels. The trust also gives clearance to property owners to develop homes before appearing at the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Recent reports indicate approximately 8,000 buildings supported on filled land and Wood Pilings are potentially at risk of structural failings if underground foundations rot due to declining groundwater levels and oxygen exposures. Repairs can cost upwards of $200,000. Residents, property owners, and city agencies will benefit from a comprehensive understanding of the current conditions, risks, and Long-Term Strategies to Protect Buildings Constructed on Groundwater Dependent Foundations. For years, I was proud to serve on the Groundwater Board of Trustees. When I became City Council President, I voluntarily left to give my seat over to Councilor Durkan who's doing an outstanding job as is the executive director and the members of the board as well. I have held

Hearings on this issue in the past with Boston Water and Sewer because it has a big impact in my district, but want to also invite other city councils that impacts their district as well. to weigh in and to be part of the discussion.

Thank you Madam Chair. Coletta Zapata, Culpepper, Durkan, Fitzgerald, Louijeune, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell, Chair. Docket 0514 will be referred to the Committee on Environmental Justice, Resiliency, and Parks. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0515?

Docket number 0515. Councilor Flynn offered the following. Porter for a hearing to discuss the status of addressing potholes in the City of Boston.

The Chair recognizes Councillor Flynn. You have the floor.

Thank you Madam Chair. Paving our roads filling potholes is a critical part of city government. Potholes are an ongoing persistent issue on roads throughout Boston. particularly during winter and early spring months when freeze, thaw cycles, and heavy traffic contribute to street deterioration. Potholes create safety hazards for pedestrians, drivers, cyclists, and can cause significant damage to vehicles and infrastructure. Potholes can also create significant risk for persons with disabilities in all residents. Residents are encouraged to report potholes to 311 to ensure the city knows which potholes are the highest priority. Residents across the city have reported potholes including on Congress Street, just down the street, and Post Office Square. There are several large ones. East and West 8th Street, Lawrence Street, Harrison Avenue, West Newton Street in my district.

It was reported in 2025 that the city filled over 4,000 potholes, down from 7,000 potholes filled in 2023. If we imagine Boston 2030, The City established goals related to infrastructure, maintenance, roadway quality. Understanding the City's benchmark for pothole repair, preventive street maintenance, data tracking, long-term roadway Resurfacing strategies will ensure that Boston continues to meet its infrastructure and public and pedestrian safety goals. These are quality of life issues. These are basic city service issues. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you Councillor Flynn. Would anyone like to add their name? Councillor Coletta Zapata, Councillor Culpepper, Councillor Durkan, Fitzgerald, Councillor Louijeune, Councillor Mejia, Councillor Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell, and please add the chair. Thank you. Docket 0515 will be referred to the Committee on City Services. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0516?

Docket number 0516. Councilor Louijeune offered the following. Order for a hearing to ensure equitable investment, fiscal accountability, and academic excellence. and Boston Pre-K Program.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Louijeune. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm introducing this hearing order to review the progress we've made in the future direction of Boston's Pre-K expansion. Early childhood, we know, is one of the most powerful investments a city can make if education is to be the great equalizer that we expect it to be and that we want it to be. It really does have to start as early as possible, especially if we're talking about Closing some educational gaps, opportunity gaps, racial gaps. Research consistently shows that high quality pre-K improves long-term academic outcomes, supports working families, and helps close opportunity gaps before children even reach kindergarten. We've made significant strides as a city over the past decade by expanding early childhood seats through a mixed delivery system that includes BPS Community-based organizations and family child care providers. We often hear from families about costs being exorbitant, about the availability of seats. We need to review how close we are to the universality of the program.

I remember when I first came on the body, one of the things that when my first panels where BPS was present, they stated that we do a bad job at communicating how available some of these seats are. and they want it so that they're able to provide every family in the city of Boston once they have a newborn with something that says a universal pre-K starts with me. And I believe that that's something that we can do, but we need to review the availability by geography, by neighborhood, and what the demand is like to see how we continue with our investments. We've already invested. Over the years, millions of dollars in universal pre-K. We need to make sure that we are reviewing the efficacy of those investments. The creation of the Office of Early Childhood and continued rollout of Boston pre-K initiatives represent important steps in coordinating and strengthening this work across the city. And at the same time, as this program grows, it's important that we take a close look at how expansion is unfolding across neighborhoods and whether families are able to access all of these opportunities. I often think about how Head Start and Anti-Poverty Group really,

takes hold of the idea that the earliest we get our children into education, the better off they are. We as a city have that responsibility to make sure that we're doing that. And we can have all these conversations later and they're important conversations to have about middle school and High School and Pathways to Career, we have to start as early as possible with our young kids and we have to make it as accessible and as cost effective as possible for our families. So I'm looking forward to this conversation because it's an incredibly important one. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Louijeune. Would anyone like to add their name? Councillor Coletta Zapata, Councillor Culpepper, Councillor Durkan, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Mejia, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Weber, Worrell, and please add the chair. Docket 0516 will be referred to the Committee on Education. Mr. Clerk, would you please read docket 0517? I understand there may be a substitute language on this one.

Okay, very good. Thank you. Docket number 0517. Councilor Culpepper offered the following. Order regarding a text amendment to the Boston Zoning Code to establish a neighborhood impact contribution requirement as part of the linkage program.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councillor Culpepper. Councillor Culpepper, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I would like to request a substitute filing for docket number 0517.

Do we have a second for that? Councillor Murphy, a second. You may continue.

Thank you, Madam President. To be clear, this filing does not create an additional tax. or filing fee on development. Let me just say that again. This filing does not create an additional tax or fee on development. Instead, it modifies the existing linkage payment formula so that a portion of the funds already being generated by development are directed toward investments in the neighborhoods most Most directly affected by that development. When the linkage program was created, one of its core intentions was to help mitigate the impacts that major developments might have on communities where they are built. But over time, the program has largely become a citywide funding mechanism.

With mitigation dollars generated by a project in one neighborhood can end up supporting programs somewhere else entirely. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods hosting these developments often continue to experience the pressures that come with rapid growth including rising commercial rents and the displacement of long-standing small businesses. I understand that there will be concerns and ideas about how this could be improved. That's what the committee process is for. But the conversation about updating the linkage program needs to start now. Communities that host large developments should see more direct investment in stabilizing the small businesses workers and neighborhood infrastructure that are already affected by these projects. And I might add, Madam President, to all of my colleagues, this was a program that was instituted long ago by

Bruce Boland, the former District 7 City Councilor. And so when you look at the purpose for which Bruce started this program, initiated this legislation, it's not working the way he intended. And my attempt is to bring it back to the original intent that the original sponsor and the original creator designed this program for. Madam President, I would like to add Councilor Worrell as a second original co-sponsor. to the substitute filing for document number 0517. Thank you, Madam President.

Councilor Worrell is so added. Councilor Worrell, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you to Councilor Culpepper for bringing this and like he said I do believe not only linkage but any of our policies that we should be reevaluating them ever so often just to make sure that they are working and the way that we intended them to work. And this is an opportunity to do just that. with the linkage ordinance, but also it's an opportunity to find new ways and creative ways to make sure that the investments that are coming from Some of our development stays within our neighborhood to help stabilize the businesses and the residents. So looking forward to the conversation, but I think this is something that we should do for more of our policies to make sure that they are working the way that we intended them. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Worrell. Would anyone like to add their name? Councillor Coletta Zapata, Councillor Fitzgerald, Councillor Flynn, Councillor Murphy, Councillor Pepén, Councillor Santana, Councillor Weber, Thank you. Docket 0517 will be referred to the Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation. We are now on to resolutions. Two more. Oh, there's two more.

Mr.

Clerk, could you please read docket 0518?

Document number 0518. Councilor Culpepper offered the following. Resolution in support of the SPARC Act to expand opportunities for minority entrepreneurship.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Culpepper. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. The SPARC Act, the Supporting Potential Entrepreneurs to Regional Knowledge Act, is legislation recently introduced in Congress designed to expand opportunities for minority entrepreneurship across the country. The bill would establish regional entrepreneurship and innovation hubs through the United States Department of Commerce to better connect minority entrepreneurs with mentorship, technical assistance, Capital Access and Business Development Support, Minority and Women Businesses, are central drivers of economic growth in cities like Boston. They create jobs, strengthen neighborhood commercial districts, build pathways to generational wealth. Yet many entrepreneurs from these communities continue to face structural barriers when it comes to accessing capital, networks, and the resources needed to scale their businesses.

The SPARK Act aims to address those gaps by investing in regional partnerships that bring together local governments, universities, business leaders, and community organizations to support entrepreneurs from historically underserved communities. While no single piece of legislation will solve every challenge facing minority and women-owned businesses, initiatives like this can help level the playing field and expand access to the tools needed to succeed. Supporting the SPARK Act is consistent with Boston's commitment to equitable economic development and sends a clear message that we want to see more minority and women entrepreneurs able to start businesses, grow businesses and fully participate in an innovation economy.

Madam President, this is also legislation that was filed by Senator Markey, who invited us to his initial press conference with regard to the SPARC Act, and what a great to begin to work on the local level. Madam President, I would like to add Councilor Worrell as the second original co-sponsor and request suspension of the rules to add Councilor Mejia as the third original co-sponsor I would also like to ask for a suspension of the rules to vote on this passage of this docket. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Chair. Councilor Worrell is added as a second and Seeing and hearing no objections, Councillor Mejia is added as a third. Councillor Worrell, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you to Councillor Culpepper for introducing this resolution. As Chair of the Committee on Economic and Development and as a former small business owner myself, this is something that I often think about. and starting and running a business in Boston is not easy, it's not easy anywhere and my office is always looking at the barriers that exist and asking how can we make this process easier for entrepreneurs across our city And I know this is something that Councilor Mejia has worked on throughout the year. So I just want to thank you for your leadership in this space as well. So whether it's easing the licensing process, creating more opportunity for licenses, improving language access or making sure small business owners have the technical assistance they need before they open their doors are the kind of conversations that we need to continue to have here on the Boston City Council and in this city to make sure that small businesses continue to thrive.

I know efforts like the SPARC Act move this conversation forward by expanding opportunities for minority entrepreneurs and strengthening the ecosystem So I stand today in full support of this resolution and of the SPARC Act and to make sure that we continue these conversations. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Worrell. The Chair recognizes Councillor Mejia. Councillor Mejia, you have the floor.

Thank you Madam President and I want to thank Councilor Culpepper for adding me as an original co-sponsor. Today I rise in support of strengthening place-based access resources and knowledge led by Senator Edmer Marquis, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, and Senator Cory Booker, and Senator Mazzeo-Jorino. The act creates the SPARC program that will provide grant Funding to community organizations that support small businesses, accelerators and incubators as well as the SPARC financing program to provide grants and low and many more. A vital part of our community and this bill will not only provide them with the funding but also the technical support they need. The SPARK Act seeks to address the systemic inequities faced by minority-owned businesses by investing and building a support system. Our small businesses especially those owned by minorities are facing significant barriers to opening their doors and keeping them open.

This bill addresses many of the issues brought to our attention by community and we urge the federal government to pass this legislation We look forward to seeing this program and hoping to support our minority-owned businesses as they thrive. Also, during COVID, our office was one of the lead offices that worked with private and public partners to ensure that our small businesses, particularly our immigrant minority-owned businesses, were able to sustain. We created programs, we worked alongside folks, and so I understand firsthand as someone who worked in government during that crisis that we need to do a better job at supporting our businesses because they're struggling due to everything that's happening on the federal level. So I think that now is the time for us to really rise up in support. And I also think about the Blue Hill Labs

Small businesses that are being impacted by the construction that is happening right now and providing them with the type of relief that they need to keep their doors open is something that we should all deeply care about.

Thank you, Councillor Mejia. The Chair recognises Councillor Durkan. Councillor, you have the floor.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Councilor Culpepper, for filing this. I want to thank our U.S. Senator Ed Markey, who does such an incredible job. Thinking about the pipeline of bills that we're going to need When the energy shifts at Congress, I think that the pipeline of Black-owned businesses in District 8, it's really important that we continue to foster that. It was incredible to be at the field hearing with Senator Markey. and to understand exactly what challenges black owned businesses and minority owned businesses and women owned businesses are facing. It's incredibly important that as a city that we tackle these issues head on, but it's also important that we support the federal initiatives that are actually going to make A new deal possible for businesses that need support, need permitting help, need licensing support, and need that mentorship. So it was incredible to hear from those that testified at this field hearing, and I want to thank

Culpepper, Councilor Pepén for being there with me. It was incredible. As a former staffer of Senator Markey's, it was great to see him in a professional capacity. At RCC, which, you know, is just a stone's throw away from District 8. So great to be with Councillor Culpepper there, and I fully support this resolution.

Thank you, Councillor Durkan. Anyone else wish to speak on the matter? Coletta Zapata, Collins, Culpepper, Dong, Durkan, Fitzgerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Murphy, Pepén, Santana, Councillor Weber, Councillor Worrell has already been added, and please add the Chair. Councillor Culpepper seeks suspension of the rules and adoption of Docket 0518. All those in favour say aye. Mr. Clerk, could you please take a roll call vote on docket 0518?

Roll call vote on docket number 0518, Councilor Breadon. Yes. Councilor Breadon, yes. Councilor Coletta Zapata. Yes. Councilor Coletta Zapata, yes. Councilor Culpepper.

Yes.

Councilor Culpepper, yes. Councilor Durkan. Yes. Councilor Durkan, yes. Councilor Fitzgerald. Yes. Councilor Fitzgerald, yes. Councilor Flynn.

Yes.

Flynn, yes, Councilor Louisiane, yes, Councilor Louisiane, yes, Councilor Mejia, yes, Councilor Murphy, yes, Councilor Murphy, yes, Councilor Pepén, yes, Councilor Pepén, yes, Councilor Santana? Yes. Councilor Santana, yes. Councilor Weber? Yes. Councilor Weber, yes. And Councilor Worrell? Yes. Councilor Worrell, yes. Dock number 0518 has received a unanimous vote in the affirmative.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Docket 0518 has been adopted. Mr. Clerk, could you please read Docket 0519?

Docket number 0519. Councillor Flynn offered the following. Resolution in support of a temporary rollback. for the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, also known as BERDO, and Stretch Energy Codes for five years.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Flynn. Councilor Flynn, you have the floor. Thank you, Madam Chair.

With reports continuing to show that housing production has dropped significantly in Boston in recent years from 98 All options should be on the table to increase supply and meet demand. The Boston Globe report also indicated that Boston lagged 16 PS cities in housing production in 2024 alone. I voted for Birdo, just like I voted to increase IDP Affordable Housing Requirements. I have supported environmental initiatives like this and as much or more affordable housing as anyone over the last decade. But as elected officials and policymakers, If those housing numbers aren't blinking red as an emergency, I honestly don't know what is.

Berto is a City of Boston ordinance that requires large buildings to report their annual energy and water use and establishes greenhouse gas emission standards aimed at reducing carbon pollution from the building sector. Berto is a component of the Boston Climate Action Plan. intended to help Boston meet its citywide goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 by requiring certain large buildings to gradually reduce emissions or comply through approved alternative measures. Residential buildings with 35 or more units are subject to emission compliance in 2025, while residential buildings with 15 to 34 units will be subject to emissions compliance in 2030. 35,000 square feet of non-residential buildings are subject to emission compliance in 2025. While non-residential buildings between 20,000

and 35,000 square feet will be subject to emissions compliance in 2030. Berta requires annual reporting, third party verification, reduction in total annual emissions. The city enforces compliance with daily fees. Additionally, the stretch energy code is a stricter version of the typical building code, which requires new building and major renovations to be more energy efficient than the basic state minimum. adopted the Stretch Energy Building Code in 2023, which requires developers to use heat pumps instead of gas furnaces, energy efficient ventilation systems, stronger insulation, Contract Third Party Consultants to test efficiency. During this time of great economic uncertainty, a high interest rate, environment, A high interest rate environment for several years now to stem post-pandemic inflation increased costs, tariffs.

Boston must use all tools to address the housing crisis in economic development. At this time, I'm not asking for a vote, Madam Chair. I'm asking it to be placed for a hearing so we can have an honest discussion about it. It's not the time for politics, but I want us to see the economy move forward again to get more cranes in the year. And that's important to get our economy working, get our building trades working again. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Councillor Flynn. So you don't wish to bring this up for a vote? No. So we won't have any further discussion on this issue. I will ask anyone who would like to add their name to this docket. Councillor Murphy. Thank you. Thank you. Docket 0519 will be sent to the Committee on Environmental Justice, Resiliency and Parks. Mr. Clerk, could you please read docket 0520?

Docket number 0520. Councilor Luziano for the following. Resolution commending historic graduation and dropout rate improvements. in Boston Public Schools.

Thank you. The chair recognizes Councilor Louijeune. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to add Councilor Pepén as a second original co-sponsor.

Pepén is so added.

And I'd like to add Councillor Santana as the third original co-sponsor.

Hearing and seeing no objections, Councillor Santana is added as a third.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm introducing this resolution and seeking suspension in passage. I rise today to introduce this acknowledging an important milestone in our schools. The district has reached the highest graduation rate since the state began tracking this metric while also seeing the lowest dropout rate in modern reporting history. It's important to know that these numbers are not coming from Boston Public Schools, these are numbers that DESE, the state, reviews and assesses how school districts are performing. It's one of the biggest policy successes that we've seen that is 20 years in the making. And while very much not where we want to be, it is a sign of progress. As I said previously in my hearing order about reviewing and auditing our commitments to universal pre-K, BPS doesn't do a good job of communicating when progress is actually happening. And so I wanted to take this moment to make sure that we do just that. I want to be clear about the spirit of this resolution. It's not about declaring victory.

or suggesting that the work is done. As a Boston public school kid myself who went to a variety of different schools of different calibers, I know how important it is for the morale of schools and morale of our staff to know that we are We are going in the right direction on a specific issue. Anyone who has spent time in our schools, as I try to do every single week, or in any of our hearings, we know that Boston Public Schools still face serious challenges. We continue to see challenges facing opportunities for people who look like me. We continue to see academic outcomes that lag behind for our English language learners and our students with disabilities. And we continue to have challenges with the implementation of our own graduation requirements around Mass Corps. But what I really strongly believe is that progress matters. And sometimes public discourse

spend so much time focusing on what is not working and as a public education system that is clunky and hard and trying to solve the problems of poverty and racism at the same time, I know that there's a lot of work that we have to do. But we have to also acknowledge when we are moving in the right direction, when we are inching in the right direction. And I believe that improving graduation rates for every category, which stretches across all types of students, black students, Latino students, students with disabilities, The biggest progress for our English language learners seeing a graduation rate improvement of 4.9%. That deserves for us to take a pause and say we are moving in the right direction on this category. I wanted to take a moment to say that as we continue to do this work, Councilor Santana offered Thank you.

Very much to everyone, to my co-sponsors, and I'm looking forward to a vote on this matter. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Louijeune. The chair recognizes Councillor Pepén. Councillor Pepén, you have the floor.

Thank you Madam President and thank you Councilor Louijeune for having me as a second co-sponsor. I think that you frame this perfectly that This isn't necessarily a victory declaration. We know that there's a lot of work to do. But after conversation with the superintendent and visiting multiple schools throughout just my tenure here, just to the where they acknowledge that the numbers are improving. And I was just at Bianca this past Friday talking to a senior class and hearing about their experience. I was there with you, Madam President. Being able to really hear from their stories of how they're looking forward to that next step in their life. I was able to speak last year at the O'Brien High School graduation and be able to hear about their success stories and just making sure that we are honoring What's working?

Making sure that me as a former BPS student, as a parent of a BPS student, that I really, truly want the best for our students, which is why I am glad that we're seeing numbers. We have to honor that. But also acknowledge that there's a lot of work to do and I think that that's something that we can all agree on and I'm committed to that and I'm so glad that my council colleagues are submitting hearing orders to talk about very tough topics yesterday we had a Education hearing on very two important topics as well. So these conversations, we have to commit ourselves to make sure that BPS continues to have that trajectory of moving forward and so that we can continue to celebrate our students and that Boston Public Schools continues to be and will be the best public system in the country. So thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Pepén. The chair recognizes Councillor Santana. you have the floor.

Thank you Madam President. I want to thank Councilor Nguyen for including me in this. I think again the framing of this is what's important. It's about the progress that we're making and we've been able to see that progress over the last several years. I know that early on in the year even Mayor Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper alongside I think some of our colleagues here including myself We've gone door to door to students' and families' homes to make sure that we're connecting with them. I think we need to look at all of these measures. and acknowledged again the progress that we've been able to make and then see how we can multiply that moving forward. I also want to acknowledge all the educators, the teachers, the school administrators, again, who put so much work into doing this and making sure that our students are showing up, that our students are graduating and learning.

I think it's incredibly crucial, again, to celebrate the progress that we've been able to make. So I really want to shout out, again, Councilor Louijeune for this. And I am looking forward to voting in support of this resolution. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councillor Santana. The chair recognises Councillor Murphy. Councillor Murphy, you have the floor. There was a flurry of lights all come on at the same time. I'm doing the best I can.

She was first.

It's fine. Councillor Murphy, you have the floor. Your next comes from here.

Okay. Thank you. I'd like to start off by saying I started my morning in Brighton at the Winship. I had a wonderful start to my day with some great K1 students. I want to begin by recognizing the hard work of Boston students, educators, and families. Every student who earns a diploma deserves to be celebrated. and every teacher who helped them get there deserves our appreciation. However, I will be voting no on this resolution today, not because I do not want to celebrate students, but because I believe we have a responsibility to look honestly at the data and the policy context behind these numbers. The class of 2025 was the first graduating class following the November 2024 ballot question that removed the MCAS graduation requirement. When a major graduation requirement changes, it is not surprising that graduation rates increase.

That change particularly affected groups who historically faced barriers with the MCAS, including our English language learners and our students with disabilities. At the same time, state data shows that fewer than half of Boston graduates complete the MassCore curriculum, which is the recommended course sequence for admission to many Massachusetts public colleges and universities. That means many students may graduate with a diploma but still not meet the academic preparation expected by our state colleges. There are also serious equity questions. Mass core completion is significantly higher in exam schools than in many other high schools in Boston. and in several of our neighborhood high schools the number of students completing that rigorous pathway remains very low. And when we look earlier in the pipeline, the numbers raise additional concerns.

Recent state assessment data shows from DESE that only about 17% of black eighth grade students are reading on grade level and about 15% are meeting math expectations. Those numbers tell us that many students are struggling long before they reach high school graduation. So while I absolutely celebrate every student who earned a diploma, I cannot support a resolution that frames these numbers as proof that the system is working. when the data is not showing that. So I will finish. Thank you.

Thank you. Concha Mejia, you have two minutes. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate the intent of the resolution and the desire to recognize progress. God knows we all need something to be joyful about, especially in these days, but when I have my Historic education heroes like John Mudd, Edith Brazil, and Suzanne Lee asking me to pump the brakes, I'm going to listen to the people that I serve. And so this is directly from the people right now. celebrating graduation rates without examining the full student outcome data, representing an incomplete picture of Boston public schools. For students with disabilities, the numbers tell a very different story. District data shows that thousands of students with disabilities, especially black students, remain in substantially separate placements rather than learning in inclusive classrooms with their peers. Students with disabilities also account for nearly half of the school suspensions, despite representing a much smaller share of student population.

The special education population is nearly 11,000 students or 21%. Attendance data raises similar concerns. Chronic absenteeism, I was one of those kids, remains extremely high across the district. and in some programs serving students with emotional disabilities exceeds 80%. Graduation rates must matter, but literacy and attendance and access to inclusive instruction and the foundation of graduation is equally as important. A system cannot claim success while its most vulnerable students remain unavailable, unable to read, chronically absent schools, and separate from their peers in segregated classrooms. Additionally, the data on student outcomes shows that less than 10% of multilingual learners are reaching grade level content standards on NCAS. MCAS.

In addition, only 5% of multilingual learners with disabilities are meeting grade level content standards according to MCAS. Yesterday, we heard data that only four in 10 students statewide are reading at grade level with reading scores with more than 20% below pre-pandemic levels. This is a long ass, excuse me, this is too long for me to keep reading, but I will just say, excuse me, I am not trying to be disrespectful or disruptive. I really do appreciate my colleagues and their advocacy. But when I have people who are out here advocating fiercely, I think it sends the wrong message. And therefore, I am respectfully asking for a block to suspend the rules and instead to places in my committee so that we can have an independent study to determine whether or not we should be celebrating.

I'm blocking the resolution and asking for it to be placed in my committee. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Mejia. Councillor Mejia has requested that this docket be sent to committee, so therefore there will be no further discussion. Docket 0520 will be sent to the Committee on Education. Mr. Clerk, could you please read the personnel orders, docket 0521 and 0522?

Personnel orders, document number 0521, Councilor Breadon for Councilor Durkan, and document number 0522, Councilor Breadon for Councilor Durkan.

Thank you. The chair moves for passage of docket 0521 and 0522. All those in favour say aye. Thank you. The personnel orders have been passed. We're on to green sheets. Does anyone wish to pull a docket from the green sheets? Okay. We're on to late files. Mr. Clerk, do we have any late files? We have one late file matter, which is a personnel order. I've been informed by the Clerk there's one late file absent objection. These late files matters will be added to the agenda. Mr. Clerk, could you please read the late file matter?

Late file matter, personnel order. Councilor Breadon, personnel order for central staff and city council office staff.

Thank you. The chair moves for passage of this late file matter. All those in favour say aye. The ayes have it. Thank you. The personnel order is passed. We are now moving on to the consent agenda. I have been informed by the Clerk that we have no additions to the consent agenda. The question now comes on approval of the various matters contained within the consent agenda. All those in favour say aye. The consent agenda has been adopted. We are now onto announcements. Please remember that these are for upcoming events and dates. Does anyone have announcements? If you wish to have announcements, put your light on and we'll call on you. Councillor Durkan, you have the floor.

Thank you so much. Next week we'll be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Boston Groundwater Trust, which the city council 40 years ago So I just wanted to announce to my colleagues that we'll be having a reception with the trustees ahead of the meeting, and there'll also be a presentation at the meeting. Flynn's filing today and excited to celebrate 40 years of the Boston Groundwater Trust. I proudly am a trustee and excited to get an opportunity to celebrate everything that they do to keep our Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else have an announcement?

We are also on to birthdays. Happy birthday to Julie Ryan in Councillor Fitzgerald's office, March 12th. Congratulations to Clare Brooks on leaving Councillor Webber's office. to join the Police Academy. Very good. Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. March 17th is the 250th anniversary of Evacuation Day. on auspicious date in the calendar. I've been corrected, St. Patrick's Day is March 17th. Oh, Ellen's birthday, oh. I should have written that down last week.

And we're also going to be celebrating Ellen's birthday. It's on the auspicious day of March 17th. Since she's married to an Irishman from County Down, Newry, I think it's going to be a big day in your house. Okay, happy birthday, Ellen. We're now on to memorials. Would anyone like to lift up a name? Culpepper, you have the floor.

Madam President, I'd like to lift up the name of Deacon Taylor Warnham, who was passed several weeks ago, longtime deacon at the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Deacon who served under my grandfather, who served under me, so we want to lift up his name, give his family in prayer.

Would you mind repeating the name? I haven't got my hearing, is it? Taylor. Thank you, Councillor Culpepper. Councillor Louijeune, you have the floor.

Thank you. I'd like us to end today's meeting in honor of Andre Hollywood Evans, a dear friend of ours here on the Boston City Council, Clifton Braithwaite, and also my birthday twin. I wanted to make sure we uplift Andre Hollywood Evans. May all of his loved ones know that we're thinking of him, and may his memory be a blessing. Thank you.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councillor Worrell. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. I'd like to ask the council to remember the name Damali Reed. My cousin has passed away. She was a fighter. When she was just a teenager, they told her, That she wouldn't live to see past 17. And she fought against a lot of different ailments and probably one of the strongest, toughest people that I know, and she did it. With so much grace, so much courage, and it never showed up in her personality at all. So I ask you to remember the Reed family and the name Damali Reed. Could you repeat this, Reid? R-E-I-D, Reid. And her first name? Damali.

Damali? Yes. Anyone else? The chair moves. So on behalf of Councillor Louijeune, Andre Hollywood-Evans, on behalf of Councillor Culpepper, Taylor Warnham, On behalf of Councillor Worrell, Tamale Reid. On behalf of Councillor Breadon, Jim MacIsaac. I'd also just take a moment to remember the MacIsaac family. They're near neighbours of ours in Brighton and Oak Square. Jim, a young man in his 50s, a father, a devoted husband, A great family man. We're going to miss him in Oak Square.

The chair moves that the council adjourns today as it does so in memory of the aforementioned individuals. The Council is scheduled to meet and will take a moment of silence. The Chair, the Council is scheduled to meet again in the Ionella Chamber on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026 at 12 noon. Thank you to my colleagues, central staff, the Clerk. The Clerk's Office and the Council's Stenographer. All those in favour of adjournment please say aye. The Council is adjourned.