On Wednesday, March 24, hundreds of students, union members, teachers, bus drivers, school custodians, parents and community members overtook the streets outside of the Boston Public School headquarters to speak out and fight back against the $33 million in cuts to the school budget being proposed by the Boston School Committee.
The people demanded no budget cuts, no layoffs, and an end to the privatization of public education. We made our presence known through chants, noisemakers, and music. Police resorted to closing the street, at the time of rush hour, because the sidewalk outside of the school building could not contain the hundreds of people who turned out to fight back.
The BSC was afraid of the people who turned out in force against its attempts to save money on the backs of children and workers. Some of its proposals include turning down the heat in schools, laying off close to 100 school custodians, and limiting bus transportation. This “solution” is scarily reminiscent of the racist five-zone plan of last year that would severely re-segregate Boston Public Schools. (See http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=12329&news_iv_ctrl=2781)
Using the excuse that the public meeting room was full, the BSC locked the doors and used several police officers to physically prevent any of the participants in the rally from entering the meeting at the time it was due to begin.
Leaders of the action responded militantly by moving the rally site to the back of the building, where the BSC meeting was taking place, and using the sound system, speakers, and drums to drown out the illegitimate and destructive meeting taking place inside.
Those few activists who did make it into the meeting confirmed that the protestors could be heard from inside, and that there would have been plenty of space for Boston residents to enter the so-called public meeting.
The rally then moved back to the front, public side of the building where several speakers ignited the crowd, including Sandra McIntosh of the Coalition for Equal Quality Education, of which the PSL is a part. Other speakers included the leaders of the Boston Teachers’ Union; the Boston School Bus Drivers (United Steel Workers Local 8751); the Boston Public School Custodians (International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Local 1952), two city councilors, middle school students and other community organizers and activists.
Despite later news that the BSC did approve the budget in its illegitimate and exclusionary meeting, the work continues. The budget will go to the Boston City Council next month, to be voted on in June. The CEQE will continue to fight back against this damaging and racist budget that will hurt students, teachers, parents, bus drivers, custodians and other school staff, among many others.
The CEQE is planning a community summit on the issue in the near future and we will not stop fighting until we achieve true equality and quality schools for ALL students. Education is a public right.
