The Boston City Council has decided to present voters in November with a choice of three options for restructuring the Boston school committee, which has been criticized for its slowness in addressing tough issues facing the school system.
The council’s action came after Mayor Raymond L. Flynn proposed that the committee be changed from a 13-member elected body to a 7-member board appointed by the mayor. (See Education Week, Sept. 6, 1989.)
The nonbinding referendum will ask voters to choose from among the mayor’s proposal, the current system, or a 7-member elected board with its own taxing authority. Boston currently is the only elected school board in a major urban district that lacks the power to raise revenues.
Any change in the school committee’s structure would still require additional action by the city council and the state legislature.