Boston Schools Central in Vote for City’s Next Mayor
School & District Management

Boston Schools Central in Vote for City’s Next Mayor

By Lesli A. Maxwell — September 24, 2013 1 min read
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Boston voters are heading to the polls today to take the first step toward choosing a successor for Mayor Thomas Menino. Those ballots will signal a lot about what voters want from a new mayor when it comes to running the city’s public schools, which Mayor Menino has had authority over for two decades.

A field of 12 candidates will be narrowed to two in today’s preliminary vote. The first and second-place finishers will then face off in the Nov. 5 general election.

A Boston Globe poll published last week showed that the race is wide open, with roughly a third of voters reporting that they had not made up their minds.

Boston, the grizzled veteran of mayoral control, is at a major crossroads for education in the city. Carol Johnson, the long-time superintendent, retired last month and an interim chief, John McDonough, has taken over until a new mayor names a permanent replacement. The city is also undertaking a new student-assignment plan intended to offer better neighborhood school options.

Many of the dozen candidates made public school improvement the centerpiece of their campaigns. And a sampling of election day tweets show that the city’s schools are top of mind for some voters, too.

Lesli A. Maxwell
Managing Editor,  Education Week
Lesli Maxwell is managing editor of Education Week.
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A version of this news article first appeared in the District Dossier blog.