Regarding the Boston School Committee
Dear Editor,
I’m outraged that some of the people we entrust with decisions about the education of Boston’s children have proved to be biased and prejudiced, blind to the fact that our strength is in our togetherness. While I find the resignations appropriate, I am saddened by how this drives a deeper wedge in our City. An attack on any of our neighborhoods is an attack on all of our neighborhoods. This city’s strength lies in our neighborhoods — all of them — and anyone who disrespects that is not fit to represent us.
As a teacher in Boston Public Schools for 22 years, I fought for my students, their families, and our communities. Zip codes don’t determine the value of our kids or families, and that’s a core belief we all need to embrace.
I also call on the City of Boston’s Office of Public Records, as well as BPS and the City’s legal department, to investigate and explain to the people of Boston why the public record of the texts between the School Committee members at a public meeting were withheld from FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests. Public records that are released with redactions must, by law, be plainly marked as redacted and an official explanation for the redactions must be included in a FOIA response.
I’m a Boston teacher and a Mom. I know our neighborhoods, our public schools, and our kids and families very well. And I know that expressions of hate and animosity against any group will do nothing but deepen divisions and sow animosity among people. We are one city. Everyone in government and elected office, and those seeking public office, must be committed to working together, with good will toward all, to make sure Boston’s future is as bright as we know it can be, for all of us.
Erin Murphy, Candidate for Boston City Council At-large