June 2, 2026
Dear Boston City Councilors,
On behalf of the more than 10,000 active and retired educators of the Boston Teachers Union, we strongly urge you to vote to oppose the proposed Boston Public Schools Budget. This request does not come lightly, but we cannot endorse a budget which will eliminate more than 400 student-facing positions from an already under-resourced school system.
Each educator eliminated from our schools has an impact on a student’s academic career. Each position represents a class a student can not take, additional support that a struggling learner cannot access, or a needed counseling session that is no longer available. And in eliminating several hundred positions, the proposed budget sets a dangerous precedent. In difficult fiscal times, it is our most vulnerable students who will carry the weight of our struggles, and we need to stand with them.
We are calling on the City to enact a preemptive supplemental budget to add additional resources to the Boston Public Schools. This can be done by leveraging increasing state aid, modestly tapping into our growing reserve funds, or transferring money from historically over-budgeted departments. As of now, Boston Public Schools is the only city department to see jobs cut. We understand this budget was not an easy one, but the future of Boston’s children can not be what we give up.
The BTU strongly urges you to oppose the proposed Boston Public Schools budget at your June 3 meeting. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Erik Berg
President,
Boston Teachers Union