BPS to propose 26-27 SY Budget to School Committee on Wednesday

Happy National School Counselor Week! Join us in thanking our colleagues for the essential work they do to help students reach their full potential in and out of the classroom. The BTU and AFT MA Black Caucus welcomes all members to our union hall this Friday, February 6, for a combined celebration of Black History Month, Black Lives Matter at Schools week and Kwanzaa. There will be food, dancing and tabling from local black businesses and community organizations. The celebration begins at 5pm at our union hall, let us know if you can make it!

February 2nd through the 6th is the Black Lives Matter at Schools annual Week of Action. Check out their website for ideas and resources to use in lesson plans. You can also look through this list compiled by the City of Boston for Black History events happening across the city throughout February.

Our monthly membership meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday, Feb. 11th, starting at 4:30 at the BTU Hall at 180 Mt. Vernon Street in Dorchester. At this meeting, the membership will be voting on a proposal that will affect the start date of the 2026-2027 school year to accommodate the late Labor Day this year. More details can be found at the end of this message.

BPS officials will present the district’s budget proposal to the School Committee at its next meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm this Wednesday, Feb. 4. The meeting is virtual, so please register if you would like to attend. The district announced in January that it is freezing discretionary spending for the remainder of this school year to address a $53 million dollar deficit.

The funding drop-off for next fiscal year is going to be much more severe than in recent years and will result in positions being cut in schools across the district. Use this “BPS Budget Basics” presentation to help you educate and organize educators, parents, and students at your school. Fill out this survey if you have concerns about budget cuts at your school for next year. For information on the excessing and layoff process for both teachers and members of the paraprofessional bargaining unit, please consult our FAQ page.

There are many causes for the budget cuts the district is proposing. The drop in value of commercial properties has reduced Boston tax revenue, BPS enrollment continues to drop, 5 additional schools will be closed in September, and federal funding has been significantly cut. Unexpected increases in employee health insurance rates are driving up costs. Regardless of the causes, students and educators shouldn’t be forced to bear the brunt of consequences. Laying off paraprofessionals, behavioral specialists, counselors, nurses, psychologists and teachers in our schools may save the district some money but it doesn’t improve the student learning experience.

The BTU is already advocating for the City of Boston to fund the increase in health insurance costs, and to provide adequate funding to BPS to prioritize students. We’re also working with our community allies on Beacon Hill to speak directly with lawmakers to address state funding issues. One area of advocacy is for state funding to mitigate the harm for districts, like Boston, that have seen steep enrollment drops due to the federal government’s lawless assaults on immigrant communities.  We are also seeking full funding of some budget items. We’ll soon share details on how you can join our fight for fair public education funding.

Excessing Process

As mentioned above, the BTU has compiled Excessing FAQs for members of the Teachers bargaining unit and the Paraprofessionals bargaining unit. We encourage you to check out the FAQ if you have any questions. If you work at an autonomous school (other than UP Academy Holland or the Dearborn), you should have already received a notice if your position is being excessed. Paraprofessionals can rescind their self-excessing decision by February 14th.

The School Department annually offers an incentive of a one-time $1,500 payment for teachers (and now paraprofessionals — we won that in our most recent contract!) who provide the district notification of their retirement at the end of the school year by January 9. This year, the district has agreed to extend that deadline until February 13. If you know that you will be retiring at the end of the school year, we encourage you to take advantage of this incentive. Information can be found in Superintendent’s Circular HRS-PP08.

Lack of Shared Decision Making at Snowden High School

At the Muriel Snowden International School, the current school administration has placed both Japanese and French language instruction on the chopping block! Half of the current language options, at an international school, are about to be cut. There is no budget shortfall, no need to make these changes for next year. It is a strategy being adopted over the objections of students, families, staff, and the School Site Council. The staff at Snowden have organized to put a stop to this needless reduction in the curriculum. Our contract calls for Shared Decision Making, and the BTU, and Snowden staff, are asking for this decision to be shared, and the role of the School Site Council to be honored.

Membership Meeting Vote on SY 26-27 calendar

Labor Day in 2026 is September 7, the latest date it can possibly be. This, combined with contractual holidays and vacations, means that there are not 185 possible school days between the Thursday after Labor Day, which is typically the first day of school for BPS students, and June 30, which is the final day schools are allowed to schedule days. Therefore, the School Department reached out to us and we have arrived at a solution in concept. It would mean that for SY 26-27 only, BTU staff would report for work on Wednesday and Thursday, September 2 and 3. Students in grades 1-12 would report for school the Tuesday after Labor Day, and kindergarteners would begin classes on September 10. This happens every few years, most recently in 2015. Again, there will be a vote on whether to accept this schedule change at our membership meeting on Feb. 11th

BTU Events and Announcements

NEW School Defense 101 Teach-in: Feb. 5, 7pm Zoom

In collaboration AFT MA and MTA, this webinar for educators will cover how to quickly set up a school safety team, get new resources, and get info on how to plug in to your community’s rapid response network. We will also hear directly from other educators who have successfully set up safety & rapid response teams at their schools. Register HERE!

Please join us at Zoom on Monday, February 9th at 4:30 for our next Unafraid Educators Meeting. We are the BTU’s Immigrant Rights Organizing Committee, and work to support our Undocu+ students and families. Please click here to register for the meeting.

Teaching Climate Change/Justice Focus Group & Social: Feb. 5th

Join the BTU Climate Change & Justice Committee’s focus group to engage in conversation and share your ideas on what Climate Change related information and skills BPS should be teaching our students. Thurs. 2/5/26 , 4:30-6:00 PM, at the BTU Hall. The five BTU members on the joint BTU-BPS Climate Curriculum Committee (that we won in the last contract!) will be there to take your ideas back to the Committee. There will be light refreshments and beer/wine. RSVP here.

Union Night with the Dropkick Murphys: Buy tickets by February 20th

The BTU has a collection of tickets reserved for the annual Dropkick Murphy’s Union Fundraiser concert at the MGM Music Hall on Lansdowne Street. It will be $65 per ticket, which includes access to a pre-show acoustic performance with the band and a custom t-shirt. Please reserve by Feb. 20th, a paypal link for payment will be shared after you complete the form.

Retired Teachers Chapter Scholarships: Application Deadline April 7

Each year the Retired Teachers’ Chapter of the Boston Teachers’

Union awards three scholarships to deserving high school seniors who

are the children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces or

grandnephews of RTC members. One of these scholarships is

earmarked for a student who chooses to attend a vocational school or

equivalent institution. Applications for these scholarships can be downloaded from the BTU website or picked up at the BTU office.

BTU Dependent Scholarships: Application Deadline April 10

The BTU will be offering 16 scholarships in the amount of $2,000 to high school seniors who are dependents of dues-paying BTU members. If you’re interested in applying for the scholarship, please contact Michelle Frank (mfrank@btu.org) or download this form.

Professional Learning & Development Updates

Each week, we have many new and exciting Professional Learning & Development opportunities to share with you. You can find a full description of each listing on our Professional Learning & Development Updates Page.

• Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood Classrooms Connect & Share: Mon, Feb 9th and March 9th, 5:30-7:00PM
• Telescope: Language in Centers Learning Site (K1) 8:00-2:00
• Co-Teaching Structures: Parallel Teaching Learning Site: February 4, 8 AM -1:30 PM
• Middle School Day of Learning: March 9, 8am-2:30pm
• MTSS Learning Cohort Session 3 on “Supporting Multilingual Learners through MTSS”
• Wicked Math Learning Site Series: Feb 12 or Feb 26

Community Events

CitySprouts Boston Area School Garden Conference, Feb. 28, 9:00-3:00

You are invited to join a cohort of local educators, gardeners, and administrators to: Build the greater Boston school gardening community, brainstorm ideas for inclusive curriculum and lesson models, and discuss how to create a greener future for youth in underserved, overpaved communities.

The day will feature panel discussions, presentations, interactive workshops, and breakfast & lunch. Registration

Teaching 250 Years of Immigration: February 25, 4:30-5:30PM

This free webinar, co-hosted by The Immigration Learning Center and the Institute for Immigration Research, invites educators to examine how immigration has shaped the nation from the Revolutionary era to the present day. Designed for K–12 educators, this session blends historical content, data literacy, and classroom practice to support inclusive and inquiry-based teaching in the lead-up to America’s 250th. Learn more and register here.

Citizens for Public Schools: Ice and Schools Webinar on Feb. 26

Join us Thursday, February 26 at 6:30pm for Citizens for Public Schools’ ICE and Schools webinar. Empower yourself by learning from front-line educators about the impact of ICE on our schools and communities. Learn what is being done to protect immigrant students and how individuals and communities can help. Learn more about the event and registration here

Voices of Boston Public Schools: 1st World Languages Week March 9th-13th

Join us for the first-ever BPS World Languages Week! We are celebrating our vibrant multilingualism with a district-wide Spirit Week featuring daily themes. Students: enter the poster contest. All staff, students & community: submit a video that celebrates “Voices of Boston Public Schools. Learn more here!

Practical Strategies for Supporting Immigrant Students with Disabilities Webinar: March 10, 4:00-5:30PM

This free, 90-minute webinar focuses on practical, classroom-based strategies K–12 educators can use to ensure meaningful access to education for multilingual learners with disabilities, how to make content-rich history and civics instruction more accessible, and how to better support Latino students with ADHD. Join us on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, from 4:00-5:30 PM ET. Learn more and register here.

My America Project: Nationwide arts & civic engagement program
The My America Project is offering USA Flag Kits to classrooms nationwide. The kits allow students to create art pieces which demonstrate their definition of American principles. Classrooms submissions will then be stitched together into a large American flag that will displayed at TBD location in Boston. Register your classroom here!

Educating for Peace: A Teachers’ Conference for Nuclear Disarmament Education: April 24th-26th

The weekend-long conference seeks to bring together and empower middle and high school teachers to explore effective ways to teach students about the threats and historical legacies of nuclear weapons and instill in them a deep sense of shared responsibility and commitment to safeguarding the future of humanity’s peaceful existence. The conference is free, but requires an application. More details and the application can be found here on our website, including a write-up on last year’s conference.

In Memoriam

Carol McCarthy, a long-time BTU member and modern language teacher at Boston Latin School, passed away on Dec. 23. Carol’s friends and family will remember her passion for photography and travel, and her joy for leading student trips to France. Her memorial services have passed but you can read her full obituary here.

Thank You for Reading

Please send your comments and questions to us at bulletin@btu.org, or call the BTU at 617-288-2000.