BTU Publishes Budget Analysis:

Funding Increases Fail to Reach Students

BTU and AFT MA members marched to Boston Common leading up to the 3rd No Kings Rally where AFT MA President Jessica Tang spoke before a crowd of nearly 200,000 people.

Good Morning,

We wish all members who observe Passover a joyous start to the holiday tomorrow, April 1st. Also, Happy Easter to our members who plan to celebrate this upcoming Sunday. Remember that schools will be closed for Good Friday on April 3.

April 1 is also National Paraprofessional Appreciation Day! Paraprofessionals are the backbone of our school communities who play a pivotal role in ensuring our students receive the support and services they need. Please take a moment today to show your gratitude to your paraprofessional colleagues.

When Student Needs Rise and Staffing Falls

The BTU released a report this morning analyzing how the City of Boston and Boston Public Schools allocates its funding and offers an alternative that would better support our shared mission of providing a high quality education to our students.

In the proposed FY27 BPS budget, rising costs are largely absorbed through reductions in school-based staffing. While the proposed budget increases spending by 4.5 percent to $1.71 billion, the budget balances those increases by eliminating 569 staff positions across the district, including 234 positions at schools that will remain open. Maintaining current services in FY27 creates an estimated $48 million school-level budget impact.

Additionally, the city’s certified free cash has grown from $441 million in FY23 to $552 million in FY25, providing the City with additional fiscal flexibility. These indicators point to a city with capacity and flexibility in fully funding our schools.

CONCLUSIONS

 

The findings in this analysis demonstrate that projected reductions fall disproportionately on:

• Schools serving the highest concentrations of high-needs students
• Special education paraprofessionals and in-school support staff
• Multilingual learner services, despite multilingual students comprising more than one-third of district enrollment and prior documented reductions in ELL funding (BMRB Research Updates, March 2024; February 7, 2025)
• A paraprofessional workforce that is more than 70 percent Black and Latino

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Commit more of the City Budget to Protect Student Services: Allocate an additional 0.5% of the City’s operating budget (approximately $25 million) to reduce the projected school-level impact of FY27 cost growth and protect student-facing services in active schools and classrooms during the first year of RSF implementation.

• Establish Guardrails for High-Needs Schools During RSF Implementation: Ensure that the transition away from hold harmless and soft landing funding does not produce disproportionate staffing reductions in schools serving the highest concentrations of high-needs students.

• Redirect Vacancy Savings to School-Based Staffing: Track salary savings from unfilled positions and automatically reinvest those funds in school-level staffing before the end of the fiscal year.

• Protect School-Based Special Education Services: Ensure that projected increases in special education spending do not coincide with reductions in in-school support staff by restoring paraprofessional capacity and publishing a detailed breakdown of special education spending growth.

• Ensure Multilingual Staffing Adjustments Are Proportional: Review reductions in bilingual paraprofessional and language-specific instructional positions to ensure staffing reductions do not exceed enrollment decline in schools serving multilingual learners (MLs).

Thanks to the hard work of our BTU Researcher Bianca Ortiz-Wythe, we have a policy prescription to address some of the challenges our members are confronting every day. This report also provides a direction for the powerful activism and advocacy that BTU members, students, parents and community members have displayed since the BPS budget proposal was first released.

(L) BTU members and coalition partners pack the City Council chamber to advocate for funding that would maintain the current level of available student services. (R) 200 people gather for a “Let BPS Students Bloom” Stand-Out before heading into City Hall to testify before the City Council.

Last Tuesday more than 200 people gathered for a “Let BPS Students Bloom” Stand-Out on City Hall Plaza prior to a budget hearing before the City Council. Our coalition then delivered flowers to the City Council to encourage them to use their power to direct additional funding into our schools and therefore the future of this city. Parents, students and educators packed the chamber and testified for more than two hours about how the proposed cuts to staffing and student services would harm student outcomes and jeopardize recent gains. One city councilor even remarked that it was the most full he’s ever seen the chamber. Let’s build on our momentum: Take a moment right now to send a message to Mayor Wu and city councilors at bit.ly/StopBPSCuts.

Then on Saturday, BTU members showed up in force for the third No Kings Rally on Boston Common. Organizers estimate that approximately 200,000 people showed up in Boston to contribute to one of the largest public protests in U.S. history. AFT MA President Jessica Tang delivered a powerful speech encouraging the crowd to keep up the momentum for International Workers Day on May 1st. President Tang also emphasized the importance of showing solidarity with immigrant workers who are being persecuted and scapegoated by the Trump Administration.

Check out the Events section below for details on how you can participate in the Immigrant Pride Week of Action.

 

Update on Health Insurance Coverage

Last week, the Public Employee Committee (PEC), which represents all City of Boston employee unions, unanimously approved an agreement with the City of Boston. The agreement would reduce the overall cost of health insurance for employees, their families and the City; maintain coverage of GLP-1 medications for city employees; and restore some positions that were slated to be cut. This agreement added “utilization management (UM)” to non-specialty medications for the Blue Cross/Blue Shield health plans. Utilization Management basically requires that doctors get approval from insurance providers before prescribing a drug. UM is already in place for the MGB plan, and for specialty drugs under BCBS. This allows members who rely on GLP-1 drugs for weight loss to maintain coverage, but may come with additional requirements.

As we gear up for the next round of contract negotiations, we are seeking applications from members interested in serving on the BTU Negotiating Team. There is one spot available, and we are seeking an elementary general education classroom teacher.  If you are interested in this role, please send a resume and statement of interest to eberg@btu.org by no later than April 15.

Check out more photos from this past weekend on our Facebook!

BTU Events and Announcements

Action Toolkit: Fight BPS Staffing Cuts 
Over half our schools are expecting budget cuts next school year. We are fighting back for the fully-funded schools Boston students deserve! Use this toolkit to help you educate and organize at the school-level so students, parents/families, and educators understand the proposed BPS budget for next school year, how the budget impacts your school, and how we fight back. Toolkit can be found at tinyurl.com/BTU26Toolkit 

NEW! BTU Negotiating Team Application

As we gear up for the next round of contract negotiations, we are seeking applications from members interested in serving on the BTU Negotiating Team. There is one spot available, and we are seeking an elementary general education classroom teacher.  If you are interested in this role, please send a resume and statement of interest to eberg@btu.org by no later than April 15.

Dual Language & Inclusion: BTU Member Meeting

Do you work in a dual language school or classroom? How is the inclusion rollout going in your program? The BTU is hosting two opportunities to join in a conversation about best practices and challenges with the rollout of inclusion in dual language settings. We hope you can join to connect with colleagues and share your experience at one of the meetings!

Date: April 9th, 3:30pm, Registration link

Date: April 14th, 4:15pm, Registration link

 

Inclusion Planning Teams Survey
BTU Educators! Are you on your school-based Inclusion Planning Team (IPT)? Please fill out this 1-minute survey to let us know if families are on your team and if you have received your first stipend. Please share the link with others on your IPTs. SURVEY LINK

StudySync Curriculum Survey for BTU Members
A group of BTU members is organizing to gather input from BTU members who teach with the StudySync secondary ELA curriculum. Your feedback will help us understand your experience with the curriculum and determine the next steps in our organizing. The information in this survey will only be shared among BTU members, but the themes and aggregated data may be shared more widely. Fill out the survey here!

Serve on the BTU Election Committee: Letters of Interest due April 8th!

BTU internal elections will be held next May/June 2027. These elections are conducted by an Election Committee made up of BTU/RTC members in good standing. If you are interested in serving on this committee. please submit a statement of interest to bcanelo@btu.org by April 8, 2026. The BTU President will submit up to 15 names to the Executive Board at their April meeting and then names are brought before the membership for approval. This is a great opportunity to serve your union, help ensure a smooth and fair election process and have fun. Meetings are generally once a month starting in June, 2026. Candidates running for office, including Executive Board, are not eligible to serve on the Election Committee.

NEW-BTU Reading Committee: Survey on Dyslexia in BPS

The BTU Reading Committee is investigating what happens in the BPS special education process when a student is suspected of having dyslexia. Help us better understand current trends and practice across BPS about one of the most common learning disabilities! Please share your insights in our (anonymous) survey here

 

Unafraid Educator Week: April 13th-17th

We are asking all schools to stand in solidarity with our immigrant students and families by participating in the Unafraid Week of Action from April 13th-17th. Join us for our next monthly meeting on April 6th at Fenway High from 4:30-6pm. Please go to bit.ly/Unafraid2026 for more information on how to get involved.

 

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.

Black Educators’ Alliance of MA: Celebrating 60 Years on April 18th

On April 18th, we’re honoring the 60th anniversary of the founding of BEAM with a themed celebration: “Education for Liberation” This is more than an anniversary. It’s a call to action. A call to connection. A moment when organizations, educators, and communities come together and say: we’re all in this fight together. Register at: https://bit.ly/BEAMis60

May Day! International Workers and Immigrant Solidarity: May 1st

May Day is a global holiday that celebrates international worker solidarity, and in Boston, it has been a powerful day to celebrate our immigrant communities. Join the BTU and others to stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors and school communities on the Boston Common Friday afternoon. The event is still in its planning phase so please share any thoughts on what you would like to see this year! RSVP to stay up to date.

 

Educator Appreciation Night at the Red Sox’s May 8th

Red Sox vs the Rays 7:10 pm R.F. Grandstand 5 on May 8th 2026. Tickets are not confirmed until paid. Once you fill out the form, a PayPal invoice will be sent for tickets. Tickets are $33.00 each

BTU Members joined a coalition of students, parents and community advocates to testify before the Boston City Council on March 24th to advocate for further investment into staffing and student services.

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.

• MFA Educator Institute Teaching “America at 250”: August 10-14, 2026
• Joy of Learning Grant
• 4/9: Secondary History Telescope Network Learning Site (10-3:30pm)
• World Languages Spring Professional Development

Community Events

BEJA is hiring! Part-Time Youth Organizer and Part-Time Parent Organizer

The Boston Education Justice Alliance is hiring:

✨ Part-Time Youth Organizer

✨ Part-Time Parent Organizer

We’re looking for passionate community leaders who believe in student voice, family power, and fully funded, equitable public schools. If you’re ready to organize, advocate, and build collective power in Boston, we want to hear from you. Email Keo with questions: Keo@bostoneja.org. Click here to learn more.

 

Place Based Boston Workshop Summer 2026 – America 250

Place-Based Boston (PBB) is a collaborative of historically significant natural and cultural sites: Museum of African American History, National Park Service, Old North Church, Paul Revere House, Revolutionary Spaces. Throughout the two-day workshop, teachers will explore how Place-Based Boston sites and the concepts of America 250 best support teaching and learning. More information and application here

Climate Change in the City: Place-based Science in Boston: Application due March 31st

The Stone Living Lab is offering a free, five-day course to explore Boston Harbor through the lens of climate change, place-based learning, and participatory science. At the end of the course, participants will develop a capstone project, lesson, or curriculum that can be used by schools across Boston Harbor. Join us from July 20 – 24, 2026 for five days of learning and exploration in Boston.

Link to Apply

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