Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 605 of the acts of 1982, as amended by chapter 343 of the acts of 1986, chapter 452 of the acts of 1948, as amended by chapter 376 of the acts of 1951 and as further amended by chapter 190 of the acts of 1952, and further notwithstanding sections one hundred and twenty-eight to one hundred and thirty-four, inclusive, of chapter forty-three of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the school committee of the city of Boston as presently constituted is hereby abolished as of the date of expiration of the terms of the incumbent members thereof and no election for school committee shall be held in 1991 or thereafter.

SECTION 2. Subject only to the provisions of this act, the school committee of the city of Boston shall consist of seven appointed members. The mayor of Boston shall have the power to appoint the seven members of the school committee subject to the provisions governing the nominating panel as set forth in this act. The members of the school committee shall at all times during their terms of office be Boston residents. The mayor shall strive to appoint individuals who reflect the ethnic, racial and socioeconomic diversity of the city of Boston and its public school population.

SECTION 3. All existing powers and duties hitherto exercised by the Boston school committee, including the powers and duties set forth in chapter 613 of the acts of 1987, shall henceforth be exercised by the seven member appointed school committee.

SECTION 4. The term of office of the members of the school committee shall be four years and shall commence on the first day of the municipal year; provided, however, that of the members initially appointed one shall be appointed for a term of one year, two shall be appointed for a term of two years, two shall be appointed for a term of three years, and two shall be appointed for a term of four years. Upon the appointment of all seven members by the mayor, the city clerk shall administer the oath of office to the school committee and they shall subscribe in the book kept by the city clerk in accordance with the provisions of St.1948, c.452, s.11A, as amended by St.1983, c.342, s.1. The office of each member shall expire upon the expiration of the term of said member and shall become vacant. Any member whose term of office shall expire may be considered for reappointment, but only if renominated by the nominating panel. A president of the school committee shall be elected annually by its members at the first meeting in each municipal year.

SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, the members of the school committee appointed pursuant to this act shall not have the authority to hire personal staff; provided, however, that a paid administrative assistant may be appointed by the president of the school committee.

SECTION 6. There shall be in the city of Boston a nominating panel composed of thirteen members whose sole function shall be to nominate persons for consideration by the mayor for appointment to the school committee. Representation on the panel and the selection of said members shall be as follows:

(a) Four parents of children in the Boston public school system as follows: (i) one parent who shall be selected by the citywide parents council; (ii) one parent who shall be selected by the citywide educational coalition; (iii) one parent who shall be selected by the Boston special needs parent advisory council; and (iv) one parent who shall be selected by the bilingual education citywide parent advisory council.

(b) One teacher in the Boston public school system who shall be selected by the Boston teachers union from its membership.

(c) One headmaster or principal in the Boston public school system who shall be selected by the Boston association of school administrators and supervisors from its membership.

(d) One representative from the Boston business community as follows: one representative each shall be selected by the private industry council, the Boston municipal research bureau, and Boston chamber of commerce from their respective memberships. Such representatives shall serve on a rotating basis as follows: the representative from the private industry council shall serve for the first year of the first term of the nominating panel; the representative from the Boston municipal research bureau shall serve for the second year of the first term of the nominating panel; the representative from the Boston chamber of commerce shall serve for the first year of the second term of the nominating panel; and so forth.

(e) One president of a public or private college or university who shall be selected by the chancellor of higher education of the commonwealth.

(f) One person shall be the commissioner of education of the commonwealth.

(g) Four persons who shall be appointed by the mayor. The members of the nominating panel shall be selected from time to time no later than September thirtieth and shall serve for a term of two years, except as otherwise provided in this section. In the event that any member does not complete his or her term for any reason, the person or entity who selected such member shall select another person in like manner to complete the unexpired term.

SECTION 7. (a) The nominating panel annually shall from among its membership elect a chairman who shall forthwith file a list of the names and addresses of the members of the panel with the city clerk. The panel shall meet in public for the sole purpose of deliberating upon, hearing public comment with respect to, and finally selecting a list of nominees to be presented to the mayor from time to time. Each nominee shall be a resident of Boston at the time of such nomination. The panel shall strive to nominate individuals who reflect the ethnic, racial and socioeconomic diversity of the city of Boston and its public school population.

(b) The first nominating panel shall convene itself in a municipal building within thirty days after the effective date of this act. It shall hold such meetings as it deems necessary and shall present to the mayor a list containing the names and addresses of not fewer than twenty-one nominees not later than December 2, 1991, from which the mayor shall appoint seven persons to serve as members of the school committee; provided, however, should the panel fail to present said list to the mayor by December 2, 1991, the mayor shall have the power to appoint any person he deems suitable to the office of school committee for the terms to commence in the following January.

(c) In 1992 and thereafter, on the first Wednesday of October of every year the nominating panel shall convene to select not fewer than three but not more than five nominees for each office of school committee member that shall become vacant on the first day of the next municipal year. No later than the first Monday in December of each year, the panel shall present to the mayor a list containing the names and addresses of the said nominees for each term of office to commence on the first day of the next municipal year; provided, however, should the panel fail to present said list to the mayor by said first Monday in December, the mayor shall have the power to appoint any person he deems suitable to the office of school committee for the term to commence in the following January.

(d) Upon notice provided by the city clerk that a vacancy exists in the office of any school committee member due to death or resignation, the panel shall convene within ten days of such notice and shall, within thirty days after so convening, select and present to the mayor a list containing the names and addresses of not fewer than three but not more than five nominees. Within fifteen days after such presentment, the mayor shall appoint a school committee member to serve the unexpired term of the vacant office; provided, however, should the panel fail to present said list within said thirty days, the mayor shall have the power to appoint any person he deems suitable to the vacant office to serve said unexpired term.

SECTION 8. The state secretary shall cause to be placed on the official ballot to be used in the city of Boston at the regular general state election in the year nineteen hundred and ninety-six the following binding question: "Shall an act passed in the General Court in 1991, entitled 'An Act Reorganizing the School Committee of the City of Boston' be repealed as of January 1998 and in place thereof the school committee structure as existing in 1991 be reconstituted after an election held in 1997 " If a majority of the votes cast on this question is in the affirmative, this act shall cease to be effective as of the first Monday in January, 1998, and the incumbent members of the school committee serving pursuant to this act shall cease to hold office, provided, however, that in place thereof a school committee shall be elected under existing law in the year 1997 and the members so elected shall take office on the first Monday in January, 1998.

SECTION 9. The nominating panel and the mayor shall carry out their respective powers and duties conferred and imposed by the provisions of this act in a manner that shall allow the appointed school committee to assume their powers and perform their duties on the first day of the municipal year in 1992.

SECTION 10. This act shall not be amended or repealed except by the vote of the people as provided in section 8 or by special act passed in conformance with art.89 of the amendments to the constitution of the commonwealth.

SECTION 11. This act shall take effect upon its passage.