Appointing or Electing the Boston School Committee

Abstract

In 1996, voters in Boston overwhelmingly supported maintaining an appointed school board. In the Black community, however, a majority supported a return to an elected board, which had been in place until 1992. This article focuses on why Blacks and Whites differed over the structure of the school board. Although the appointed board voted more favorably on issues of specific concern to the African American community, Blacks were disturbed by the loss of four elected positions, a loss that accompanied the disbanding of the elected board. Moreover, they were opposed to the appointed board’s firing of the Black superintendent. Another factor leading to Black voters’ rejection of the appointed board was the high level of mobilization in the Black community in favor of an elected board. This article examines how these various factors led to a racially polarized vote on the structure of the school board.