Protesters upset by $1B BPS budget, urge taxes on rich

[unhappycamper]

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/03/protesters_upset_by_1b_bps_budget_urge_taxes_on_rich



Boston public schools Superintendent Tommy Chang

Protesters upset by $1B BPS budget, urge taxes on rich
Marie Szaniszlo Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Boston School Committee last night on a 5-2 vote approved a proposed $1.027 billion budget that Superintendent Tommy Chang said would make targeted investments in early and special education — even as some people in the room chanted “shame on you.”

Dozens of people protested outside the meeting — and hundreds of others crowded inside with signs that read, “Tax the rich. Fully fund our schools.”

“Tonight’s vote is just one step,” Savina Tapia, the committee’s student representative, said tearfully, vowing to press Mayor Martin J. Walsh for more funding. “We have to give students hope.”

The proposed budget is $13.5 million more than this year’s. Chang said the budget included $1 million for special education support teams and $1 million for a special education data system to improve parents’ access to individualized education plans and provide BPS with data to improve services.