A councilor in Boston supported by the mayor in the last election canceled a hearing he was leading about expanding a mayoral initiative that allows all schoolchildren to visit museums for free. looking to expand a mayoral initiative that waives museum fees for BPS students to include all schoolchildren.
The office of Councilor Henry Santana, who previously worked for the mayor, sent an email to the office of Councilor Ed Flynn Friday night, saying that the March 18 committee hearing was canceled because Santana wanted more time to study data that the mayor’s office has been collecting during the pilot phase of BPS Sundays.
Flynn and Councilor Erin Murphy, who co-sponsored a resolution seeking an expansion, said they were blindsided by the cancellation, which came about a week after the mayor’s former campaign aide Councilor Sharon Durkan objected to their call for an immediate vote on the measure, automatically sending it to committee.
Flynn expressed disappointment about the cancellation, emphasizing the importance of providing equal access to museums for all families, regardless of politics.
Flynn and Murphy said they had not spoken with Santana as of Saturday evening about the change in schedule. The cancellation notice was received by the city clerk shortly before 5:30 p.m. Friday, and posted publicly with no explanation.
“I was looking forward to the hearing and talking with my colleagues on how to expand this program. That’s a great opportunity, but I’ve been very open and vocal since the beginning that I don’t think we should only be offering this to only students who attend BPS.”
Flynn and Murphy have been critical of the mayor’s decision to exclude non-BPS students from the program since it was announced in her state of the city address in late January.
They have characterized their resolution as a chance to rectify the unfair exclusion of many low-income and minority families whose students attend charter, parochial or private schools or take part in the METCO program, and can’t afford the cost of a museum visit.
Flynn and Murphy filed a 17F request last week, sent to the Wu administration by the Council with a 7-day deadline, for data around how the program is being funded — between APRA and philanthropic funds — and how many students have participated so far, which the mayor said two weeks in was about 2,500 families.
Mayor Michelle Wu told the Herald last week that the funding isn’t there to expand the $1 million program during the seven-month pilot period that extends through August, stating her decision to keep it open to only BPS students was based on the finances of the participating institutions, rather than any political motivations.
A spokesperson for Santana said the councilor supports an expansion of the program, but that he wants it to run for a few more Sundays to have a better sense of the data, in addition to the first few weeks covered by the 17F, before holding a hearing. He has picked a potential hearing data, which wasn’t disclosed.
Santana stated that he values his colleagues’ requests for information about the first three Sundays and believes in using data for the council’s work.
He also mentioned that they will have a better understanding of the program's usage and potential expansion after the pilot program has been running for more than a few Sundays and more data is available.
Flynn expressed his belief that the funding is available and he and Murphy are advocating for immediate expansion during the pilot phase.
The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
