A resolution passed by the Boston City Council on Wednesday opposed relocating the O’Bryant School of Math and Science to the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston after a hearing.
The hearing, which lasted multiple hours, had parents, teachers and alumni of the school voicing their opposition to the move, according to the Boston Globe.
Nine councilors voted against the move and two voted for the move while one councilor voted present. It is merely a symbolic gesture since the resolution has no legal power and is nonbinding
The move had been proposed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper, which would create state-of-the-art labs, green space, athletic facilities and a growth to the number of students accepted into the school, according to the Globe. It would be built on the vacant West Roxbury Education Complex on the VFW Parkway.
Critics of the proposal have pointed out that the proposed new building for the O’Bryant School of Math and Science is mostly inaccesible by public transportation, making it a challenge for families who live in the east of the city.
Boston Public Schools proposed a transportation plan and said it is in talk with MassDOT about building a stop on the Commuter Rail near the campus.
“The issue is not that O’Bryant students don’t deserve a quality facility or amazing education,” said councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson, who co-sponsored the resolution, said to the Globe . “It’s that the location then presents a problem.”
O’Bryant is the most diverse of the three exam schools in Boston, with over one third of the students identifying as Latino, 31% as black and 19% as asian.
