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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
