The Boston School Committee is appointed by the mayor, but it wasn't always that way. Some people like that the seven-member committee is appointed and others would prefer to go back to an elected committee. There's also the option of a hybrid governance of elected and appointed.
The school committee used to be a 13-member elected committee until a public vote in 1991 changed the governance to its current form. Back then there were lots of issues with having an elected committee, including not all neighborhoods being represented fairly.
A 13-member Citizens Nominating Panel composed of parents, teachers, principals, business and higher education leaders recommend candidates of which the mayor chooses the appointees.
Some more info about Boston's School Committee: appointments are staggered four-year terms and state legislation that created the appointed School Committee, states “the Mayor shall strive to appoint individuals who reflect the racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the city.”
Recently, City Councilor At-Large Annissa Essaibi-George has held hearings about the governance of the school committee, and she filed to hold a hearing to review the nomination process of the school committee and citizens nominating process. Essaibi-George has not taken an official position on the governance structure, but feels it is necessary to make a change, said Jessica Rodriguez, the councilor's chief of staff, to Jamaica Plain News.
So what do you think should be the structure of the Boston School Committee?