A pair of metropolis councilors are pushing for the inclusion of all metropolis youngsters in a program that’s offering free admission to a number of of Boston’s cultural establishments to public college college students and their households.
Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn filed a decision order late final week requesting the council to assist the growth of the “BPS Sundays” pilot program to incorporate the hundreds of metropolis youngsters not enrolled in public colleges.
Mayor Michelle Wu vowed throughout her State of the City in January to waive admission charges at numerous museums and establishments for BPS college students and as much as three relations on the primary two Sundays of every month by means of not less than August.
Two weeks in, “BPS Sundays” has drawn greater than 2,500 households to Boston Children’s Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, New England Aquarium and Franklin Park Zoo, officers have mentioned.
At the identical time, stress to ask metropolis youngsters who both attend constitution and parochial colleges, the METCO program, or are homeschooled, into this system has mounted.
“There are over 20,000 Boston children who are enrolled in charter and parochial schools, and who attend the METCO program that should have access to the same wonderful opportunities as our BPS students,” Murphy mentioned in a e-newsletter Saturday.
The program has caught the eye of MassGOP management, with social gathering Chair Amy Carnevale calling the choice to exclude constitution college college students “politically motivated.”
“If Mayor Wu continues with the museum initiative, the Mayor should not exclude charter school students,” Carnevale mentioned in a press release final week. “Just as families in non-charter school systems face financial struggles limiting access to these museums, so do many charter school families.”
Typically, tickets to the aquarium are $34 for adults and $25 for youngsters, and tickets to the science museum are $29 for adults and $24 for youngsters.
In the decision order, Murphy and Flynn highlighted how the initiative is “using tax dollars to fund a large portion of the million dollar expense” and steered a brand new identify for this system, “Sundays For All.”
In a press release on the constitution colleges exclusion final week, a metropolis spokesperson mentioned the administration began with simply the BPS neighborhood to “best understand how to engage community members and improve this program.”
“As we measure and learn, we hope to add more partners and resources to be able to expand the program even further,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”