Boston School Committee Okays $830 Million Budget

BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston School Committee has voted for a budget that cuts up to 300 positions through attrition and retirement, closes nine schools and merges eight others to plug a $63 million budget gap.

The committee unanimously voted to back the proposed $830 million budget Wednesday.

For the first time, Boston's schools are being allocated funds under a formula known as weighted student funding to ensure equitable funding for all 56,000 students.

The budget increases the number of teachers of English as a Second Language by 60 percent and boosts funding for disabled students by 31 percent.

But the plan has been met with resistance by some parents. Two advocacy groups also have filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education on the district's school closure plan over concerns that minority neighborhoods would be hit the hardest.

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