Boston City Council Approves $21.3 Million for School Window Replacements at Four Campuses

BOSTON — April 15, 2026 — Boston City Council authorized $21.3 million for school window and door replacements and called for Ruggles Station to be renamed after poet Phillis Wheatley at its April 15 Tax Day session. Councillor Benjamin Weber, Chair of Ways and Means, secured a unanimous 12-0 second reading on two loan orders — $20.2 million for Adams Elementary School in East Boston and $1.1 million split among the Margarita Muniz Academy, Mildred Avenue K-8 School, and Orchard Gardens — enabling the city to advance Massachusetts School Building Authority grant applications. Councillor Brian Culpepper, leading Docket 0824 with co-sponsors Tania Mejia and Ricardo Arroyo Worrell, argued the MBTA Orange Line stop's connection to a figure linked to slavery should be replaced with recognition of Wheatley's legacy: "This is ultimately about how we choose to tell the story of our city." An online petition backing the change had topped 1,700 signatures, and colleagues credited librarian Matthew Weidman with originating the effort. The council also passed resolutions opposing a proposed $1,000 annual cap on MassHealth adult dental benefits, reaffirming the principle of no taxation without representation in the FY27 budget process, and calling for transparency at Boston's colleges and universities. Six late-filed personnel orders cleared on an 11-0 vote, but two Section 17-F information requests were placed on file after objections, a procedural standoff Councillor Murphy warned would cost three and a half weeks of budget-season response time.