Janey Names 13-Member Panel to Fill Two Boston School Committee Vacancies

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston Mayor Kim Janey announced a 13-member School Committee Nominating Panel and extended racial equity training to all School Committee members at a June 2021 press conference. Janey named Betty Francisco, a Boston Public Schools parent, Dorchester resident, and co-founder of Amplify Latinx, as one of 13 panel members charged with recommending three to five finalists within 30 days to fill two vacancies left by the resignations of two Latina committee members. Applications open June 17 to all Boston residents. Janey said she would "seek to fill that void" of Latina leadership but stopped short of a categorical commitment on the appointments' demographics. The Racial Equity and Leadership training program, already provided to city staff under chiefs Selena Barrios Milner and Lori Nelson, will be extended to all School Committee members as "a first step towards setting new rules of engagement." Janey also reported Boston's COVID-19 daily new cases had fallen below 25 on average, with 55 percent of residents fully vaccinated, and announced that Boston would observe Juneteenth as an official city holiday for the first time on June 21, 2021.