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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston voters showed strong support for a change to the way that the school committee is chosen for the city on election day Tuesday.
Question 3 on the ballot in Boston asked if voters supported changing the current appointed school committee structure to one elected by the citizens of Boston. The "yes" vote for the question earned nearly 79 percent of the vote with 99,088 voting in favor, according to unofficial results from the city.
This question was non-binding, which means there is no direct legislation behind it. It was used to measure support amongst citizens for a potential change to the process.
As it stands, the school committee in Boston is comprised of members appointed directly from the mayor. Recently, a campaign gained support to change this to have the school committee elected by the people of Boston. This vote shows widespread support for a change to the process.
Read More: Boston Makes History, Michelle Wu Elected Mayor
Boston's mayor-elect Michelle Wu was asked about a potential change to the appointment process for the school committee at a town hall in October. She said she supports a hybrid school committee.
"I support a majority elected committee, retaining some appointments to ensure accountability for the mayor and to also ensure that we can have representation across race, geography, and expertise," Wu said.
Changing the school committee from appointed to elected would require a public referendum and a change to the city's charter.
As for the other two ballot questions, Question 1 saw the "yes" votes win with 67 percent of the vote and Question 2 saw the "no" votes win with nearly 84 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial results from the city.
Question 1 was a binding vote that would allow the Boston City Council to make amendments to the Mayor's budget and establish a budget participation office by 2024. Question 2 was non-binding and asked voters if they support the building of a high voltage, electrical substation in East Boston.
WBZ's Jim MacKay (@JimMackayOnAir) broke down what each question does.
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