A $1.5 million campaign of BPS MBTA ads criticizing Boston Public Schools’ academic results went up on subway cars on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and the transit agency began taking them down the next day. That set off a dispute over why they were removed, involving the nonprofit behind the ads, the MBTA, Mayor Michelle Wu’s office and the Boston Teachers Union, according to reporting by The Boston Globe and the State House News Service via WBUR.
What the BPS MBTA Ads Said
The posters read “BPS IS FAILING HER” or “BPS IS FAILING THEM” over images of children, along with the line “In Boston Public Schools, 70% of third graders can’t read or do math at grade level,” NBC Boston reported. Some versions added, “We can fix it, together.” The campaign was run by Next Chapter Boston, a coalition within the K-12 advocacy nonprofit MassPotential, which is led by former Boston School Committee member Mary Tamer. The group sought placements on the Red and Orange lines, the Needham and Fairmount commuter rail lines and city buses. It also plans billboards and streaming video, according to the State House News Service.
Tamer told the Globe that the children pictured do not attend BPS and that the ads were made by an out-of-state agency. She said about seven or eight donors gave the $1.5 million. She named two of them, local philanthropists Rick Burnes and Michael Champa, and declined to identify an anonymous out-of-state foundation.
The MBTA’s Stated Reasons
MBTA spokesperson Maya Bingaman told the Globe the ads “do not comply with the MBTA’s advertising guidelines and were placed in the system by our advertising contractor without the required MBTA review prior.” Another T spokesperson, Lisa Battiston, later told the Globe that “the MBTA does not accept political advertisements or issue advocacy or endorsements.”
An email from OUTFRONT, the T’s advertising contractor, that was shared with the State House News Service said the ads were “flagged” and removed “per MBTA orders — based on the copy itself.” The MBTA’s feedback, as relayed in that email, said the T was “unable to determine whether the ad meets the criteria” for nonprofit public service announcements. It also quoted guideline sections on content that is demeaning, an endorsement, misleading, or libelous. The T’s guidelines say the agency intends to set “uniform, viewpoint-neutral standards” for advertising.
Campaign, City Hall and Union Responses
Tamer said the T had approved the ads weeks earlier and called the removal censorship. “Why is telling the truth about the poor outcomes in the BPS against the standards of the MBTA?” she told the Globe. Champa told the paper that when “seven of 10 kids in the city of Boston can’t read at grade level, that borders on a crisis.”
Wu spokesperson Veronica Yoo said “neither the city nor BPS has had any communication with the MBTA” about placing or removing the ads, the Globe reported. Yoo also said the funders’ money “would be far better invested directly in the educational opportunities and resources our kids deserve.” Hoodline reported that City Councilor Ed Flynn accused the mayor of directing the removal, which her office denied.
BPS spokesperson Sujata Wycoff said the district’s “focus remains on improving the education for all of our students.” Boston Teachers Union Executive Vice President Lea Serena said test-score declines are not unique to Boston and suggested the group direct its money toward restoring funds she said the Trump administration has taken from public school students.
The MCAS Numbers Behind the Dispute
In MCAS results released in late September, 29% of BPS students in grades 3 through 8 met or exceeded expectations in English and math, and about one-third of 10th graders met that standard, according to the State House News Service. Both figures are below statewide results. The Globe reported that city officials highlighted gains in grade 6 and 8 math and in 8th-grade science, and that most BPS students are classified by the state as high-needs. BPS spent about $34,000 per student in 2024, the most recent state figure, the Globe reported.
Tamer said Next Chapter Boston expects further conversations with the T. The MBTA did not respond to the State House News Service’s requests for comment. The dispute comes as the Wu administration also faces attention on other school operations, including Boston school bus on-time performance and its new AI fluency initiative for BPS seniors.
Sources: The Boston Globe; WBUR/State House News Service; NBC Boston; Hoodline.