Another year, another chance for Mayor Michelle Wu to sack the notion of elected school committee.

This time, it was City Councilor Julia Mejia who tested the wind, filing legislation that would move the School Committee from an appointed to elected body. Wu has already indicated that she plans to block it.

That was a quicker takedown than last year, when the City Council passed a measure to phase out the appointed school committee and replace it with a 13-member elected body made of district and at-large representatives. Wu vetoed the measure.

The mayor outlined the reason for her 2023 move in a letter:  “I cannot support legislative changes that would compromise our ability to stabilize and support the Boston Public Schools during this critical period.”

She added, “I am confident that BPS is on the cusp of the kind of transformative change that our students, families, and educators have been demanding for decades.”

Do you know what else people are demanding? An elected school committee. Mejia noted in her home rule petition that Bostonians by nearly 80% voted in favor of an elected school committee in a non-binding 2021 ballot question.

Mejia’s going ahead with the home rule petition this year: “The residents of Boston should have the right to elect their own representatives to make decisions about BPS, just like every other municipal district in Massachusetts.”

Mejia’s right, and Wu’s arguments that switching to an elected school committee is a recipe for upheaval don’t add up

“The administration’s focus,” a Wu spokesperson said, “continues to be on partnering with school communities and citywide stakeholders to strengthen academic excellence, college and career pathways, multilingual and inclusion learning, and needed facilities improvements so our students and school communities have the opportunities to thrive and succeed.”

An elected body doesn’t dilute focus, any more than electing city councilors detracts from the mission to serve the city’s constituents to the best of their abilities.

What it does do, however, is introduce the possibility of pushback.

The kind that derailed Wu’s plan, conceived with BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper, to move the O’Bryant School to West Roxbury. It was touted as a “transformative investment” for Boston, but many in the community weren’t on board. After considerable pushback, the plan was shelved earlier this year.

Parents and other stakeholders deserve a voice in how Boston Public Schools are run, especially when “transformative” changes are planned. They should get a chance for vote for School Committee members who represent their views in regard to curricula, policies and especially safety.

Having nearly 80% of voters supporting an elected committee, as seen in 2021, indicates that the desire for a change to Boston’s status quo is there. We are the only municipality in the state without an elected school committee, with no viable reason to do so.

Wu has always promoted an agenda of inclusion. Including the voices of voters in choosing a school committee would seem to fit right in. We hope Wu reconsiders her intention to block Mejia’s home rule petition.

Editorial cartoon by Steve Breen (Creators Syndicate)