Janey Names Two Latina Activists To The Boston School Committee

Acting Mayor Kim Janey named two veteran Latina activists to the Boston School Committee Thursday, replacing two Latina members who resigned after sharing inappropriate text messages during a highly charged meeting focused on exam school admission policies.

Rafaela Polanco Garcia, director of parent engagement and organizing at the South End non-profit St. Stephen's Youth Programs, and Lorena Lopera, New England executive director of Latinos for Education, were sworn in Thursday as part of a press conference. The two were selected from a pool of about 14 applicants by the school committee nominating panel. They will attend their first School Committee meeting on August 4.

The appointments mean that the seven-seat body has a full complement of members as it sorts through how to spend the district's $400 million in federal pandemic relief funds.

Polanco Garcia, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, has degrees in legal studies and management and a history of bilingual advocacy. Garcia lives in public housing in South Boston. Her primary language is Spanish — a first, Janey noted, for the Boston School Committee.

Lopera lives in Jamaica Plain and is described as a "leading voice" on educator diversity and leadership development by school committee nominating panel member Betty Francisco, Chief Legal Advisor for the low-income financial assistance non-profit Compass Working Capital.

"They make a powerful combination and will bring important perspectives that reflect the diversity of the Latino families in BPS,” Francisco said in a press release.

Both women are BPS parents.

The seats they fill were vacant since June when previously withheld text message transcripts surfaced showing former members Lorna Rivera and Alexandra Oliver-Dávila making disparaging comments about the city's West Roxbury neighborhood. The two women handed in their resignations after the transcripts became public.

The uncovered text messages led a federal judge to withdraw his opinion and ask for new legal briefs in a case about the city's exam schools admission policy, a highly contentious issue that intersects with Boston's struggles with race, racism and equity.

The school committee appointments could influence Janey's campaign for a full term as mayor.

Janey was recently endorsed heavily Latino Services Employee International Union and by City Councilor Ricardo Arryo and his father, Suffolk County Register of Probate Felix Arroyo.

Janey emphasized her commitment to preserving Latino representation on the School Committee, which serves as the governing body for Boston's mainly Latino (42 percent) and Black (30 percent) school district.

Polanco Garcia and Lopera's seats end with the acting Mayor's tenure, though a spokesperson has said the mayor has asked the two to be prepared to extend their service in case she wins a full term this November.