Agassiz School and Eight Others Closed By School Committee

The Boston School Committee unanimously voted for a controversial plan to close and merge local schools.

The sweeping reform of the system, which serves 56,000 students, was crafted by Superintendent Carol Johnson.

Known as "Redesign and Reinvest," the plan closes nine schools, merges 10 others, and expands some schools and programs. The goal is plugging a $63 million budget gap while boosting the quality of the remaining schools. Closures and mergers would trim more than $10 million a year from the budget, Johnson has said.

Those plans include shuttering Jamaica Plain's , a move that has drawn protests from parents and teachers.

The Agassiz has longstanding maintenance problems, including poor air quality and claims of mold making some teachers sick. That led some city councilors to declare that the building should be torn down and rebuilt. Over the past year, BPS replaced the school's windows and patched its walls.

The plans also include merging the four science and technology specialty schools at the West Roxbury Education Complex into two.

The closures and mergers taken effect in September 2011. BPS will also draw a new transportation and school assignment plan and renegotiate its union contracts, particularly on health care costs.

Check back with Patch later for more on this story.