Charlestown High School (CHS) is the latest school facing potential closure as Boston Public Schools (BPS) pursues a smaller real estate portfolio. If the Boston School Committee approves the proposal on December 2, CHS would close by the end of the 2027 school year.

BPS leadership and Mayor Michelle Wu said CHS enrollment is at 53%, and of those enrolled, only 21% live in the Charlestown neighborhood. The district said a new anchor school would move into the CHS building as early as 2028, and current students would receive priority for new school assignments.

“Our public education dollars should be going to serving students and delivering outcomes, rather than keeping half-empty buildings,” Wu said at a press briefing Monday.

The decision has proven unpopular with the school community. Parents packed a recent school committee meeting, and students staged a walkout on November 2 during Superintendent Mary Skipper’s visit. “Shame on you,” they chanted as she left the building.

The City Council has urged BPS and the School Committee to postpone their vote until the district can demonstrate meaningful community engagement and provide sufficient time for residents to review the proposal and provide feedback.

“We also want to establish clear, consistent, and transparent protocols for future school closures, decisions to ensure students, families, and educators are engaged in the process and at the very least, we want this administration, and the Boston School Committee, to start respecting Boston City Councilors,” said Councilor Julia Mejia, who chairs the Council’s Education Committee.

Mejia has called on BPS to release the data and criteria used to inform school closings, along with a long-term Master Facilities Plan and a community-centered engagement process for any future closures, mergers, or grade reconfigurations.

The council largely supported this decision, with only Councilor Sharon Durkan breaking away from the body with a sole “present” vote.

Two other schools, East Boston Early Education Center and Roxbury’s Greater Egleston High School, are also slated for relocation. Boston Green Academy, an in-district Horace Mann Charter School, will be moved to a renovated South Boston High School building, planned to open in 2028. The Joseph Hurley and Joyce Kilmer Schools are planned to stop offering seventh and eighth grades in 2027 and 2028, respectively, with Boston Arts Academy and Fenway High School planned to open their own by 2028 and 2029.

These reconfigurations are part of a broader effort to reduce BPS’s 95 school buildings by 2030 as the district faces reduced enrollment projections.

“These recommendations are part of building a district that is optimized to match our student body and offers high-quality choices for all BPS students and families across our neighborhoods,” the district said in a statement.