BCLA students appeal to mayor in letter

A pair of students from the Boston Community Leadership Academy high school published a letter asking Mayor Martin Walsh to stop a proposed $870,000 cut to their school’s budget.

The proposed 20 percent cut to the Hyde Park school’s budget would force the closure of programs the teens say make it possible for many of their peers to get into college, the teens argue in their letter:

“The students at BCLA want to go to college, they just don’t have the resources to help them. BCLA gives everyone a chance by providing SAT Prep classes for every scholar, giving them hope to go to college. But if the budget cuts go through then there won’t be any more SAT prep, gym, Leadership or Theater Arts classes. Some AP classes will be cut. We will lose our library. What will we be left with? Nothing. We want to beat the odds and be able to get out and make something of ourselves. Education is the key to success, but how can we succeed if our education is being ripped out of our hands.”

Earlier this year, BCLA students posted videos on YouTube highlighting the programs they say are in danger of being cut, should the proposed school budget cuts go into effect.