Brockton High School

The Brockton NAACP hosted a candidate forum last week to help fill a vacancy on the school board at a time when the city’s schools are navigating a financial crisis and mounting frustration from parents over the state of public education in the majority-Black city.

To understand the turmoil at Brockton High School, study the school system’s budget woes. Short of cash for the second year, Brockton’s teaching corps is overwhelmed amid an $18.3 million deficit.

Gov. Maura Healey rejected calls this week to deploy National Guard troops to patrol the hallways of troubled Brockton High School where assaults, threats and drug use have mounted after staffing cuts and teacher absences.