[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6300839,"mediaKeyId","2491579-7308d1915b6415b3434caabafd1ea5b4","parentId",2491579,"title","Public Health Commission and Boston EMS report hiring gains but say gaps persist","audioSeconds",275,"startMs",979000,"endMs",1254000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2491579-7308d1915b6415b3434caabafd1ea5b4&start=979&end=1254","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2491579-7308d1915b6415b3434caabafd1ea5b4/thumbnail_979000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6300839/Boston-City/Suffolk-County/Massachusetts/Public-Health-Commission-and-Boston-EMS-report-hiring-gains-but-say-gaps-persist","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6300839-e055de79096262536ed6e78550d4f178/orig.mp4?Expires=1773570154&Signature=Vu5MxPhDINc4GvYHeKYKLjAmfUgcmynWXKfeKBB64m8xQGmsHb0wedkCTv~Id~1jtfNvjwYVm~0h62UphGjgfMXTdn9SGAho7JzQrrkStYjAbtkEgXTFvPgAK3lRMbsU4sR62iPYoZ~SfKi~NTLciuuV0VhnSrXFxzDjm9KktjQVfeqsUS1bPcJcS-kU9fYYa-OFJAw6j1jZ8DoHLo75NE2Yu0QVzfeXG6rxTQ3sSgl1yH-ejzrilHZuLsx73IyUfbLK2XcHeyvmvWQhgMEgiO4RjTJqtrRFKmWdahJ5YUfEdOXCfER4UzQzylbQHIy-kQVALLIPxopBs1Npfoy2zA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Boston City, MA","date","2025-03-04T00:00:00Z","article","Tanisha Peoples, the chief people officer for the Boston Public Health Commission, told the council committee that the commission has 48 city-funded positions and that its vacancy rate has declined from 16% to 11% as of February 2025 — “we have 16 vacancies for these roles representing 11% vacancy rate,” she said.

Peoples highlighted Boston EMS as the commission’s largest bureau and said training and pipeline programs have supported recruitment: the testimony reported Boston EMS had hired 82 EMTs since the April 2024 appearance before the council and that the fiscal-year budget included authorization for 12 additional EMT FTEs. Peoples also cited hire-in-a-day events and a paid cadet program that covers EMT certification as key strategies to ramp up staffing.

Councilor Ed Flynn asked whether EMTs and paramedics were working mandatory overtime. Peoples said she would consult her team and provide an accurate response; the council subsequently asked for records on mandatory overtime where they exist.

Why it matters: Staffing levels in prehospital emergency medical services directly affect response capacity and employee workload; the committee sought data to understand operational impacts and worker protections.

What’s next: The Public Health Commission and the city said they will provide follow-up information requested by councilors, including the number of open EMS positions, any mandatory overtime records and additional details about recruitment and retention programs.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Boston City Council | Labor, Workforce & Economic Development on March 4, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Boston Public Health Commission and Boston EMS officials told the council they reduced overall vacancy rates and recruited dozens of EMTs since April 2024, but councilors pressed for details about mandatory overtime and shift impacts.","taxTitle","Boston City, Suffolk County, Massachusetts","taxId",3381,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6300844,"Boston Public Schools says teacher vacancies largely filled but paraprofessional and custodian gaps remain",6874,1337000,8211000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2491579-7308d1915b6415b3434caabafd1ea5b4&start=1337&end=8211","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2491579-7308d1915b6415b3434caabafd1ea5b4/thumbnail_1337000.jpg","/articles/6300844/Boston-City/Suffolk-County/Massachusetts/Boston-Public-Schools-says-teacher-vacancies-largely-filled-but-paraprofessional-and-custodian-gaps-remain","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6300844-1a6296eb91c8a7ab9fcc6593f0ac047c/orig.mp4?Expires=1773570154&Signature=A59kxoMdor9bxyl9i2IbuaQ48D3HX3WLHqpwJUovpszN0PYq0FtmnY12QtFqCdySBDlkwsq4oZMcQJ16argsALbz1Xany7RZuDX6qK6NOX8JylysrcoWaKzQ-QHU7BdOlFl27nulkxcpL3rh5shKjOLCJBS0Ey3KgQwwWjADn-c2LQ5UnN2oK7jnp1YQEjIrOPezirSk7zkSRYofXduly8CQWUFF7ApvEGbeTRp5lVfkcQanuLk~6shqkIg27jtVqfbJC255RW5DRhJPMOELFq9-s~EeMhgL1hnvv7Zemz4M~BqKTXILVd8lOX5YoFOmnHBcJv4D6FRT1UCzK3Yudw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Frances Canty, the chief human resources officer for Boston Public Schools, told the council committee March 4 that the district began the 2024–25 school year with roughly 96% of teacher positions filled, an improvement over the previous year.

Canty said the district has narrowed teacher shortages by posting certain difficult-to-fill positions earlier — notably transformation schools — and running targeted recruiting events such as demo days, where prospective educators present lesson plans to school leaders. She said earlier posting helped transformation schools attract a more diverse and qualified candidate pool.

Remaining gaps are concentrated in support roles Canty identified as recurring challenges: part-time cafeteria attendants (77 openings), cab monitors (51 openings) and custodians (12 openings) as of the testimony date. Canty said the district has seen large applicant pools for custodial roles and is maintaining waiting lists to fill positions as they open. For paraprofessionals and one-to-one pairs (student supports), Canty said the district reported 76 paraprofessional openings and 23 one-to-one pair openings during the period covered in testimony.

Canty said the district is reviewing positions open during the past 18 months to determine which roles are essential and to reallocate funding where appropriate to school-based priorities. She also said the loss of ESSER federal funds required the district to reduce positions that had been supported temporarily by those grants and to re-evaluate allocations for the current year.

Why it matters: Teacher fill rates influence classroom staffing and program delivery; persistent support-staff shortages can affect daily operations, breakfast and lunch service, student transport and in-class assistance.

What’s next: Canty said the district will continue targeted recruiting, partnership outreach and programs designed to create pathways from paraprofessional roles into licensed educator positions. She told councilors the district is exploring third-party exit-interview collection to improve data on why staff depart and where retention efforts should focus.

","Boston Public Schools told a City Council committee it started the school year with about 96% of teacher roles filled but still has continuing shortages of paraprofessionals, cab monitors and custodians; the district said it is prioritizing early posting and community recruiting to close gaps.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6300848,"Council hearing examines long-term city vacancies and $42 million in assumed salary savings",8621,44000,8665000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2491579-7308d1915b6415b3434caabafd1ea5b4&start=44&end=8665","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2491579-7308d1915b6415b3434caabafd1ea5b4/thumbnail_44000.jpg","/articles/6300848/Boston-City/Suffolk-County/Massachusetts/Council-hearing-examines-long-term-city-vacancies-and-42-million-in-assumed-salary-savings","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6300848-324dd8d6949094dad6e0f936005c8bbf/orig.mp4?Expires=1773570154&Signature=PQXq~NGy7aVjtq2URa-iHfUND0e9RdGC0jxX8ZMr8HE8-VZYDm5jXBka2T~sYBpiQI9vox-RUisCSmhUZf8PUFdThVjIrQCRb42a6Pxl-9SsHXmbhvucoPqkiB-3lzeax3VWuDm6tU8mTzKhlvevPfgXPSQpfjuLrKbjTbN4pJb~p0CWAa7Olzst~~GYjF4f5nuYZEEiN~W~JoHrixmI7AQuy0aMeinkKLGsmnwxp31TWL3VO6YlzNJBrmVnIyxqjYMIw61IjIOkhIE073Zl0ypgApFIVaPwloPPrKYqQJmAsYDDU6FTZiyzLiDMzOOqilrUDvglTutC-5XzMri5jg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A Boston City Council committee on labor and workforce held a hearing March 4 to review long-term vacancies across city departments and the budget treatment of unfilled positions. Chair Benjamin Weber said the hearing (docket 0254) was intended to help the council understand why positions remain open and whether money budgeted for those roles could be used elsewhere as the city prepares its fiscal 2026 budget.

Ashley Grafrenberger, the city’s chief financial officer, told the committee that the city budgets total personnel costs for departments and offsets those totals with an assumption for salary savings to account for vacancies during the year. “We assume that at any point in the year, there will be vacancies,” Grafrenberger said, and added that “we have assumed total salary savings across the city of about $42,000,000” for city departments in the current fiscal year.

Alex Lawrence, the city’s chief people officer, described the city’s decentralized hiring system and a set of measures the administration has used to reduce vacancies. Those measures include directing a larger proportion of wage increases toward lower-paid workers in the most recent round of collective bargaining, conducting compensation studies for hard-to-fill roles, improving paid leave and commuter benefits, reducing external contract reliance, shortening internal approval steps and revamping hiring technology. Lawrence highlighted hiring-day events, targeted recruiting and internal pipelines such as cadet programs for police and fire as strategies that produced measurable gains.

Officials reported a mix of progress and continuing gaps. Grafrenberger said the city had 448 posted positions it was actively trying to fill as of Feb. 25. Boston Public Schools and the Boston Public Health Commission reported separate vacancy counts in committee testimony; witnesses and councilors discussed different tallies for BPS that reflect posting practices and seasonality. Councilors pressed for additional, department-level detail for use during the council’s amendment and budget process.

Council members repeatedly asked for follow-up data that city staff agreed to provide. Councilor Ed Flynn requested whether Boston EMS was using mandatory overtime for EMTs and paramedics; Chief People Officer Tanisha Peoples said staff would confer with her team and provide more-accurate answers. Councilors also sought breakdowns of vacancies by department, the dollar value of unfilled positions, historical trends and demographic or pay-band breakdowns of vacancy and retention data.

Why it matters: The committee framed the hearing as a way to inform budget decisions ahead of fiscal 2026. Grafrenberger said salary-savings assumptions give departments some flexibility during the year but also create questions for councilors deciding whether to reallocate funds to new priorities during the amendment process.

What’s next: City staff told councilors they will provide more granular data through the budget RFI and follow-up to individual requests, including vacancy lists, overtime and mandatory overtime records where available, and historical hiring and departure trends. The hearing record is to be used by the council during upcoming budget deliberations.

","City officials told a Boston City Council committee on March 4 that citywide hiring has improved after targeted efforts, but departments still show hundreds of open positions and the administration budgets about $42 million in assumed salary savings for vacancies.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Public Health Commission and Boston EMS report hiring gains but say gaps persist

Boston Public Schools says teacher vacancies largely filled but paraprofessional and custodian gaps remain

Council hearing examines long-term city vacancies and $42 million in assumed salary savings