The exam schools represent some very few bright spots in the city high schools. Every year the Globe rankings on MCAS scores comes out and we are near the top in the state. That keeps people in the city who would leave otherwise.

We make the kids go to sleep early for MCAS, eat right, have a snack for MCAS. We are teaching them to study hard, be dutiful and smart, but they are not rewarded in the budget, they are punished.

We have very little that the school department or the city want, we have complaints but I’m sure they wish we would just go away when it comes to that. The one thing we have is high scores. I am not opposed to MCAS. But I suggest that we withhold the thing they want until they start responding to us in a constructive way.