Answers are on the horizon for the communities affected by the closing of the Winter Hill Community Innovation school 16 months ago. The first meeting of the Somerville School Construction Advisory Group took place Tuesday, laying out next steps and providing clarity.
The group, described as a “creative steering body,” is tasked with presenting a recommendation to Mayor Katjana Ballantyne on the location and scope of a renovated or new school.
The Winter Hill Community Innovation School – closed in June 2023 because of safety concerns for staff and its elementary-aged students – was accepted in December to the eligibility phase of the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s grant program, which provides funding to repair or rebuild schools based on need and urgency. The Benjamin G. Brown School applied for the grant also, but the application was denied. Somerville’s group was created to determine if the projects should be combined under the grant.
If the city chooses a combined school, it could build it at either the original Winter Hill location on Sycamore Street or an entirely separate site. Trum Field in Magoun Square has been identified as a possibility, but the group noted that construction could go on any land owned by the city.
The 2.5-hour meeting took place at Somerville High School, where recent construction was also partially funded by an MSBA grant.
Seats are still open in the group for educators in the district and other roles as gaps in representation are identified; as it stands, the group has some 13 parents of Somerville Public Schools students and members of various community boards. Cassie Walton, a Winter Hill parent, PTA member and grassroots organizer, cited gentrification in the Winter Hill neighborhood as a reason it was important to having parents on the board who represent low-income backgrounds.
The meeting was led by Stacie Nicole Smith of the Consensus Building Institute, a nonprofit organization that specializes in conflict mediation and facilitation. She walked the group through the process: reviewing the project timeline, laying out next steps and opening the group to share what they hope to have accomplished when the process is over.
“Access to the best school, as soon as possible,” one parent said off the bat.
The deadline for presenting a final recommendation to the mayor is set for November 2025, but members wondered if they could go faster.
Medford High School, which secured an MSBA grant in the same month as the Winter Hill school, has sped up its process, said Andre Green, a parent and School Committee member. Still, Green said, “Process is how we build or lose trust.”
Business community representative Jack Connolly, a former city councilor, stressed the importance of bringing in an expert to present the schools’ status before the group starts discussing whether to replace, rebuild or combine them. The reallocation of $1.3 million worth of funds to conduct a feasibility study will be voted on at Thursday’s meeting of the City Council.
Megan Brady was the only speaker during a public comment comment; she urged the group to refer to research by her eighth-grade civics students this year in a survey showing the school-improvement goals of students, teachers and community members – the groups meant to be considered in the recommendation to the mayor.
The Somerville School Construction Advisory Group intends to meet monthly until November 2025 unless a recommendation is delivered sooner. All meetings will be open to the public, with the next tentatively falling on Nov. 12 and to be held remotely.
Updates, including schedules and executive summaries of the meetings, can be found on the group website.
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