With input from a group of parents, residents and elected officials she convened, the mayor released a second school building survey Aug. 7 asking respondents to choose and rank scenarios and preferences about the future Winter Hill and Brown schools.
People across Somerville have until mid-September to share opinions about where to build a school for Winter Hill students, and whether Brown School students should be moved there too.
“The city takes the voices of residents very seriously, whatever the results of the city are,” councilor Kristen Strezo said in a phone call. “I was very vocal in giving suggestions alongside other Construction Advisory Group members in the reconstruction of the latest survey.”
Strezo hopes “as many voices as possible” respond.
The city secured preliminary approval from the state’s school funding agency to build one structure for up to 900 students and allow “additional space for programming flexibility and enrollment growth,” according to the survey introduction.
When combined, the Winter Hill and Brown School student populations total around 625 students. The schools being considered for one campus are 2 miles apart.
The Winter Hill building closed in 2023 due to a structural issue and its students were split between two temporary spaces. The Brown School was built 125 years ago and “will need major renovation in the future to replace outdated systems and address accessibility needs,” the introduction said. If the city decides to deal with the schools separately, Brown School renovations would not be considered until at least 2031, officials have said.
Improvements to survey
In January, advisory group members were surprised and upset when the city released a first survey without their approval and full input. Councilors Strezo and Lance Davis co-sponsored an order to have the city withdraw the first survey immediately, with Strezo saying it was “problematic” and ignored “the will of the community.”
The city still intends to use the first survey, developed by city data-gathering office SomerStat, “to gather general preferences and priorities related to the school building options” such as walkability and size, city spokesperson Denise Taylor said by email. The second survey would ask more direct questions, such as whether to build a new school to its roughly 900-student capacity knowing “the Brown School would eventually close” and “How do you feel about placing a school on a portion of Trum Field and replacing the field space elsewhere?”
This time, the mayor ensured the advisory group “had opportunity to design and approve” the survey questions.
The city used an independent consultant to work with advisory group members, “a productive process that we hope will result in useful insights,” Taylor said. There have been 1,100 responses as of this week.
“Good public process involves being responsive to feedback not just at the end of a process but during it,” Ballantyne said by email. “I want to thank the CAG and staff who worked together to find the best path forward for this important survey.”
Hopeful for good survey results
Ryan Williams, president of Somerville’s council of parent-teacher associations, gave credit to improved cooperation too. “The new survey reflects extensive collaboration with the CAG on both the subject matter and text,” he said. It also “gets to the crucial point: Where should we build a new facility, and what are the tradeoffs between the options?”
Ballantyne said that “one of the things I hear most in the community is that people want a voice in important decisions, and this survey is designed to do just that.”
“I encourage people to take the survey to weigh in, and I look forward to reviewing the results and receiving a recommendation from the CAG,” the mayor said.
The survey is available here in seven languages.
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