Somerville High Problems to be Addressed in Upcoming Meetings

SOMERVILLE, MA - Somerville High School is not in great shape and school officials are trying to figure out whether the building should be renovated or a new school needs to be built entirely.

School officials even made a video tour to show residents how bad the situation is.

Here's a list of upcoming meetings that will address the problems at Somerville High.

• Tues., April 5, 6:30 p.m., East Somerville Community School Library, 50 Cross St: Public Forum with presentations in English, Haitian Creole, Spanish, and Portuguese (translation for other languages available upon request),

• Mon., April 11, 5:30 p.m., Healey School Library, 5 Meacham St: Somerville High School Building Committee (SBC) regular meeting and SBC business followed by an open Q&A.

• Tues., April 26, 6:30 p.m., Somerville High School Auditorium, 81 Highland Ave. Public Forum. A presentation by SBC members along with community discussion.

The Somerville High School building is decrepit and eating up an alarming amount of energy. There is a chance the school could lose its accreditation if not renovated, hurting students’ chances of getting into their college of choice, according to the Somerville High School Building Committee.

The City of Somerville was accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MBSA) grant program and is now working on the best “educationally appropriate and cost effective” way to solve the problems, the SHS Building Committee said.

Somerville High School was first built in 1872 and hasn’t been renovated since 1986. The antiquated heating system and terrible insulation makes it impossible to regulate classroom temperatures, the SHS Building Committee reported.

At its most recent review by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), it was said that if renovation efforts were not made by the next meeting the school’s accreditation would be brought into question, according to the SHS Building Committee.

See the video below: