Education

Somerville’s plans to replace Winter Hill school enter next phase

The plan could also address the needs of the Brown School, which is more than a century old.

The Winter Hill Community Innovation School closed in June, 2023 after a piece of concrete fell from a wall. Molly Farrar / Boston.com staff

By Molly Farrar

December 19, 2024

2 minutes to read

The multi-year plan to address Somerville’s decommissioned Winter Hill school and the historic Brown school will move forward, the city announced.

Somerville announced that the Massachusetts School Building Authority advanced a school building project that “would address the needs of the Winter Hill Community Innovation School and potentially the Brown School,” the city announced.

The vote to advance is one of many steps through the process, the city said.

Beginning in January, the city announced they will begin the hiring process for a project manager and firm to work on the project. Currently, the School Building Committee and the School Construction Advisory Group are overseeing plans on the scope and location of the project.

“This is the news we wanted to hear – and it is important news,” Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne said in a statement. “As we advance through each stage of the MSBA process to seek state funding, we get closer to building the quality school our students need and deserve.”

The Winter Hill school on Sycamore Street is sitting empty, while the Brown School near Davis Square is more than a century old. The MSBA, the quasi-governmental agency that works with school districts to fund major school building projects, said previously it would consider funding a single project to address the needs of both schools.

City Councilor Willie Burnley Jr. said the MSBA’s process to secure funding could go through November of next year. He said the Brown school, which has accessibility issues and no cafeteria or gym, likely can’t be renovated.

“We still have quite a bit of ways to go,” Burnley told Boston.com. “We’re actually going to start to see some action taken, which is great to finally see some action out of this whole ordeal.”

Since Winter Hill closed, students and teachers were relocated to the Edgerly Education Center in East Somerville. Parents previously called a less than ideal environment with asbestos, capacity issues, and even rats. Burnley said it’s another concern for educators, who will begin contract negotiations next year.

“The physical spaces that these workers are in obviously have an impact on their working conditions,” Burnley said. “This is not only an issue for Somerville, from a public facing angle in terms of our students and our families. It’s also a workers issue.”