Somerville School Building Project: Community Survey

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Somerville School Building Project

Community Survey
INTRODUCTION

Somerville’s Winter Hill School needs a new building, and the Brown School will need attention in the future:

Two of the oldest school buildings in Somerville are the Winter Hill (opened in 1976) on Sycamore Street at Medford Street and the Brown School (opened in 1900) on Willow Avenue at Kidder Avenue. The Winter Hill building had to close in 2023 due to a structural issue and cannot be reused or renovated. Winter Hill students were displaced to the City-owned Edgerly building in East Somerville, which is neither a long-term nor ideal solution. The Brown School building will need major renovation in the future to replace outdated systems and address accessibility needs. Winter Hill currently enrolls around 400 students from Pre-K to grade 8. Brown currently enrolls around 225 students in grades K to 5.

The City has secured funding from the State to help build a new school of up to 900 students:

Somerville has received preliminary approval from the state school funding agency, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), for the state to pay for part of the cost of a single new facility. The new facility could be large enough to replace the enrollment capacity of both Winter Hill and Brown Schools and include additional space for programming flexibility and enrollment growth. A school this size – up to approximately 900 students total – could affect which schools families choose and also provide new location options for some education programs.

The City would like your input on a decision that impacts our students, our schools, and our community:

The City of Somerville faces an important choice of how to address the needs of the Winter Hill School, and whether to also address Brown School needs at the same time. This decision will also have potential benefits and impacts for all Somerville schools and residents. The Mayor of Somerville has convened a School Construction Advisory Group (CAG) to evaluate options and recommend a preferred option by fall 2025. In turn, the CAG seeks input from the public through this survey.

This survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Your participation is voluntary and anonymous. Questions marked with an asterisk (*) are required; the remainder are optional.

Thank you!

The City of Somerville can translate this document into your language for free. To request a translated copy, please contact the Somerville Office of Immigrant Affairs at soia@somervillema.gov or call 311 (617-666-3311).
Survey Language

QUESTION 1

Background:

The state school funding agency, MSBA, has given Somerville preliminary approval to help pay for a portion of one new facility – but not two. The City must decide whether to include both Winter Hill and Brown capacity at the new school, or whether to include only Winter Hill, keeping Brown in its current location. Once the amount of state funding is determined, Somerville voters will need to approve a “debt exclusion” (a property tax increase) to fund the City’s share. For reference, MSBA provided nearly half of the cost of Somerville High School several years ago.

If the Brown School remains at its current location, major renovation/expansion would likely be delayed until after 2031, when a new Winter Hill facility is anticipated to be completed. At that time, the City could apply for future MSBA funding for the Brown School and consider how to fund its own share.
As Somerville considers how to proceed, should it plan to:*

Construct a new school to replace the current Winter Hill capacity and some projected growth, and defer the issue of the Brown School building until later.Construct a school up to the maximum size that MSBA will support, up to approximately 900 students, to replace the capacity of both Brown and Winter Hill schools and provide for some projected growth. With this option, the Brown School would eventually close.I don’t knowEither choice is acceptableDo nothing/leave as it is
QUESTION 2

Background:

The City must also decide on the location for the new school. As an alternative to the original Winter Hill location on Sycamore Street, the City could build a new school on about one-third of the area of Trum Field, which is located along Broadway at Cedar Street. Trum Field currently provides space for softball and soccer use and for citywide celebrations such as the Fourth of July fireworks. A state law requires that if the City removes any public recreation space from Trum Field, it must replace it somewhere else in the city within a short time frame. A location for replacement fields is not yet certain, but may be possible at the original Winter Hill School site on Sycamore Street, or in a different location elsewhere in Somerville.
How do you feel about placing a school on a portion of Trum Field and replacing the field space elsewhere?*

The City should avoid losing any Trum Field space, and should keep schools elsewhere.A school at Trum Field is acceptable. Any location in the city for replacement field space is acceptable.I don’t knowEither choice is acceptable

QUESTION 3
What do you feel is the best option to address the needs of the Winter Hill and Brown Schools?*

Option 1: Build a new school facility at the Sycamore Street site with capacity for Winter Hill current enrollment, plus some additional capacity. Keep the Brown School in its current location on Willow Avenue, and address that school’s needs later as part of a future MSBA funding application.Option 2: Build a new school facility at the Sycamore Street site with capacity for Winter Hill and Brown enrollment, plus some additional capacity, up to approximately 900 students.Option 3: Build a new school facility at Trum Field with enough capacity for Winter Hill and Brown enrollment, plus some additional capacity, up to approximately 900 students.I don’t knowAny choice is acceptableOther
QUESTION 4
What were the most important school-related factors in your response to Question 3 above? Please RANK these elements in order from highest importance to least importance. Click and drag the items to arrange them in order of importance.

QUESTION 5
Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?

QUESTION 6
Funding for school construction and improvements is one of many capital improvement priorities for the City. We’d like to know what else is important to you within the universe of Citywide needs. Please RANK your priorities in the following list, from highest to lowest. Click and drag the items to arrange them in order of importance.