Vol. 3, No. 2
February 3, 2003
Contents
1) MORE SCHOOL EXCITEMENT - AND WHY IT MATTERS
Perhaps you're thinking, "I don't have children - this doesn't concern me." Or that you wouldn't
dream of sending your children to the Somerville schools in any case. Or that, in an age of
information overload, that School Department news just doesn't make the cut.
Please think again. The future of Somerville's school system affects the everything from the
resale value of your house to the future prospects of this community. In the short run, upcoming
decisions about long term plans for school facilities could precipitate the sale of more than one
city-owned building, resulting in loss of public amenities and in re-development projects that
could change the character of your neighborhood.
If you own property, ignore the public schools at your peril.
A) Final NESDEC Report Available
As readers are doubtless aware, the Somerville School Committee last fall voted to hire a
consultant to recommend a long term plan for public school facilities. The New England School
Development Council (NESDEC) made its preliminary report on January 9, 2003. NESDEC's
Final Report is now available to read at each public school, and at the Superintendent's office.
The report is also available on line on the Somerville Public Schools web site:
http://www.somerville.k12.ma.us. The report can be found by clicking on "NESDEC Long
Range Facilities Master Plan" or "What's New" on the blue menu on the left side of the home
page.
A few interesting facts to keep in mind: Somerville has been a "member" of NESDEC since the
1960s at least, paying "dues" of almost $3,000.00 annually. "Membership" supposedly entitles
the city to free school population projections. NESDEC is also the organization that "found" Dr.
Albert Argenziano, when Somerville last conducted a search for a superintendent of schools.
NESDEC's recent "study" cost $24,500.00 - judge its quality for yourself. The study wasn't
paid for by the School Department, by the way - it was paid for from the city side of our
beleaguered budget - but why?
B) NESDEC Report Discussed this Week at Two Important Meetings
On Monday, Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. in the aldermanic committee room on the second floor of City
Hall, the School Committee's Finance and Facilities subcommittee will meet to discuss the
NESDEC report. The discussion in subcommittee is likely to be more candid than that which
will occur on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium at the East Somerville
Community School. That meeting, of the Long Range Planning Committee, will also concern
the NESDEC report.
Due to budgetary considerations, copies of only the "Options" section of the NESDEC report
will be distributed at the 2/5 meeting. I do not know that any part of the report will be
distributed at the 2/3 meeting, so download one in advance to be certain to have one.
Aldermanic business creates a conflict for me with the Wednesday meeting, so I look forward
to getting reports of it from readers.
C) Remarks on Preliminary NESDEC Report
I've mentioned that the copy of the NESDEC preliminary report sent me by the School
Department contained tables of data that were illegible. Wanting to read the data, I procured a
school copy, assuming its quality would be better. The same tables were equally illegible. I must
wonder if this phenomenon reflects more of a contempt for data, or for citizens who might be
interested in data.
My first read through of the final NESDEC report predicts school age population in the city
dropping, with concurrent dropping enrollments. Not having been able to read this data readable
in the preliminary report, I have not had the chance to compare it with demographic projections
for Somerville recently prepared by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).
MAPC is preparing population projections for Somerville for transportation planning purposes.
According to Barbara Lucas, MAPC's Chief Transportation Planner, "Copies were mailed to
the head planners of our cities and towns on Tuesday December 31 for public comment," with
feedback due Jan. 24, 2003. Leaving aside the question whether the city distributed this data and
took public comment, the MAPC process raises several questions that interest me, such as:
1) Do the NESDEC and MAPC data agree? 2) If their projections do not agree, how do their
assumptions/methodologies differ? 3) If the city has its made own population projection
estimates, sufficient for purposes of commenting on MAPC's draft data, why wouldn't it use its
own, or a modified version of MAPC's data for school planning purposes, rather than
NESDEC's? 4) MAPC takes into account proposed new development in the city in calculating
population projections - does NESDEC?
These questions are not purely academic - in fact, they are crucial to the future of our school
system. Case in point - in the 1980s, when Somerville last renovated and expanded its only High
School, enrollments in the city's elementary were dropping. Projections for high school
enrollment were accordingly adjusted down, and the high school was renovated to accommodate
a population of approximately 1,500 students.
High school enrollment soon met, and now well exceeds, that projected figure. The high school
population of approximately 1,800 is now crowded into a school planned to accommodate 1,500,
with predictable results. The Superintendent has publicly spoken of the need to expand the high
school again or - his preferred plan - to build a second high school in Central Hill Park - which
would do away with the Park, of course.
D) Brief Remarks on the NESDEC Final Report
Like the NESDEC Preliminary Report, the Final Report raises many interesting questions -
perhaps more than it answers. Much is made in the report, for instance, of how few Somerville
schools meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Yet,
ironically, the one-story, singularly accessible Conwell School has been omitted from the study
altogether.
It is true that the School Department is presently leasing out the Conwell School to the Shore
Collaborative, at the same time that it is renting space elsewhere. The School Department's
administrative offices are housed in the Boys and Girls Club building in Union Square, at an
annual cost to the taxpayers of $145,168.00. The Boys and Girls Club building itself is the
former Pope School, which the city sold to the Club for $1.00. St. Polycarp's School is rented
from the Archdiocese of Boston to house the Unidos program.
I fully expect this week that some School Committee member will make a motion to declare the
Conwell School surplus, and to sell it. Putting aside for the moment the questions of why it is
not in use, and why it was omitted from the NESDEC study, let's ask this question: Why would
we want to sell the Conwell now without considering how it might fit into a plan for the future?
Just to throw a fresh idea into our local mix, I note that the Boston Society of Architects (BSA)
recently issued an invitation to a public discussion, held the very night that the School
Committee abruptly voted to extend the Superintendent's contract, on the subject of "innovative
learning spaces." The speaker, Dr. Frank Locker, was billed as the "Council of Educational
Facilities Planners International's 1999-2000 Planner of the Year," cited "for his research in
classroom design and participatory planning." One wonders what sort of facilities plan - and
participatory planning process - Somerville could have if it cast its nets a bit more widely.
E) School Input Opportunity in Ward 6 - and an Apology!
On Tuesday, February 4, from 7 to 9 p.m., Ward 6 School Committee person Carolyn Taylor
and parent/activist Joel Nitzberg will be hosting a discussion of people's "goals and needs" for
the Somerville public schools. This meeting will be held in the downstairs church hall of the
First Congregational Church on College Avenue; entrance is on the Francesca Avenue side. For
more information, call Joel Nitzberg at (617) 627-9003.
I inadvertently left Mrs. Taylor's name out of the initial announcement of this event, for which
omission I apologize most heartily.
2) PLANNING BOARD DEADLINE FOR WRITTEN COMMENTS ON IKEA
The Somerville Planning Board held public hearings, on January 30, on a variety of permits
required for the proposed IKEA development under the Somerville Zoning Ordinance. Written
comments to the Planning Board are due at City Hall on Wednesday, Feb 5, by 4:30 p.m. I
understand that the Planning Board hearing was televised on the City Channel, and that the
testimony was quite good. You could try to catch a re-run of the hearing, or for more
information, contact OHCD at (617) 625-6600, ext. 2500.
3) MEETING, MATERIAL AVAILABLE, ON UNION SQUARE PLAN
The final meeting with the Bluestone Planning Group, consultants on Somerville's Union Square
Master Plan, will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2002, at 7:00 p.m., in the Community Room
at the beautiful new Family Center, at 366 Somerville Avenue.
The contact person for this project is Christi Wrigley, (617) 625-6600 ext. 2500, or
cwrigley@ci.somerville.ma.us. The Union Square Master Plan presentation can be viewed on
line at:
http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/departments/development/studys.asp
4) IT'S FEBRUARY! CELEBRATE WITH CAUCUSES, DUHAMEL BREAKFAST
A)
Local Politics/State Politics
The groundhogs are up, however briefly, and it's time for those mainstays of grassroots
democracy, the Democratic Ward Caucuses. These meetings, held in all wards of the city, are
held to elect delegates to the annual Democratic Party State Convention. Since this year is not
an election year for state offices, the convention will be an "issues" convention, devoted to
hammering out agreement party platform.
Issues conventions are not as popular as candidates conventions, so it should be possible to win
a seat if you get some of your friends to come nominate you, and vote for you. The caucuses
start at 10:00; no one is allowed in once the doors are locked. The Ward 5 Caucus is held at the
Brown School - I hope that some of my fellow Ward 5 Democrats will come and support my
candidacy as a delegate.
B) Food and Congenial Company
The perfect way to get in the mood for the Democratic Caucuses is to attend the 7th Annual
Pancake Breakfast fund raiser, hosted by the Duhamel Education Initiative. This non-profit
group, named in honor of the late School Committee person and community leader Paul
Duhamel, works to support Somerville's public schools and reduce its drop-out rate through
mini-grants to teachers, after school programs, and other initiatives.
This very lovely, dedicated group of people also cooks a fabulous meal. No one leaves the
Pancake Breakfast less than satisfied, and part of its pleasure is chatting with the companionable
group of supporters that always shows up. Breakfast is served from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. at the
First Congregational Church, 89 College Avenue (enter through the Francesca Avenue side
door.)
The suggested donation is $5 for adults, $3 for children 10 and under, or $17 for a family.
5) MORE ON WELLINGTON CIRCLE MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT
Some readers might remember the long-ago (two-plus years?) debate over the Assembly Square
Planning Study and then-proposed Interim Zoning for Assembly Square. At the time, some
argued that Assembly Square was an unlikely location for dense, transit-oriented, mixed use
development. One supposed item of proof cited at the time was the under-utilized Cabot, Cabot
& Forbes development just across the Mystic River from Assembly Square.
If mixed use development could be successful so far from the urban center, it was argued, then
we would see it in this area of Medford, already served by the Wellington MBTA station. As
noted in my last newsletter, such development is on its way. The Boston Globe, on the front
page of its January 25, 2003, Real Estate section, ran a story titled "Major Project slated for
Medford."
The Globe reports that "National Development has acquire a 15-acre parcel on the banks of the
Mystic River here, which the Newton-based company plans to redevelop into a $130 million
mixed-use complex called Mystic Center.... National plans to build eight buildings on the
property, including 500 to 600 apartments and condominiums, office and retail space, and a 150
to 200 room hotel with restaurant. Because the parcel is adjacent to the MBTA's Wellington
Station ... the opportunity was impossible to resist."
Medford Mayor Mike McGlynn was quoted as saying, "These projects are very exciting, but
I think it's important to get the infrastructure in place first. Medford is spending $10 million on
the infrastructure [using a transportation bond]." Medford, Malden and Everett plan to spend
a combined $5.4 million in state funds to redesign Wellington Circle.
The 15 acre Mystic Center site will be built in phases over a five year period, and is estimated
to add $2 million a year to Medford's tax revenues. Ironically, National Development was
Taurus New England's original redevelopment partner for Assembly Square, which in 1999
proposed a "power center" of big box stores for the mall site. Having lost the Assembly Square
opportunity, National seems to have changed its approach - it is currently proposing another big
mixed-use project for Route 9, in Chestnut Hill.
6) SOMERVILLE'S M.L. KING DAY CELEBRATION - AND A LITTLE DREAM
I was delighted to attend the City of Somerville's first official Martin Luther King Day
observance at the East Somerville School last month. I was pleased that Franklin Delambert and
the Haitian Coalition received a Human Rights award for their efforts on behalf of that
immigrant community. It is gratifying to see evidence of the Haitian-American community being
embraced in Somerville, which has not always been quite so welcoming.
Here is my very little dream: that soon, perhaps as soon as next Martin Luther King Day,
members of Somerville's Latino community will feel as welcome as the Haitian community was
this year. I dream that Somerville's Latinos will attend this event in significant numbers, and
will have reason to look and feel happy, and welcome to be there. Finally, I dream that the city
and people of Somerville will evermore refrain from blaming or scapegoating a group of people
for whatever problems may exist in our city. Amen.
7) READER'S QUIZ FOR THESE BELLICOSE TIMES
Here is your reward, patient readers! Fame (if not fortune) awaits the alert reader who first
answers both questions in this two-part quiz:
A) Which former U.S. president described
B) which U.S. military action
as, "one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."
Happy thinking!
copyright 2003 Denise Provost
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