Timeline (Sequence of Events)
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May 26, 2022 & June 1, 2022- City alerted to signifcant Winter Hill school building concerns
More than 100 caregivers, educators, and community members attended a City Council meeting and signed a letter to Mayor Ballantyne revealing the unsafe conditions of the WHCIS building. More than one year later, no official response to the letter has been received by the PTA.
Summer 2022- City and SPS beging process of conducting Enrollment Study and Capacity Study
...Expect to have reports by November 2022
Spring 2023- Mayor's Capital Investment Plan released
Each year the mayor puts out a plan for prioritizing capital improvements. The plan that Mayor Ballantyne published in spring 2023 did not include funds for Winter Hill Community Innovation School. Winter Hill educators, families and community members flooded School Committee meetings protesting the conditions at the school building and demanding swifter action from the city.
April 14, 2023- School Committee Submits "Statement of Interest" to MSBA for the Winter Hill & Brown Schools
In the spring, the School Committee, City Council, and Mayor responded to the community advocacy and agreed to submit "Statements of Interest" to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for both Winter Hill Community Innovation School and the Benjamin Brown School.
Date
City Released Enrollment Study and Capacity Study 6 months later than expected & a timeline that showed not starting full design until 2026. They are also working on a K-12 Master Plan that has yet to be finalized. A summary of what each study entails and the timline was provided by Rich Raiche (City of Somerville > Infrastructure and Asset Management (IAM)'s presentation to the joint CC-SC subcommittee on school buildings from May 1. Those slides can be found here and meeting agenda here
May 8, 2023- School Committee Resolution
After pleas to the Mayor for a faster and clear timeline for the renovation or new build of the Winter Hill school along with contingency plans for the day the buildign might need to be suddenly closed down was not met with a sufficent response, School Committee responded to the community concerns and passed a Resolution ...
June 1, 2023, 6pm- Announcement of fallen concrete in Winter Hill school building stairwell leads to school closure for the remainder of the school year
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June 2, 2023- First day of school closure =civics lesson for Winter Hill students
Students, parents, and community members gathered at the Central Library to write letters to Mayor Ballantyne asking for action to be taken for a new school building. Students were able to walk their letters to City Hall and speak to the Mayor in the City Council Chambers.
June 8, 2023- Winter Hill classes resume in 3 seprate locations after students miss 4 days of learning
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The Winter Hill PTA invited community members and Somerville residents to show up at the virtual meeting of the City Finance Committee on the evening of June 5, 2023. Parents, educators, staff and community members came mobilized ....
Mayor responded with an updated project timeline and request to City Council for the following funding:
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Video: City Council Finance Committee Public Hearing on Budget June 5, 2023, City Council Meeting June 8, 2023, School Committee meeting June 12, 202