Four things Medford Parents Want From Their New High School

There’s a lot of information flying around right now about the Medford High School project, and I’ve heard from plenty of parents who are trying to stay informed and active. That’s why I’m so thankful that my colleagues on the School Committee, Jenny Graham and Jessica Parks, put together a site to help families understand the 29 options before the list gets narrowed down at the next School Building Committee (SBC) meeting. Please review that information and be sure to tune in at 6:30 on Monday, March 23 as the SBC narrows our list of options from 29 to 3-5.

At this stage, I keep coming back to a simple question: what are residents asking us to deliver?

From the conversations I’ve had, four themes keep coming up. Parents want to minimize disruption for students and staff. They want us to expand vocational opportunities. They want a campus and community space Medford can be proud of. And they want to keep costs within reason.

Minimizing disruption for current students should be part of the conversation.

• At the most recent community forum at the high school, so many parents were asking about project phasing, construction noise, and what it would be like to be a student in the building (or in modular classrooms) as we reconstruct our high school.

• The reality is that building a new school is disruptive, full stop. I don’t expect us to be able to mitigate all impacts, but we should do our best. Investing in modulars is a big cost, but if it keeps kids in environments conducive to learning, we should do it. During the Somerville High School reconstruction, I personally saw how modular classrooms were actually an improvement over current classroom conditions. Modern modulars should be a tool in our tool kit... at least they’ll have working heating and cooling?

• Going to high school at a construction zone is a real fear for parents and students, but we also have to make decisions for the long-term. The SBC needs to weigh this dichotomy.

Every single person I’ve talked to reminds me that our vocational school is a core part of who we are, and they want it to be a core part of our new school.

• A significant amount of the new square footage in the MHS project is going to expand the vocational school with additional programs and to right-size our current programs (which have been living with too-small space for years).

• When we consider the cost of the school, I suspect that we’ll see pressure to reduce the total square footage, but my experience is that residents want MORE vocational programs, not less. It’s worth it. The current space needs-assessment shows an increase in space for CTE programs from 54,000 to 120,000 square feet. This is the single biggest increase in programming space outlined in the project.

Parents of young children rely on our community resources such as the Medford Family Network (MFN), Kids Corner, and the Medford Early Education Program (MEEP).

• My neighbors value these resources as something that makes Medford special, something that sets us apart, and something that builds and grows community. We need this now, more than ever. Particularly because these resources support early education, socialization, and provide resources for all our families, regardless of their circumstances.

• Expanding Kids Corner and making space for MEEP will help resolve space issues at our elementary schools, and ensure these programs create equitable access and inclusion for every one of our neighbors.

• Increasing early education spaces from 8,000 to 23,000 sqft will pay dividends for our most vulnerable neighbors for decades. It’s worth it.

They’re also worried about costs – to an extent.

• The price tag keeps coming up as a primary factor in discussions about the school, with good reason. This isn’t going to be cheap.

• Remember we’re not comparing the cost of the MHS reconstruction to zero dollars, we’re comparing it to the alternatives (see my last blog post). The real cost of doing nothing is unaffordable.

• However, what I’m hearing from residents is not “do the cheapest thing possible.” It’s “be smart about it.” People want to understand the tradeoffs. They want to know what we’re getting for the investment. And they want to feel confident that we’re making decisions with discipline, not just reacting to a big number at the end of the process. I believe that our project team is doing that.

• My experience in municipal finance is that the best projects are the ones where cost is part of the conversation from the beginning, but not the primary factor. We’ll regret skipping out on valuable community resources in the future, because we only get one shot to make this happen. Adding space later may or may not happen, it may be more expensive, and we will likely wish we had done it right the first time.

• Most parents and neighbors I’ve talked to understand that the most important responsibility we have as a community is to support our public schools. I agree with this, thats why I ran for School Committee.

As we move from 29 options down to a smaller group for more analysis and deeper review, I’m looking at choices through a pretty simple lens:

Does it expand opportunity for students?

Does it minimize disruption during construction?

Does it respect what taxpayers can realistically support (and approve)?

And does it give Medford a school and a community space we can be proud of?

This is a once-in-a-generation decision. It’s not about finding a perfect option it’s about investing smartly for the next generations kids and families and neighbors.

As always, please reach out to me at mmastrobuoni@medford.k12.ma.us with comments. Let’s keep talking.