Mayor Wilson Statement on CAG Recommendation

Dear Winter Hill, Brown School, and all SPS families, 

As your Mayor, I want to be sure you hear directly from me that I am fully committed to building our community’s new school, with the largest possible capacity, at 115 Sycamore Street as quickly as possible through a clear, transparent process the public can follow.  

My charge now is to restore trust and deliver this school. Our administration will publish a plain-language timeline with key decision points, post regular updates, and make all relevant materials easily accessible so families, educators, and neighbors always know what’s happening, when, and why.  

I also want to acknowledge the deep frustration Winter Hill and Brown School families have felt for years. That includes, for Winter Hill, the issues that began well before the 2023 building closure and displacement, and then for both school communities, the uncertainty and communication gaps that followed. We will be setting a new course to best advance this project and keep our school community informed and engaged. 

To start, now that the Construction Advisory Group (CAG) has released its recommendation, there are a few more formal steps needed to codify the recommendation.  

The majority recommendation from the CAG is to maximize state investment in our students and a new school building at Sycamore Street to serve the most students possible. That would translate to building a school for 900+ students. This means approximately 250 seats would ultimately be relocated from the Brown School to a new school building at 115 Sycamore Street.  

Here’s what’s happening next: 

The CAG stated an intention to provide the School Committee with maximum flexibility to pursue opportunities for all of our children. I support this intent, and both the School Committee and the School Building Committee will have opportunity in the coming weeks to discuss and respond to this recommendation.  

After that, the next step is for the City to formally share our preference as part of our submission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), and we expect that submission to be made in March. (The full CAG recommendation is available at somervillema.gov/cagrecommendation.) 

As Mayor, I serve on the School Committee, where I will not only participate in the discussion and decision-making but I will ensure the City provides timely data and analysis and removes municipal obstacles, so the Committee can choose the programmatic path that best serves the entire district as quickly as possible.  

I will ensure that the work to build our new school is given the utmost urgency even as these final decisions for this phase are being made. I want to thank the Construction Advisory Group for its thoughtful recommendations and the many community members who participated in the process. 

I also want to recognize that Brown School community members need a clear understanding of what comes next for their school, so let me offer some clarity: at a minimum, the Brown School will remain open at Willow Avenue through at least the 2031/32 school year. There is also a potential this date could extend beyond 2032 as we address other systems needs and climate goals for school buildings across the district.  

The specific timeline of a Brown School relocation will depend on both how we plan to address building needs at other K-8 schools across the city and on School Committee decisions about educational programming across the district. What you can count on is this: the City will actively maintain the Brown School building during this time. Students now enrolled at the Brown School will be able to complete their K-5 education at Willow Avenue. 

As we enter this next phase, I will continue working closely with Somerville Public Schools, the City Council (who must approve funding), and our state partners to keep the project moving as expeditiously as possible through the state MSBA funding process, financing, design, and construction. The public can expect regular communication, predictable checkpoints, and opportunities for input. The City will deliver openly, efficiently, and on time. 

- Jake Wilson, Mayor