A New High School – Renovations might not be cost-effective

We believe we heard Winthrop resident David Osborne, a regular speaker during the public portion of Council meetings, suggest that the town should consider building a new high school, rather than go forward with the $26.5 million in renovations that the school needs (which includes the accessibility issues for physically challenged individuals that will be necessary for the high school to gain accreditation next year).

And we thought we heard Town Council President Thomas Reilly infer that a new high school might be an idea to consider. Reilly and Osborne have had their polite disagreements on issues in the past, but their mutually agreed upon idea might be a proposal that merits serious thought.

We have a great friend in a powerful leadership position on Beacon Hill in Speaker Robert DeLeo. We look at communities like Chelsea, Everett, and Swampscott, where they have built new high schools recently, and we think maybe it could happen here with a reimbursement formula that is advantageous to the town. Where could a new high school built? Everett built its five-story palace on a hill overlooking Glendale Park and Chelsea tore down its football stadium (and then built a smaller field adjacent to the new high school).

A new Winthrop High School: It just may be the right time in the town’s history to move ahead.