Fights Over High Schools

Getting new schools when money is tight is like pulling teeth from an uncooperative grizzly. Neither job is every easy, and both are likely to bring on stormy reactions.

The Cambridge School Committee Tuesday night concluded a three-year tug-of-war for new high school facilities by approving a $23.4 million construction package that will give Cambridge two completely new high schools. The two present high schools, Rindge Tech and Cambridge High and Latin, will both be razed in favor of the new buildings.

However, while the approval of the new building plan was officially unanimous (4-0, with three absences), the move has brewed a storm of reaction. The furor is based mainly on the Committee's decision to re-build both Rindge and Latin rather than renovating Rindge within the existing structure and re-building Latin alone. The renovation plan would have been approximately $3 million cheaper than the one adopted.