City to Demolish Haggerty Elementary, Will Construct New $7.5 Million Facility

The Cambridge City Council approved the allocation of approximately $7.5 million for the construction of a new Haggerty Elementary School.

The new school will replace the present facility at 110 Cushing St.

The Haggerty school, which primarily serves children from the strawberry Hills and Fresh Pond neighborhoods, has long criticized for its small and worn facilities.

The city will demolish the old school in September of this year, before the completion of the new Haggerty School by the end of September 1993.

In the meantime, the city will bus Haggerty students to other Cambridge elementary schools with extra space, although the school Committee has not decided which school will receive the students.

"You can be sure that we won't issue a contract for the demolition of the Haggerty school without a relocation plan," Healy said.

But the relocation will come at a time when the Cambridge Schools are already pressed for space.

Last February, Cambridge School System officials said they expect an enrollment increase of 162 elementary school students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

At the time, officials said that they anticipated a shortage of classroom space for the coming school year and said possible budget cuts could create problems in locating additional classroom space.

Funding Concerns

Although the $7.5 million price tag on the new school, is only an estimate, it should be enough to completely finance the construction, according to City Manager Robert W. Healy.

Healy said the Massachusetts School Building Assistance Bureau will eventually reimburse the city for 65 to 90 percent of the $7.5 million over period of 20 years.

But Councillor Alice K. Wolf said there is still some chance that Cambridge will have to foot at least some portion of that part of the bill.

"The total amount of funding for new building has been going down yearly," Wolf said. "I think it should be clear to people that there is still some chance that we might not be funded."

Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 said the old building is so "antiquated" that it cannot accommodate some programs, such as a computer lab.

Reeves added that the school was "too small as well" for the growing population of students.

The proposed designs for the new school, which copy the architecture of the old building, have met with approval from community members according to City Councillor Sheila T. Russell.

City planners have not yet approved a final design.