Committee Debates School Consolidation Plan Plans

Wielding signs and slinging accusations, nearly 200 Cambridge elementary school parents, teachers, and administrators turned out at last night’s public hearing of the school committee.

They were there to protest the latest proposal in a series of school consolidation plans to combat declining enrollment in the Cambridge Public Schools and a budget deficit of $3.6 million.

Although the City Council recently stressed the need to merge or close several Cambridge schools to cut expenses, residents are resisting—precipitating what many last night called a “crisis” for the school system.

The latest proposal was presented by committee member Alan C. Price in response to what he called the “inadequacy” of previous plans brought forth by Superintendent of Schools Bobbie J. D’Alessandro.

While D’Alessandro’s plan was slated for discussion last night, Price’s proposal drew crowds of opposition because it included schools—notably the Morse and Harrington Schools—that had not been previously considered in consolidation plans.

D’Alessandro’s current plan recommends merging Longfellow and Kennedy elementary schools. It amends a much-criticized previous plan by allowing the popular Amigos bilingual program to move to its own building and keeping the Intensive Studies Program (ISP) with the Longfellow school community.

But Price’s plan, while also endorsing the Longfellow-Kennedy merge, calls for the Harrington School to close and for the Morse School to move into its building. The Graham and Parks School would then move into the Morse School building.

Also under Price’s plan, Harrington’s Portuguese bilingual program Olá would merge with Amigos in the emptied Longfellow building and the Fitzgerald School would close—opening the building to the King Open School.

Members of the Morse and Harrington school communities expressed outrage at the fact that they were not given sufficient warning that their schools may close.

“Speaking as a Morse parent, we’ve not been engaged,” said city councillor and former school committee member E. Denise Simmons. “It’s no way the night before the school committee meeting to find out that your school is up for grabs.”

Morse School parents pointed to the school’s nationally-recognized improvements in recent years and questioned why Price would consider moving the school.

“We’ve consistently grown and raised achievement,” said Morse School parent Elizabeth Gibb. “It completely has made me lose confidence in how the system works and it makes me not want to stay in it.”

Parents of other schools that would be affected by Price’s plan also mounted strong protest.

“We’re not going to sit here with our mouths shut for a lousy plan,” said Longfellow School parent Selina Tan. “We will remember your actions or inactions when you are running for re-election.”

While members of the committee commended Price’s attempt at a “bold” plan, others questioned the very idea of school mergers, especially given the plans on the table.

Calling Price’s last-minute introduction of the plan “a public charade and public sham,” committee member Joseph G. Grassi, said he would vote down both Price’s and D’Alessandro’s proposals.

But committee members also acknowledged the need to merge some schools to save funds.

Quoting from a recent letter to the School Committee from the City Council, committee member Alice L. Turkel said that the need for budget cuts would force the committee to merge or close schools.

“We have never gotten a letter like this,” she said. “If we vote down these plans, we’re everyone’s hero, at least until the budget hits. We have a crisis on our hands.”

“By Dec. 3rd we have to have a vote,” D’Alessandro said.

—Staff writer Claire A. Pasternack can be reached at cpastern@fas.harvard.edu.