ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
City Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan says the Tracy School’s brick construction is in worse shape than some older schools in the city.
BY THOR JOURGENSEN
LYNN — With one middle school nearing completion and a second on the drawing board, officials are turning their attention to upgrading an elementary school.
Built in 1898, the Tracy Elementary School is not the city’s oldest public school — Fallon and Aborn share that distinction. But Michael Donovan, city inspectional services director, said the Walnut Street school’s three-story brick construction makes it ripe for replacement.
“It’s in poorer shape than some of the older buildings,” he said. “The bricks are literally falling out.”
On Tuesday night, the City Council is scheduled to give School Superintendent Catherine Latham permission to submit a statement of interest (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for replacing or renovating Tracy. The document says the elimination of severe overcrowding is one of the major reasons for updating the school.
“Submitting an SOI is the first step in the process to receive an invitation from MSBA to enter the building pipeline,” Latham said.
Tracy’s enrollment is 434 students compared to 366 who attended the school 20 years ago. Latham said long-term planning for school buildings focused on replacing middle schools before turning to elementary school needs.
With the $92 million new Marshall Middle School nearly complete, the superintendent is considering how to move school employees and students from the Marshall on Porter Street to the new building five blocks away on Brookline Street.
A designer for the project could be selected next Tuesday after a local designer selection team, including Donovan and Latham, meet with MSBA representatives.
Donovan said the selected designer will conduct a 13 to 20-month feasibility study for replacing the Pickering Middle School, a 99-year-old building on Conomo Avenue attended by 650 students.
On Friday, Latham said the designer will consider all options to accommodate an expected increase in enrollment from the 650 students at Pickering to 1,660.
“One site, two sites, one site and renovations or additions to Breed (Middle School), all of these options are on the table,” Latham said. “One school to accommodate 1,660 students would create the largest middle school in the state. A middle school of that size may not be desirable not only for academic reasons but also for reasons that impact the streets and neighbors at any chosen site.”
The feasibility study will examine seven replacement plans, including building two new middle schools or a 1,100-student school the size of the new Marshall Middle School, along with a possible addition built onto Breed Middle School, Donovan said.
The study process will include public hearings and produce a rough design for a new school or schools and additions and cost estimates.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].
