The city is a step closer to making another attempt to replace Pickering Middle School, and to repair the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute’s 90 Commercial St. annex roof.
The City Council voted, without discussion, to authorize Superintendent Dr. Catherine C. Latham to submit two statements of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which includes another attempt at replacing Pickering.
The City Council also voted to allow Latham to send a second statement of interest to the MSBA for an accelerated repair project for the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute Annex that would replace the existing annex roof with a new EPDM roof with three inches of insulation.
The Council approval comes on the heels of the School Committee voting the previous week to authorize the superintendent to submit the two statements of interest.
Officials say there is an overcrowding issue at Pickering, along with an issue with the condition of the building, including heating problems.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee, who also serves as chairman of the School Committee, said last week the replacement of Pickering is desperately needed and a larger future discussion would be centered around what that would entail, including location of a new school and whether that would include a two-school option again.
Last March, voters overwhelmingly rejected a nearly $200 million proposal to build two new middle schools to replace Pickering.
A yes vote would have built a 652-student school near the Pine Grove Cemetery and Breeds Pond Reservoir on Parkland Avenue. A second school would have housed 1,008 students on McManus Field on Commercial Street.
