Working group recommends keeping Metcalf as school; councilors press city to fund central office study

The School Committee received a recommendation on Feb. 24 from a Metcalf working group to keep the Metcalf facility in use as a school next year and to move Opportunity Academies there while launching a separate alternative program for ninth and tenth graders.

The memorandum and presentation to the committee summarized options the working group examined for Metcalf and recommended keeping the facility as a school to provide more space, stop paying an off‑site lease and expand program offerings. The presenter said the district currently leases space on Maple Street for Opportunity Academies and that moving to Metcalf would reduce an annual lease cost of about $50,000 and provide access to a gym and cafeteria the leased site lacks.

Why it matters: The move would free leased space and enlarge program capacity for students who are over‑age or under‑credited, and support a new smaller program the district wants to pilot to keep ninth‑ and tenth‑grade students on track.

A second matter that dominated discussion was the long‑running debate about central office space. Several councilors and committee members said the city should pay for any consultant work to analyze municipal buildings (City Hall, the annex or other city properties) and any retrofit costs required to move central office functions; one committee member said the issue has been debated “for 40 years” and urged that the city make a firm decision and fund the study.

Mayor Garcia and councilors argued the city has directed attention to the issue and that if a consultant study is needed, it should be funded by the city rather than the schools. The superintendent said the district would recommend hiring a consultant to create a design and space‑use plan and also to model what moving the transitions program to Dean would look like, but staff emphasized that the cost and the procurement should be discussed with the city.

Actions: The committee voted to receive the Metcalf working group report. The vote was recorded as passed (moved and seconded; voice vote recorded as passed).

What’s next: Staff said they intend to hire a consultant to study options for Metcalf, Dean and central office configurations and to share cost estimates; they also plan to return with more detailed proposals about the alternative program, lease renewals and potential retrofits.

Ending: Committee members emphasized the need for a clear, city‑funded process for any central‑office relocation study and asked staff to circulate the 2016 report referenced during the meeting.