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City outlines short‑term contingency: Tufts administrative building (TAB) as immediate swing space, full continuity plan in development
Summary
The administration presented a five‑step contingency plan for an emergency school closure that would use the Tufts administrative building (the TAB) as immediate classroom space, activate incident command and an emergency operations center, and pursue longer‑term swing space options while keeping some partner locations confidential.
City administration staff told the joint School Buildings, Facilities and Maintenance Special Committee on Sept. 15 that a short‑term contingency plan exists if a Somerville school were to become uninhabitable during the 2025–26 year and that the city is developing a more comprehensive continuity‑of‑operations plan and a swing‑space memorandum of understanding with the school committee.
The five steps spelled out in the administration’s memo are: activate an incident command structure and emergency operations center; immediately secure temporary classroom space at established partner sites; use the Tufts administrative building (TAB) to host instruction in the immediate term; relocate city and district administrative staff where needed to clear TAB space for classrooms; and rapidly evaluate longer‑term options for swing space.
Administration liaison summarized the plan at the meeting and noted that the TAB already has usable classrooms and that Tufts has cleared the site for use in emergencies. City staff emphasized partner confidentiality when asked: several large properties have been discussed with owners but staff said those conversations were confidential at the owners’ request and that naming them publicly could jeopardize future use agreements.
Emergency management and response
Bill Fisher, director of emergency management, told the committee he was alerted immediately when the pool incident occurred and that the response, notifications and evacuation were handled with an abundance of caution. Fisher said responders acted to protect students and staff and that monitoring showed no airborne toxins during the pool incident: “The alerting, the evacuation was done through an abundance of caution and concern to make sure that those kids and staff are safe…There was never any toxic vapors, chemicals detected anywhere in the school. It was a very safe environment.”
MOU and swing‑space work remains
The committee heard that the school committee and the city are still negotiating a memorandum of understanding that would define a full continuity of operations plan, responsible parties, and a swing‑space strategy that evaluates the coming school and other candidate locations. The administration said DPW and capital projects will evaluate the coming school as part of the city’s capital improvement planning and that any major rehabilitation or repurposing would be budgeted and prioritized alongside other CIP work.
What remains unresolved
Committee members asked that the administration provide more detail on staffing relocations and how classroom schedules would be preserved in worst‑case scenarios. Staff agreed to continue refining the continuity of operations work and to share more detail with the school committee as the MOU and swing‑space planning progress.
Bottom line
The city presented a short‑term plan that would place students in TAB classrooms within hours in an emergency while a longer‑term continuity and swing‑space strategy is negotiated and developed. Staff said partner confidentiality limits public disclosure of some candidate locations but that the administration is actively pursuing options and a full plan will be part of the MOU under negotiation.
