The Cambridge (Massachusetts) district plans to spend nearly $17 million to upgrade and find a new use for one of its elementary schools.
Cambridge Day reports that a feasibility analysis will look at possible scenarios for the future of Kennedy-Longfellow School, which is being shut down with the end of the 2024-25 academic year.
Interim Superintendent David Murphy says that of a projected $16 million to $17 million, $10 million will go toward “enhancing building infrastructure” to extend the lifespan of the building; the rest of the funds will be allocated to the utilizing the fields and outdoor resources on the campus.
The district says it is looking to have a replacement school on the Kennedy-Longfellow campus by the end of the 2028 school year.
The Cambridge School Committee voted in December to close the 51-year-old, K-5 school.
Murphy said that the planned campus upgrades will prioritize operational areas such as plumbing, electrical systems and HVAC.
“We know that this building has enough things wrong with it that, based on the financial limitations of this capital improvement project, we’re going to have to prioritize these operational pieces first," Murphy says.
By next fall, the district hopes to appoint a construction manager and begin considering “multiple scenarios for strategic use” of the space. The school has space for 650 students, but the number of students placed there will be decided by programming needs, Murphy said.
