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Mayor
Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that the City of Somerville and
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company reached an "agreement in principle"
last week that would provide the City with $12 million toward the
rebuilding of the East Somerville Community School (ESCS), which was
heavily damaged in a predawn fire on December 9, 2007. Curtatone
expects that this settlement will be presented to the Board of Aldermen
at its next meeting. The City has already received $1.7 million of this
settlement amount to defray interim costs, including those associated
with replacing school contents and materials, busing students, and with
selective demolition, which began in November. Curtatone also said that
the City continues to work with the Massachusetts School Building
Authority (MSBA) on their proposed emergency regulations, and how those
regulations pertain to the rebuilding of the ESCS.
"This is
tremendous news for the City and the ESCS community, and further
ensures that we will be able to take the most appropriate action in
terms of providing a safe, healthy, and positive learning environment
for the students, staff, and families of the East Somerville
community," Mayor Curtatone said. "$12 million is a substantial sum,
but any viable plan for even a partial rebuilding will cost
considerably more. Even with this agreement, it's still too soon to
make any definitive decisions with respect to the ultimate scope of the
rebuilding effort – but this settlement reinforces our commitment to
rebuild the ESCS on its current site. We will continue to work closely
with the MSBA to follow their proposed regulations, and to provide the
best possible facility as soon as we can."
"I am extremely
excited to learn that this hurdle has been cleared, and we can now look
forward to the next phase of our work to bring the ESCS community back
together, under one roof," said Superintendent of Schools Tony
Pierantozzi. "The students, staff, and families of the ESCS have been
incredibly supportive and patient throughout this entire process, and I
want to again thank everyone for working with us during this process.
This is an important step in the process, and we are committed to
bringing the ESCS community back together."
"It has been a long
year for all of us here in the East Somerville community, and I'm
relieved that this portion of the legal process has finally been
resolved," said Ward 1 School Committee Member Maureen Bastardi, who
will begin serving as School Committee Chairperson in 2009. "The ESCS
has been a community gem and important community center for many
decades, and though we are all sad to leave this building behind, I am
excited to move forward and help make this a place everyone can once
again come together to learn and play."
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