Time takes its toll on all things, no matter how much we wish that it would not. This is the nature of life and material things that exist in our world.

The city is now faced with the important question of whether or not to pursue a plan to build a new high school in the near future or to renovate the existing building, thereby assuring the safety and comfort of our students and teachers and buying us time while the best plans are laid for the eventual construction of a replacement.

It’s true that the old school building has sustained much damage and deterioration over the course of its existence. Building a new facility is inevitable, but is it the right time to move forward with it?

The costs of putting up a new campus will be enormous. Estimates of what it will take to overhaul the present structure have run upwards of $10 million. This is a lot of money, but does it compare to what the proposed replacement may cost?

More importantly, perhaps, is the issue of seeing to it that our students have an adequately equipped school in the short term while plans and proposals for a new one are studied and debated. The recently convened Task Force on the matter has already stated that its initial findings won’t be readied until the end of next year. Further planning and the eventual implementation could – and probably would – take even longer.

Meanwhile, the present building is where our kids and teachers will be doing what they must do. It seems that the least we can do for now is to make sure that they are provided with the best facility that we can offer until such a time comes when we can build and dedicate a new Somerville High School.

Time is running out for the hallowed halls of SHS. But we feel that she can still provide a satisfactory home for our high school program for the time being. All she needs is some tender loving care, and the will of the community to keep her going.

It appears as though this is the only viable option for us, considering the importance of what’s at stake for our kids.