Dear Somerville Elected Officials in Ward 5, Ward 6 and At Large,

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

I want to make you aware that as another challenging winter has come upon us with bitter cold conditions, and again the Benjamin Brown School Building is encountering challenges. This time the issue is with the heating systems. A few weeks ago as temperatures dropped into the teens the heating system in a first floor classroom broke down (2nd Grade – Mrs. Lynch Class.). The two second grade classrooms had to share a classroom for the day, which as you know is a very challenging and disruptive situation. I immediately contacted the principal that morning and expressed my concern regarding the potential damage that could be caused by freezing pipes. This should be a standard concern from anyone with experience in building facilities and construction. Luckily the issue was resolved within a day and the building experienced no damage.

This past Tuesday, January 16th the temperature in a 2nd Floor Classroom (5th Grade – Ms. Lynch) on the opposite side of the building dropped and the situation was not addressed as promptly. I was told by staff that the room experienced freezing temperatures all day on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning as was to be expected the sprinkler lines froze causing a burst pipe and significant damage to the classroom. It is perplexing why the City of Somerville did not bring in portable heaters or find alternates ways to keep the building temperatures from dropping to freezing levels to avoid this building failure and allowed the damage to happen. Also note that the team brought in to stop the leak had problems finding the valve to stop the water which did not allow them to stop the extent of the damage. The water leak affected the classroom below (1st Grade – Ms Voigt). As you can imagine in a school that is already tight for space, it has been very disruptive to relocate 2 classrooms to other spaces: the art room and the music room. The art room apparently is extremely overheated and students come in with fans and summer clothes under their winter coats.

All these events have happened and other than a call on Wednesday night from the school principal and a follow-up e-mail last night from him, we have not had any updates or information on the matter from the City. I am told the heating system is still not working properly and failures continue to happen, which means potential damage could happen again and displace and disrupt the entire school just as in 2015 when the girls bathroom roof collapsed. It is concerning that every time we encounter a harsh winter the Benjamin Brown School Building is challenged and experiences damages. It is hard not to think the City of Somerville is being negligent with regards to the maintenance and upkeep of this building and is putting its children and staff at risk.

I would like to ask our elected official to inquire about the conditions of the Benjamin Brown Building and demand a full report on its conditions with recommended repairs from a third party. (Do note that any Architectural or Engineering firm will not do, you need a firm that has experience in existing buildings.) The report should include recommended repairs and a timeline as to when they should happen. Perhaps this report already exists.

In the meantime the City should host a meeting with Benjamin Brown School parents to give us a full report on recent events and what is their plan of action. The lack of communication leads one to believe the City is being purposefully negligent and has no interest in the Benjamin Brown School and its students, faculty and families; or has any concerns about the school’s safety with regards to the building conditions.

Thank you in advance for your help and your prompt action on this issue would be greatly appreciated. Our children’s well being is potentially at stake and we hope that you take this matter seriously.

Beatriz Gomez

Somerville