Debate about Lowell HS safety continues with 1 week until site selection

LOWELL, Mass. — The debate over the safety of Lowell High School students continues after the Board of Health voted to shut down the building, but the town refused citing incorrect data.

One of the major hurdles for the city is trying to decide where to build a new high school.

The council now has just one week to decide soon where a new school should go. There are four options, three keep it downtown and one moves into a more residential area near Cawley Stadium.

Tuesday’s City Council meeting was packed with people from all sides of the issue making their opinions heard ahead of vote scheduled for next week.

"One of the biggest arguments for moving it has been they don't want to have kids in school during a construction period,” Bob Montgomery said. “But during the next four years they are going to be building a new school and the city is not going to have the funds to maintain that school."

The Board of Health made clear that members feel time is running out for the current high school when the members voted to condemn the building last week citing various maintenance issues.

"It wasn't a decision made relevant to this new school it was a decision made relevant to the school that exists today,” Lowell resident Rob Fardin said.

But the Board of Health doesn't have the authority to close the school and the city's mayor made it clear the building is safe and it will not be closing.

"What it does is make me and others pause and say hey is this something that we should continue to invest in or do we stop at this point and say it's been a grand building it's served it is now time to look to a new facility,” Fardin said.

A vote on the new school location is scheduled for June 13.

Cox Media Group