The recent announcement by the state that the proposed new Revere High School will not be on the list of school building projects for the coming year certainly comes as a huge disappointment for school officials, parents, and students alike.
State officials themselves have acknowledged that the current Revere High facility is outdated and overcrowded. No doubt their decision to deny our application for state funding has more to do with the enormity of the project — a new Revere High will cost in the tens of millions of dollars — in an era of scarce resources, than it has to do with the acknowledged need for a new school.
The situation is mindful of Revere’s past history of delays in constructing a new Revere High School. In 1952, a consulting team from the Harvard School of Education recommended the replacement of the old Revere High School because that facility was deemed outmoded and outdated.
However, a new Revere High — the current building — did not become a reality until the early 1970s, more than two decades after the Harvard team made its recommendation.
Superintendent Diane Kelly, with the encouragement of state officials, has vowed to press onward for next year’s round of funding. Hopefully, our students, taxpayers, and faculty will not have to wait 20 years for a modern Revere High School building.
