DeMaria, City Council agree on funding order for roof repairs at the former Everett High School
Special to the Independent
Following a vote of the Everett City Council, Mayor Carlo DeMaria praised the passage of a $10 million funding order that will provide sorely needed repairs to the roof of the former Everett High School so that the building remains insurable. Mayor DeMaria encouraged the Council to quickly reschedule a vote for a second funding order that was tabled out of deference to a councilor absent due to illness. The $10 million in roof repairs will be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) and will allow an array of community organizations and resources, including the Webster School Extension, Eliot Family Resource Center, the Health and Wellness Center, and the Broadway Boxing Club to continue to utilize space in the building. The second, tabled funding measure will allocate $72 million to convert part of the facility into an academy for Everett’s seventh and eighth grade students.
“I appreciate the City Council voting to repair the roof so that the old Everett High School can continue to meet critical needs in our city through key community touchpoints like the Webster School extension, Eliot Family Resource Center, the Broadway Boxing Club, and our innovative Health and Wellness Center,” said Mayor DeMaria. “But there is more work to be done.
Ensuring that Everett’s students have a safe and comfortable facility to learn and excel in is of paramount importance and I look forward to working with Superintendent Hart to best provide that for our seventh and eighth graders at the old high school as soon as the City Council reconvenes and passes the second funding order.” The former Everett High School, located at 548 Broadway, has served the Everett community for over a century.
Initially opened in 1922 to better serve Everett’s burgeoning student population, it served as Everett’s primary high school until 2007 when the city’s new high school opened at 100 Elm Street. The Administration has continued to use the building to meet educational and community needs in Everett after prior efforts to surplus the property failed to attract proposals acceptable to residents.