Most Expensive Public School In Mass. Opens

By The WBUR Newsroom
Aug 31, 2010, 11:04 AM
3 Comments

BOSTON — The most expensive public school in Massachusetts is opened its doors Tuesday morning.

Newton North High School includes an Olympic-sized pool, a printing shop and an outdoor and indoor track.

“It’s really state of the art: it has an innovation lab, a TV studio. a robotics lab, green engineering centers, a fitness center,” said WBUR’s Monica Brady-Myerov, who was on hand as city officials cut the ribbon at the high school. “It’s really an amazing facility that they say will prepare children to be competitive leaders in the world economy.”

Many have criticized the cost of the building. It started out as a $40 million renovation project 10 years ago, but now is estimated at more than $190 million.

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Anonymous

I just heard a tease on the radio where, once again, Newton North was likened to the Taj Mahal. This comparison reflects a complete ignorance of history on part of the writer. The Taj Mahal was built as a monument to love. No expense was spared in its contruction. On the other hand, we all know the divisive politics and finances behind Newton North. So why the comparison? If anything, Newton North is the Big Dig of Newton. Please make sure you know your facts before writing your stories. This is just lazy reporting.
Chris Patrick

The Taj Mahal was built as a monument to love BY SLAVES. Let’s not get high and mighty. Also Newton doesn’t need a 190 million dollar school. Roxbury, Lawrence and Springfield probably do though.
NNHS Student

I am a student at Newton North and I spent two years in the old North. As a member of various sports teams and the debate team, I have traveled around Massachusetts to many different high schools in areas of more or less affluence, and I can tell you this was needed. If you haven’t been in old North, you don’t know what it was like and how hard it was to learn in an environment that was falling apart. High schools in much less affluent areas were in much better condition. Should taxpayer money have been used the way it was, and should this have cost so much? Probably not. But this was not the public’s decision as much as it was local government, and least of all the students. Going to school every day and having to worry about getting mesothelioma from exposed asbestos was not fun. Not everyone in Newton is rich, and we’re not all pigs. Take into consideration another point of view. Yes, this school may be unnecessarily costly, but high cost over health hazards, most sane people would chose cost.