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Somerville Schools To Remain Closed All Week

Near Davis Square in Somerville Tuesday, crews worked to remove snow from city streets. (Josh Reynolds/AP)
Near Davis Square in Somerville Tuesday, crews worked to remove snow from city streets. (Josh Reynolds/AP)

The city of Somerville is keeping schools and several municipal buildings closed due to concerns about the possibility of roof collapses.

"Right now it is not safe to have residents, students, staff, and others in our schools and municipal buildings without the roofs being cleared, and we cannot clear the roofs while these buildings are open," the city said in a statement on its website.

Somerville public schools have not been open all week due to Monday's storm and will remain closed Thursday and Friday. With February vacation scheduled for next week, that means students will be out of class for a full two weeks.

The only municipal buildings open to the public early Wednesday were public safety buildings and the Traffic and Parking Department on Holland Street. City Hall, the Department of Public Works and Inspection Services opened later in the day.

The city said it would continue to provide updates as city buildings were reopened.

"Roof experts are assessing the situation today, and the City has already secured contractors to begin clearing as soon as possible," the statement said. "We are working at maximum speed to have our roofs cleared safely."

According to the Somerville Journal, this week's school closings put the city at nine snow days so far this school year:

The schools have currently scheduled all potential make-up days and are closing on June 30. But that still leaves a mandated day of education left to reach the required 180 days mark.

[Superintendent Tony] Pierantozzi said he will look into getting a waiver from the state allowing Somerville to skip that last day. But he will also be sending parents a survey to determine the best possible time for a make-up day. He said options include Good Friday, a day of April break and a Saturday in March

This article was originally published on February 11, 2015.

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Abby Elizabeth Conway Digital Producer/Editor
Abby Elizabeth Conway was formerly a digital producer and editor at WBUR.

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