Beverly HS to Lose Accreditation

Yesterday's Globe reported that Beverly High School is on the verge of losing its accreditation, making it only the fourth high school in the state to suffer that loss in the past 20 years. The reason? Maintenance and structural problems. The town has repeatedly neglected a long list including bad plumbing, outdated windows and science labs, broken furniture and a lack of accessibility for the handicapped. While Lowell High passed its accreditation evaluation last year, the issue of building maintenance - or lack thereof - is an increasingly serious problem throughout the Lowell school system. The city has many new schools, more than probably any other community in the state, but most of these buildings are not 12+ years old and little thought (or money) has been expended on maintaining their good condition. This neglect is starting to show throughout the system. Ironically, it's not the school department that's responsible for building maintenance, rather, it's the city's department of public works. So the next time you child complains that two of the three stalls in the school rest room have been broken since the start of school, don't call a member of the school committee to complain, call a city councilor.