Sales said he didn't know why the community was never told the headquarters could be used if Belmont had to be abandoned. Hayes said the availability of The Hill raises questions about the need to build on the contaminated site in the first place. A panel of state experts told Reiner that The Hill could be turned into a school in about two years, pending tests for lead paint and asbestos, among other possible contaminants, and structural integrity. Soboroff questioned the conversion time estimates. Crisis overshadowed The Belmont Learning Center's virtues were promoted for years while district officials neglected to talk about how serious the school shortage throughout the district was becoming.
People have every right to be angry at the lack of candor.
The reality, he said, is there is no simple solution. Miller said the Ambassador Hotel property, the scene of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, is a serious candidate for a new middle or high school. The district recently renewed its legal battle with the owners, and wants to foreclose. That alone won't be enough. The Belmont community needs a new high school and two new middle schools immediately, said Gordon Wohlers, assistant superintendent of Policy Research and Development.