A report submitted by then-Superintendent Mary Lou McGrath called the rental facility "inadequate" and called for "effective collaboration" between Maynard and Cambridgeport.
There was no collaboration--only contention.
Deborah Epstein, the parent of an eighth-grader, says she remembers "great anger and bitterness" surrounding that process.
She says Maynard parents saw Cambridgeport parents as an affluent intrusion.
"Not much can be done about that if you're trying to mix races and socio-economic classes," Epstein says. "That became an argument for total segregation."
This year, school committee members say they hope for a quick and smooth process.
Committee member Nancy Walser says she sees no reason why the district's other space issues--like empty seats--should complicate Cambridgeport's moving.
"I think we should tackle the easier, bigger problems first," she says.