MASS. SCHOOL BUILDING AUTHORITY PAYS OUT $5 BILLION IN 3 YEARS
Sen. Resor & Rep. Eldridge Say Local School Districts Benefit

November 7, 2007 – In 2004, the state legislature established the Mass. School Building Authority (MSBA) with the purpose to assist towns with the overwhelming cost of school construction and renovations. State Senator Pam Resor and Representative James Eldridge were part of the delegation to vote in favor of this legislation and have since seen the direct benefit to the towns they represent such as Acton, Boxborough, Harvard and Shirley.

“Many of these school buildings are reaching 50 years old or more,” said Sen. Resor. “Projects such as insulating windows, renovating rooftops, and repairing ailing HVAC systems are important to saving on energy costs. The Mass. School Building Authority program is relieving some of the burden of project costs for our taxpayers and towns.”

“The School Building Authority reforms initiated by the legislature made significant strides towards guaranteeing that all Massachusetts children have a safe and productive learning environment, while reducing property taxes for homeowners,” said Rep. Eldridge.  “This is a win-win situation for all the citizens of Massachusetts.”

Prior to 2004, the former school building construction assistance program was plagued by a waiting list of 425 projects, a backlog of over 800 project audits, and little control or oversight to the system.  Under the reorganized program, the MSBA was able to make payments to a majority of projects on the waiting list which resulted in millions of dollars in assistance for local school projects. In the past 3 years over $5 billion has been distributed to cities, towns and regional school districts.  Local school districts have benefited by this assistance which relieved some of the burden on taxpayers’ wallets. Payments to area schools in the past 3 years include over $51 million to the Acton-Boxborough School District for their High School and Junior High School improvement projects.  Harvard’s Bromfield School received about $11.4 million as did the Shirley Middle School.

Today, the MSBA’s sustainable and efficient program is able to prioritize projects across the Commonwealth so that the most urgent facility problems are addressed.  Looking forward, the MSBA has established a 5-year capital plan to invest another $2.5 billion in school projects.   Acton and Shirley have both put forward Statements of Interest for future school projects.