(Boston – 11/01/2023) The Fiscal Year 2024 (FY’24) Budget included two Senate led funding initiatives for the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to increase support for previously approved school building projects. This increased funding will benefit Holyoke’s Peck Middle School and Westfield’s Franklin Ave Elementary School- saving Westfield and Holyoke taxpayers millions of dollars on these school construction projects.
Due to the rising inflation impacting cities, towns, and school districts’ school building projects, the Massachusetts Senate fought to raise the annual cap on grants approved by the MSBA and provide additional supplemental funding to previously approved school building projects. Included in the FY’24 Budget is an increase to the statutory limit on the grants approved by the MSBA from $890 million to $1.2 billion, in addition to $100 million allocated to supplemental grants for previously approved school building projects.
“Our children deserve to be educated in school buildings and classrooms that are equipped with the resources that meet the needs of modern-day education. Both the current Peck School and Franklin Ave School were two aging school buildings that were in desperate need of replacement,” shared Senator John C. Velis “We have heard loud and clear that, despite the generous contributions of the MSBA, municipalities still face substantial tax burdens to fully fund these projects. As Senator, one of the most important tasks I have is securing funding for the district; whether that be directly in the form of local earmarks or supporting statewide initiatives that will bring more funding home and save local taxpayers money. ”
The MSBA maintains a competitive construction grant program to help sustain and create school buildings across the Commonwealth. Last week, the MSBA Board of Directors voted favorably to revise the MSBA Project Funding Limits and adjust the Maximum Total Facilities Grants policy due to the additional resources and flexibility provided in the FY’24 budget. The exact amount in additional contributions from the MSBA to the Holyoke and Westfield school construction projects have not yet been finalized but are estimated to save each community well over $1,000,000.
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