BOSTON, MA – State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), and Katherine Craven, Executive Director of the MSBA, visited Sherwood Middle School today to celebrate School Building Week and to recognize the Town of Shrewsbury’s commitment to building and maintaining healthy, high performing, safe and sustainable schools. School Building Week is an annual program that is being observed across the country.
In January, 2010, a $24 million grant was approved by the MSBA for the Town of Shrewsbury to build a new Sherwood Middle School on the same site as the current school. On March 30, 2010, the Board of Directors of the MSBA voted to approve a $583,699 grant for Shrewsbury to replace the roof and windows at the Spring Street School as part of the MSBA’s Green Repair Program. Also, last month the Board of Directors voted to select Shrewsbury High School as a model high school whose design elements can be adapted for use by other districts that are participating in the MSBA’s Model School Program.
“I am pleased to celebrate School Building Week in Shrewsbury, a community with a demonstrated commitment to providing safe and effective schools with the highest standard of academic excellence for its children,” said State Treasurer Steven Grossman. “Not only is the project at Sherwood underway, but our Board of Directors has also approved a grant for the Spring Street School under the Green Repair Program. Moreover, Shrewsbury High School was just designated as part of our Model School Program, allowing other communities to draw on expertise gained here when they are looking to design and construct a top-notch educational facility.”
“I am happy to be here to see the progress made on the site of the new Sherwood Middle School,” said Katherine Craven. “By participating in our Pro-Pay reimbursement system, Shrewsbury has already received over $1.2 million for work done so far.”
The MSBA strives to find the right-sized, most fiscally responsible and educationally appropriate solutions to create safe and sound learning environments. The MSBA is committed to protecting the taxpayer’s dollar by improving the school building grant process and avoiding the mistakes of the past in the funding and construction of schools. The MSBA reformed the Commonwealth’s formerly rampant and unsustainable program, which was more than $11 billion in debt. The MSBA has made $7.5 billion in reimbursements to cities, towns and regional school districts for school construction projects. These timely payments have saved municipalities over $2.9 billion in avoided local interest costs and have provided much needed cash flow to communities.
