MSBA Announces Edward Devotion School in Brookline Entering Eligibility Period

The Massachusetts School Building Authority Announces that Edward Devotion School in Brookline Will Enter the Eligibility Period

State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chair of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), and John K. McCarthy, MSBA Executive Director, announced today that the MSBA Board of Directors voted to invite the Edward Devotion School in Brookline into the Eligibility Period of the MSBA’s Capital Pipeline.  The Devotion School was built in 1922 and serves 781 students from Kindergarten through grade 8.

This vote initiates a 270-day period for the District to complete certain preliminary requirements. Timely and successful completion of those requirements renders the District eligible to receive an invitation from the MSBA Board of Directors to the Feasibility Study phase.  The Eligibility Period assists the MSBA in managing its financial resources by helping to identify, early in the process, a District’s financial and community readiness to enter the MSBA’s Capital Pipeline.  It also assists Districts by providing a definitive schedule and identifying needs for planning and budgeting.

"I’m pleased that the MSBA staff has brought this project into the funding pipeline, particularly given my family’s deep history with the Devotion School," said Treasurer Grossman, whose Uncle Jerry and late father Edgar attended the school in the 1920’s and 1930’s. "I’m confident that my father and uncle would have attested to the vibrancy of the school and its supporting community during their time in its classrooms and on its playgrounds, vibrancy that will only be sustained and enhanced through the collaborative effort between the Town of Brookline and the MSBA to ensure that this institution endures well into the future."

“I look forward to working with the Town of Brookline to find the most educationally appropriate and fiscally responsible solution to the deficiencies at the Devotion School,” said Executive Director McCarthy.  

The MSBA works with local communities to identify school facility needs, develop fiscally responsible and educationally appropriate solutions, and create safe, sound, and sustainable learning environments.  Since its 2004 creation, the MSBA has made more than $8.6 billion in timely payments 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.