As a result of the lessons learned from its Green Repair Program, the MSBA instituted the ARP in 2012. The ARP focuses on the preservation of existing assets by performing energy-efficient and cost-saving upgrades, which will result in direct operational savings for school districts. In order to maximize the impact of the ARP, districts are required to use pre-selected consultants and appropriate funding quickly to adhere to an accelerated project schedule.
Commencing in January 2025, the ARP will have a biennial Statement of Interest (SOI) opening (every two years). The next ARP application cycle will begin in January 2027.
Districts must consider the age of the windows and the roof for heat pump conversion projects. Districts should not submit an SOI if the proposed total project cost is projected as less than $250,000, if the school is judged by the district to be over-crowded or underutilized, or if the district is considering the facility for potential consolidation. Please reference the Accelerated Repair Program Statement of Interest Process Overview to review more points of consideration for a project scope’s eligibility and qualifications.
The SOI is the tool districts use to identify the deficiencies that exist in their facilities. Districts should submit one SOI per school for each school that they believe requires a project. An SOI should only be filed for a facility where a district can fund a schematic design within 90 days of invitation and a total project budget within 12 months of invitation. The SOI System will typically open in mid-January and for ARP close in mid-March; however, this timeline is subject to change.
Districts will file SOIs biennially. The MSBA believes that a biennial opening will provide more predictability and flexibility for local officials who are administering facilities improvements in their districts. Furthermore, the MSBA believes that pacing the start dates for invited districts will not only help mitigate the impact of introducing so many projects into the construction market but will also help support districts who may need longer preparatory time than the former iteration of the ARP allowed.
Historically, ARP SOI openings begin in January and close in March with invitations anticipated at the October Board of Directors meeting all within the same calendar year. Please reference the ARP SOI Overview to view the changes to the ARP in 2025 and determine if submitting a SOI for a potential ARP project in 2027 or beyond may be appropriate for your district. Please note that an updated ARP SOI Overview will be issued ahead of each SOI biennial opening with the next happening in 2027.
To facilitate schools moving toward Massachusetts’s goal for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the MSBA introduced heat pump conversion projects in 2025. Beginning in June 2024, the MSBA began a study to further understand scope, schedule, and cost factors that could impact the conversion of existing public-school facilities to heat pumps for heating and cooling. The report, which recommends technical and programmatic approaches to inform the MSBA’s grant program to best support heat pump conversion within the ARP, can be found in the right column.
The MSBA’s $300 Million Green Repair Program is a one-time program that was offered in Fiscal Year 2011 for the repair or replacement of roofs, windows, and/or boilers in public school facilities. Learn more about the MSBA’s Green Repair Program.
Questions about the Accelerated Repair Program?
The MSBA encourages all interested districts to submit an SOI to the MSBA, but the ARP is not appropriate for all potential projects. With each ARP project, the MSBA intends to prolong the longevity of the existing building and improve the environment of the school.
An archive of past Accelerated Repair Program invitations between 2012 and 2025.
In March 2010, the MSBA officially launched its one-time, $300 Million Green Repair Program. No additional projects will be invited to participate in the Green Repair Program moving forward; however, the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair Program, like the Green Repair Program, offers districts the opportunity to complete repairs on roofs, windows, and boilers at multiple schools simultaneously.
