Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Project Partnership

About MSBA

The Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”) funds capital improvement projects in the Commonwealth’s public schools as a quasi-independent government authority and strives to work with local communities to create affordable, sustainable, and energy efficient schools across Massachusetts. The MSBA opens a Statement of Interest period each year for districts seeking state assistance for proposed school projects. The MSBA reviews all Statements of Interest and advances a portion of eligible projects, at the discretion of MSBA staff, for “further review.” During this stage, MSBA staff conduct site visits and interviews with districts before making a final recommendation to the MSBA Board. The MSBA Board considers staff recommendations and conducts a final vote to invite districts into the MSBA funding process. 

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Current Status

Phase 1 of the MSBA process is the Eligibility Phase. This phase is up to 270 days, during which districts must complete a series of requirements. Somerville’s Eligibility Phase for the Winter Hill project began on March 4, 2024, and will end no later than November 29, 2024. Our required timeline is:

Deliverables

Here are the requirements Somerville is working to meet by November 2024: 

Within 30 days (by April 4, 2024): 

• Initial Compliance Certification. This is a document that will require three signatures (not votes): the Mayor, the Superintendent, and the Chair of the School Committee.

Within 60 days (by May 4, 2024): 

• Formation of School Building Committee. Complete and submit a standard membership form, with the MSBA’s minimum designations, signed by the Mayor. It will be reviewed and ultimately approved by the MSBA’s legal team.

Within 90 days (by June 4, 2024): 

• Submit Educational Profile Questionnaire (EPQ). This will provide context to our project, inform our enrollment process for the school, and help inform current facility challenges/needs and how the district envisions a future facility. 
• Online Enrollment Submissions (2). Submit enrollment data, housing data, and information about private schools within Somerville. Provide operational information, and consolidation information (if applicable). 

Within 180 days (by August 30, 2024): 

• Agreement on enrollment certification. There will be an enrollment meeting scheduled where the MSBA will share projections, discuss project particulars, and come to an agreement on enrollment numbers. This will result in a letter and certification. 3 signatures will be required from Somerville (not a vote): the Mayor, the Superintendent, and the School Committee Chair.
• Provide Maintenance and Capital Planning Information. Report on historical maintenance practices. 

Prior to 270 days (November 29, 2024): 

• Appropriation of Funds: A local vote is required for the Feasibility Study through Schematic Design. The MSBA will provide standard vote language. Funds are typically for hiring an OPM, Designer, conducting environmental and site testing, and contingencies and related expenses. While the MSBA cannot tell districts how much to appropriate, they can provide data and specs from surrounding communities for similar project size and scope.

At the end of the Eligibility Phase, the MSBA Board will vote on whether to invite Somerville into the Feasibility Study period. The Feasibility Study phase has a term of 913 days - or a little over 30 months once an agreement is signed by both Somerville and the MSBA.

Each district invited into the MSBA process is assigned an MSBA project coordinator who will serve as the district’s point of contact for the life of the project. This will ensure a strong partnership with the MSBA, and provide clarity around questions and challenges that may arise throughout the project. 

School Building Committee + Advisory Group

The MSBA requires that districts in their funding program form a School Building Committee. The School Building Committee (SBC) will provide oversight of our ultimate project. The MSBA requires certain members on an SBC, however Somerville is also seeking four additional community volunteers to serve on our SBC. To read more and to apply, read our full press release, here. 
 
In addition to the SBC, the City is also forming a Somerville School Construction Advisory Group. If you are less interested in technical oversight and more interested in delving into some core decisions about the project, such as the location of a new school or whether it will be just for Winter Hill or also for the Brown, you may wish to apply to join the Advisory Group, which will discuss these topics. A call for Advisory Group members will be issued later this spring. The Advisory Group will develop recommendations to be considered by the Mayor.   
 

What is the School Building Committee? 

• The SBC monitors and provides technical guidance and fiscal oversight during planning, design, and construction of a new school.  
• The SBC works with City and Somerville Public Schools staff and consultants to oversee project management such as hiring project managers, architects, and construction contractors.   
• The SBC ensures that detailed plans and designs meet the needs of the school district within budget.   
• All SBC spending decisions will go to the Mayor and then the City Council for approval.  
• Members monitor construction to assure adherence with the approved plans and budget.  

What types of decisions will the School Building Committee make? 

The SBC will make decisions that include but are not limited to:  

• project costs
• Contractors
• overall design
• additions not funded by the State such as athletics facilities
• building finishes and furnishings
• educational equipment purchases
• IT infrastructure
• sustainability features 

The SBC also contributes to decision-making on the location of the project, which will ultimately be decided by the Mayor, who has committed to faithfully consider community input on this question.  

What will the School Building Committee NOT decide?  

• The SBC will NOT decide whether a final building project will accommodate just the Winter Hill community, or if it merges the Winter Hill and Brown Schools.  
• The SBC will be part of the decision-making process for the location of a new school, but in Somerville, the authority to make the final decision on location rests with the Mayor, who has committed to faithfully consider community input on this matter.  
• The SBC will make initial start-up and project management decisions during a general planning phase while a parallel community process will provide input into the merger and location questions. The SBC will then oversee the chosen project through to completion after the project scope and location is decided by the Mayor following extensive community input and a recommendation by the School Construction Advisory Group.