Green Repair Grant Means Boilers for the Melican School

Starting earlier this year, and working with an aggressive and somewhat daunting timeline, Algonquin public schools fulfilled all the requirements to apply for a

Last week, State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), and Katherine Craven, MSBA executive director, announced that the MSBA Board of Directors has approved $59.5 million for 23 Green Repair Projects in 12 districts.

According to a letter sent to the Northborough Board of Selectmen, the MSBA's board voted to approve approximately $309,096 in grant money toward the boiler replacement project at the Melican School.

As the press release stated, the main goals of the MSBA’s Green Repair Program are to improve learning environments for students and teachers, reduce energy use, and generate cost savings for districts. The program is for the repair or replacement of roofs, windows, and/or boilers in schools that are otherwise structurally, functionally, and educationally sound. The one-time-only program has a budget of $300 million and grants are awarded on a competitive basis.

“Our Green Repair Program allows us to make much needed repairs to more schools in less time,” said Grossman. “Besides improving the learning environment for our children, the green repairs also make our schools more energy efficient, and generate significant cost savings. It's a win-win program for everyone.”

“The MSBA has invited over 175 school repair projects into our Green Repair Program,” said Executive Director Katherine Craven. “Thousands of children will be the direct beneficiaries of an improved learning environment.”

According to a statement, the MSBA strives to find the right-sized, most fiscally-responsible, and educationally-appropriate solutions to create safe and sound learning environments. In its six year history, the MSBA has made more than $7.9 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 in these difficult economic times.