School District Steps Closer To State Building Aid

Swampscott has moved another step closer to gaining approval for state funding for a school building project.

Exactly one year ago, the district started the application process by filing a statement of interest in replacing or adding to obsolete buildings.

In the statement officials identified the 100-year-old as a deficient building.

They also stated that the district’s elementary schools were using every available space, and that some services, and accessibility, were limited due to a shortage of space.

The district listed a “potential new school” as the “potential project scope” in the statement.

On Wednesday, the Massachusetts School Building Authority voted to invite the Swampscott School District into the eligibility period, according to an e-mail from Superintendent Lynne Celli sent to residents on Wednesday.

This is a 270-day period during which the Building Authority will determine whether the district is ready to manage and fund a capital project, according to the MSBA.

“It will help to determine a district’s financial and community readiness to enter the capital pipeline,” according to the MSBA website. “It will also assist districts locally by providing a definitive schedule and identifying needs for planning and budgeting.”

Right off, within 60 days, Swampscott will need to form a School Building Committee.

Other requirements that must be met within the 270-day window include a summary of the district’s funding capacities and maintenance practices, and design enrollment information for a proposed project.

The district would have to advance beyond the eligibility period to qualify for funding. This advancement would include an invitation to a feasibility study and an invitation to the MSBA’s capital pipeline.

The district has now advanced beyond the statement of interest phase to the eligibility phase.

The firm reported back to the Building Authority on Hadley's condition and needs.

Ultimately, the state provides partial funding for school projects that it supports.

That means that the local master plan for consolidating elementary schools in Swampscott is not necessarily the project for which the state would provide funding.

The school building process, in general, from the time that a statement of interest is filed to when a project starts, is typically 3-5 years, the Superintendent said earlier.

In 2004, the Building Authority replaced the education department’s building assistance program, which racked up $11 billion in debt and left many school districts waiting for funding for many years.

The Building Authority’s goal is to select affordable and efficient projects for funding and to pay the costs as they are incurred, thereby saving districts money on interest payments, according to the Building Authority Website.