The Massachusetts School Building Authority Board of Directors held their annual meeting yesterday and notified the City of Lowell and it’s State’s delegation that they are advancing the city along the process of reimbursement for cost overruns on the Lowell High School construction project.

The additional funding made available was part of the budget recently passed by the State Legislature and signed by Governor Maura Healey, which included an additional $100-million dollars to assist communities whose project costs had skyrocketed post-pandemic. In Lowell’s case, that number is close to $40-million, with close to three years of construction still remaining in the process.

“Based on a review of the timeline for the City of Lowell’s Lowell High School project,” the MSBA wrote, “the District may be eligible for an adjustment to the grant previously approved at the April 10, 2019 MSBA Board of Directors meeting. ”

The MSBA noted the city submitted all the paperwork required to qualify for the process and advised on “the next steps needed to further understand if, and how, the District’s grant may be adjusted.”

Reimbursement at the higher funding limits will begin when the Commonwealth turns over the $100-million in additional funding to the MSBA, which in the meantime will work with the District to finalize the documentation needed to process it.

Lowell was originally awarded $210-million from the state as part of the nearly $340-million project. It is not expected the city will received the full $40-million overrun in the amended funding, but a number closer to $30-million is believed more likely.