The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) yesterday approved over $93-million in Accelerated Repair Grants in nine school districts, with Lowell receiving nearly $5-million for repair work at three elementary schools.
At the same meeting, the MSBA Board voted to remove Dracut’s Campbell School project from its Capital pipeline. That decision comes after the town’s voters rejected the project during a Special Town Election in June, followed by an ill-fated effort to revisit that vote later in the summer.
The Bailey School in Lowell’s Upper Highlands neighborhood was awarded $1,633,626 for window and door improvements. South Lowell’s Shaughnessy School also received funding for windows and doors, to the tune of $1,642,311, as did the McAvinnue School in Pawtucketville, which will see a financial influx of $1,718.163.
The funding covers nearly two-thirds of the $7,624,145 total price tag for the three projects.
“We are grateful for the continued support of the MSBA’s Accelerated Repair Program, which has made necessary repairs and upgrades to school buildings possible,” Lowell Schools Superintendent Liam Skinner told InsideLowell. “These new windows and doors at the Bailey, Shaughnessy, and McAvinnue Schools will improve energy efficiency and provide a safer, more comfortable, and more welcoming learning and working environment for Lowell students, teachers, and staff.”
The main goals of the Accelerated Repair Program are to improve learning environments for children and teachers, reduce energy use, and generate cost savings for districts.
Since its 2004 inception, the MSBA has approved more than 1,200 projects and has made over $19-billion in reimbursements for school construction projects across the Commonwealth.
