MSBA to vote on moving Minuteman project forward

[unhappycamper]

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20150804/NEWS/150808791/0/breaking_ajax

MSBA to vote on moving Minuteman project forward
By Brittney McNamara/ Daily News Staff
Posted Aug. 4, 2015 at 4:39 PM

SUDBURY – On Aug. 6, the Massachusetts School Building Authority is set to vote on Minuteman Regional Technical Vocational High School’s plans for a new building.

At the meeting, the board will vote to move the project for a 628-student school building for $144 million - that some towns have contested - to the next phase. Since the project hit the state’s funding pipeline in 2009, members of the 16-town district have had varying levels of support, making for a rocky path.

In July 2009, the MSBA put a new Minuteman building in line to receive state funding, knocking the project back a step in January 2012 after the authority determined the project hadn’t been moving forward. According to an MSBA staff memo, the Minuteman building was moved to the eligibility period, the step before the funding pipeline, providing the district a chance to resolve enrollment and funding issues member towns had brought forward.

In June 2012, the project was put back in line for funding. If approved, the MSBA would fund 40 percent of the project. In July 2014, the district asked for a two-year extension on MSBA funding deadlines to complete revisions to the school's regional agreement. The district proposed a new agreement that changed how annual assessments, capital costs and votes are weighed, all which was tied to the new building project. Only 10 of the 16 towns approved the new agreement.