State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), and Jack McCarthy, MSBA Executive Director, announced today that the MSBA Board of Directors voted to move the Riverbend Elementary School to the next phase in the MSBA capital pipeline. The Schematic Design phase will look at possible options for the replacement of the school with a new facility on the site of the current school building. The next step is for the MSBA to work in collaboration with the District to produce detailed design plans for a potential school project.
“Listening to the needs of a community and developing projects accordingly are priorities at the MSBA, and the Riverbend Elementary School project is a case study in that sentiment,” said Treasurer Grossman. “Thanks to our collaborative work with local officials, we are working to build a safe and modern educational facility that will provide students with a top-notch learning environment.”
The proposed project would replace the existing Riverbend Elementary School with a new 95,726 square-foot facility serving 545 students from kindergarten through grade 4. The school would also serve pre-kindergarten students. The current school was built in 1907 and suffers from deficiencies in mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.
“It has been a pleasure collaborating with Athol-Royalston officials throughout this process,” Executive Director McCarthy said. “Now, production and approval of a schematic design will help to determine the final budget for the potential project.”
The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally-appropriate, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its 2004 inception, the Authority has made over $9.6 billion in reimbursements 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.
