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 Sarah W. Gibbons Middle School to the next phase in the MSBA capital pipeline. In the Schematic Design phase, Westborough and the Authority will look at options for a potential renovation and repair project at the school. The next step is for the MSBA to work in collaboration with the District to produce detailed designs for a potential school project.
“Listening to the needs of a community and developing projects accordingly are priorities at the MSBA, and the Gibbons Middle 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 make limited renovations, infrastructure repairs, site circulation improvements and other upgrades at the 110,000 square foot school, which serves 550 students in grades 7 and 8. Gibbons Middle School was built in 1956 and suffers from deficiencies in major building systems including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, building envelope and windows.
“Production and approval of a schematic design will help us to determine the final budget for the potential project,” Executive Director McCarthy said.
The MSBA partners with Massachusetts communities to support the design and construction of educationally-appropriate, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its 2004 inception, the Authority has made over 1,350 site visits to more than 250 school districts as part of its due diligence process and has made over $10.7 billion in reimbursements for education capital improvement projects.
