BOSTON, MA- State Treasurer Tim Cahill, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”) and Katherine Craven, MSBA Executive Director, today announced that the MSBA has made a $1,448,501 payment to the Town of Berkley. This payment was made to help the town pay down its remaining debt from the renovation project at Berkley Community School which the Department of Education initially approved in 2002. This payment replaces eleven annual payments the MSBA would have made to the town over the next eleven fiscal years.
“These are tough economic times, but because the MSBA has always exerted fiscal restraint we are able to help Berkley by making this payment that will allow the district to pay down its debt from the Berkley Community School,” Treasurer Cahill said.
“The MSBA’s flexibility to make these types of lump sum payments is another benefit to cities, towns and regional school districts,” stated Katherine Craven, Executive Director of the MSBA.
The MSBA strives to find the right-sized, most fiscally responsible and educationally appropriate solutions to create safe and sound learning environments. The MSBA is committed to protecting the taxpayer’s dollar by improving the school building grant process and avoiding the mistakes of the past in the funding and construction of schools. The MSBA reformed the Commonwealth’s formerly rampant and unsustainable program, which was more than $11 billion in debt. The MSBA has made $7.4 billion in reimbursements to cities, towns and regional school districts 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.