BOSTON, MA – State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), and Katherine Craven, MSBA Executive Director, announced the successful sale of $142 million federally-subsidized bonds. The MSBA will use proceeds from the sale to fund grants to local school districts for the construction, renovation, and repair of public schools across the Commonwealth.
“The MSBA will use the proceeds from this bond offering to help communities across Massachusetts fund solutions to address their school facility needs. It will also provide our children with safe, modern, and sustainable learning environments, all the while saving taxpayers money,” said State Treasurer Steven Grossman.
“Communities across the Commonwealth will benefit from the numerous projects we will now be able to fund as a result of this bond sale,” said Executive Director Katherine Craven. “This sale will allow us to replace many roofs, boilers, and windows, enabling cities, towns, and regional school districts to achieve measurable energy cost savings at a zero interest cost to Massachusetts taxpayers.”
The MSBA strives to find the right-sized, most fiscally-responsible and educationally-appropriate solutions to create safe and sound learning environments. It is committed to protecting taxpayer dollars by improving the school building grant process and avoiding the costly mistakes of the past in the funding and construction of schools. The MSBA reformed the Commonwealth’s formerly rampant and unsustainable school building program, which was more than $11 billion in debt.
Since its inception in 2004, the Authority has made $7.9 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.