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 Taconic High School to the next phase in the MSBA capital pipeline. In the Schematic Design phase, Pittsfield and the MSBA will look at options to replace the existing school on the current site. 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 Taconic High 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 current Taconic High School with a new 247,770 square foot facility serving 920 students in grades 9 through 12. Taconic High School was built in 1969 and suffers from deficiencies in major building systems including electrical, mechanical, plumbing 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, flexible, sustainable and cost-effective public school facilities. Since its 2004 inception, the Authority has made over 1,450 site visits to more than 250 school districts as part of its due diligence process and has made over $11 billion in reimbursements for school construction projects.