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 Frolio Middle School and Abington High School to the next phase in the MSBA capital pipeline. The next step is for the MSBA to work in collaboration with the District to produce detailed designs for a potential school project. In the Schematic Design phase, Abington and the Authority will look at options to replace the existing schools with a new facility serving pre-Kindergarten and grades 5 through 12.
“Listening to the needs of the community and developing projects accordingly are priorities at the MSBA. This Abington 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 middle and high schools with a new 234,560 square foot school serving pre-Kindergarten and grades 5 through 12 on the site of the current Abington High School playing field. The existing schools suffer from deficiencies in major building systems including electrical, mechanical, 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 creation, the MSBA has made more than $10.4 billion in timely payments to cities, towns and regional school districts for school construction projects. These reimbursements have saved municipalities over $2.9 billion in avoided local interest costs and have provided much needed cash flow to communities.