BOSTON, MA- State Treasurer Steven Grossman, Chairman of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”), and Katherine Craven, MSBA Executive Director, today announced that the MSBA has made a $2,661,047 payment to the Town of Richmond. This payment was made to help the town reduce its remaining debt from the addition and renovation project at the Richmond Consolidated School which the Department of Education initially approved in 2000. This payment replaces ten annual payments the MSBA would have made to the town over the next ten fiscal years.
“We are happy to be able to help Richmond by making this debt relief payment to assist in paying down the debt from the Richmond Consolidated School,” stated Treasurer Grossman. “The MSBA is constantly looking for innovative ways to help communities build, maintain and finance school projects and to ensure that the children of the Commonwealth can learn in safe and educationally-appropriate facilities.”
“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 $7.5 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.