BOSTON, MA – Katherine Craven, Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”) was in Plymouth today. On behalf of State Treasurer Tim Cahill, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the MSBA, she took part in the “Topping Off” ceremony at the site of the new Plymouth North High School celebrating the last steel beam being put in place.
The new 267,000 square foot school is being built as part of the MSBA’s Model School Program which effectively adapts and re-uses designs of successfully constructed high schools; simplifying the design process, reducing the amount of time projects are in the design phase and lowering design fees. Using elements of a previously designed Model School allows projects to begin construction faster and reduces construction costs for the project. At least a year of design work can be saved by using a Model School.
The new Plymouth North will serve 1,350 students and is expected to be completed in June 2013. The total budget for the school is $92,249,040 with the MSBA contributing 58.2% of eligible costs. The community has already achieved $10.4 million in construction bid savings. Through the MSBA’s Pro-Pay system, which reimburses communities for eligible construction costs as they are incurred, Plymouth has already received $4.9 million from the MSBA for this project.
“The MSBA is proud to have instituted a successful Model School Program to effectively adapt and re-use the design of successfully constructed schools,” stated Executive Director Katherine Craven. “Plymouth North High School will be built replicating a blueprint of a state-of-the-art high school and soon students and teachers in Plymouth will reap the benefits.”
“This new school will mean a 21st century learning facility for Plymouth high school students,” stated State Treasurer Tim Cahill. “The Model School Program has already saved taxpayers millions of dollars and residents of Plymouth will be the direct beneficiaries of the Model School program.”
“I am thrilled to see the progress that has been made on this long overdue facility,” said Rep Vinny deMacedo. “With tens of millions of dollars in savings, I am very excited about how much money our community has saved in building and entering into this model school program.”
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 school facilities. The MSBA has reformed the Commonwealth’s formerly rampant and unsustainable program, which had accumulated $11 billion in debt. In its six year history, the MSBA has made more than $7.2 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 in these difficult economic times.