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The Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”) is a quasi-independent government agency created to reform the process of funding capital improvement projects in the Commonwealth’s public schools. The MSBA strives to create affordable, sustainable and energy efficient schools across Massachusetts.
The MSBA was created in 2004 to replace the former school building
assistance program administered by the Department of Education (now
the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education). The former
program was unsustainable and had accumulated more than $11 billion in
debt. 428 school projects were on a list waiting to begin
construction, and communities that actually broke ground routinely
waited years – sometimes decades – to receive their first payment from
the state.
The MSBA, which has a designated revenue stream of one penny of the
state sales tax, is collaborating with
municipalities to equitably invest up to $2.5 billion in schools
across the Commonwealth by finding the right-sized, most fiscally
responsible and educationally appropriate solutions to create safe and
sound learning environments. The MSBA is committed to protecting the
taxpayers’ dollar by improving the school building grant process and
avoiding the mistakes of the past in the funding and construction of
school facilities.
In its seven year history, the MSBA has
made more than $7.5 billion in reimbursements to cities, towns and
regional school districts for school construction projects. Instead
of waiting years for reimbursement, the MSBA’s Pro-Pay System now
allows the MSBA to pay districts as costs are incurred, usually within
15 days. 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 difficult
economic times.
