A four-person team from the Massachusetts School Building Authority visited Hildreth Elementary School on Friday, Oct. 16, to look over the kindergarten wing. The MSBA’s visit was the next step toward possible state aid for renovating or rebuilding the kindergarten wing.
Superintendent Linda Dwight told the School Committee Monday that Harvard’s project was one of 40 applications the MSBA is still considering out of 158 submitted to it this year. Fewer than half of those 40 will eventually win funding, however.
Dwight said the MSBA looks at more than the particular construction project in its evaluation. Team members consider the district’s educational vision and needs as well as both school buildings (Bromfield and HES), she said. Then the MSBA may present options that cover more than the kindergarten wing. To receive aid, Dwight said, school buildings must meet standards for accessibility, energy use, and sprinkler systems.
The MSBA will announce which projects it approves in January 2016. If Harvard’s application is among them, the state is likely to pay about 40 percent of the project’s costs.
