Core Program Statement of Interest Process Overview | Massachusetts School Building Authority

Introduction

The Massachusetts School Building Authority (the “MSBA”) is a quasi-independent government authority that strives to work with local communities to create affordable, sustainable, and energy efficient schools across Massachusetts. The MSBA's grant program is a non-entitlement, competitive program. The grants are distributed by the MSBA Board of Directors based on need and urgency, as expressed by the district and validated by the MSBA. The Core Program is intended for new construction, addition, and/or renovation projects while the Accelerated Repair Program (“ARP”) is intended for roofs, windows/doors, and heat pump conversions in existing school facilities. The MSBA completes an extensive review of available information for all submitted Statements of Interest (“SOI”) for the Core Program each year.

The goals of this review include to determine those schools that are the most urgent and needy relative to the cohort of SOI submittals filed in that year, the MSBA considers many factors when looking at the totality of the SOIs including, but not limited to, the age of the building, the amount of space per student, the current and projected enrollment, the condition of the major building systems, the general environment of the building and the appropriateness of the building to meet the educational mission, and the number of previously invited Core Program projects. The MSBA will also look to understand the range of options each district may be considering when planning for educational facilities district-wide.

The following information provides an overview of the SOI process from the initial opening of the SOI period, which is typically during the month of January, through the Board of Directors vote to authorize invitations to the MSBA's grant program at a subsequent winter Board meeting; this timeline may vary as needed. The MSBA reviews these dates for the Core Program annually, and the ARP biennially and may adjust the opening and closing dates as may be needed. Each year, the SOI opening information is published on the MSBA’s website. In addition, each superintendent receives email communications in advance of the SOI opening, on the day of, and throughout the filing period until the closure of the filing period.

The Accelerated Repair Program, which is intended for the partial or full replacement of roofs, windows/doors and heat pump conversions in existing school facilities, will again be accepting SOIs for consideration in January 2027, consistent with its biennial openings.

The Annual Program Funding Cap

The Commonwealth irrevocably dedicated a 1% statewide sales tax, known as the School Modernization Trust Fund ("SMART Fund"), to the MSBA's grant program. The state sales tax collections inform the amount of annual funding the MSBA can commit for projects. The Commonwealth's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget increased the MSBA's Annual Program Funding Cap to $1.2 billion. The Annual Program Funding Cap is adjusted each year by an amount that is equal to the lesser of the rate of growth, by percentage, of dedicated sales tax revenue or 6.5 per cent. The Commonwealth’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget also allows the MSBA to fund grants associated with the ARP outside of the limits of the Annual Program Funding Cap. 

The SOI Due Diligence Process

The SOI process involves the district filing an electronic version of an SOI, accompanying vote(s), and supplemental material with the MSBA by the established submission deadline. MSBA staff are readily available to address concerns, questions, and issues before, during, and after the filing period. Once the filing period has closed, MSBA staff commence the due diligence process for all submitted SOIs. This is a four-phase process, which includes:

Review SOI submissions for completeness.
Review SOI submissions and accompanying documents for content.
Conduct Senior Study visits, if required.
Recommend SOIs for invitation into the Eligibility Period.

During this process, the MSBA may seek to obtain additional or clarifying information from districts. As the MSBA reviews the entire cohort of SOIs submitted, it will determine the appropriate level of due diligence that will be required for each SOI and will notify districts of the next steps accordingly.

Invitation into Eligibility Period is based upon several factors, including the due diligence conducted by MSBA staff and a review of the entire cohort of SOIs. Staff complete Senior Study visits for SOIs recommended for further review to determine the facilities that have the greatest and most urgent need. Recommendations are then made to align project invitations with the MSBA’s Annual Program Funding Cap. After careful consideration and the due diligence conducted by MSBA staff, a SOI may not be invited into the Eligibility Period based upon, but not limited to, one or more of the following:

The district determines during the due diligence process that it is not ready to proceed with a Core Program project at the SOI school.
The district notifies the MSBA that it is proceeding with a building project or other short-term solution at the submitted SOI school independent of the MSBA.
The submitted SOI school is under consideration by the district for consolidation with an active Core Program project.
The submitted SOI school has an ARP project currently underway.
The MSBA’s historic Core Program project involvement with the district, taking into consideration the percentage of current students attending an MSBA-funded Core Program project school, is higher than the participation in other districts within the SOI cohort.
The district or the MSBA did not identify overcrowding as an existing or pending deficiency at the SOI school.
The MSBA determines that the building deficiencies, designated as the most urgent and needy, at the submitted SOI school are not among the highest within the cohort based on School Survey Building Condition and/or General Environment scores.
The MSBA determines that the building deficiencies, designated as the most urgent and needy, at the submitted SOI school are not among the highest within the SOI cohort selected for further review based on the degree of urgency and need.

1. Review SOI submissions for completeness:

Once the SOI system has closed, MSBA staff review each submission to confirm that all required materials have been received. The MSBA works with districts throughout the filing period to ensure that the SOI is complete.

For all SOI submissions, the district needs to provide:
An electronic version of the SOI with the required electronic signatures. There are two separate certifications in each SOI that district officials will need to sign.
An electronic version of the Closed Schools Certification with the required electronic signatures.
All required vote documentation, which must be uploaded in the SOI system to submit an SOI and in the prescribed format set forth within the MSBA’s SOI application system.
- Cities and Towns must submit the following vote documentation:
  - Vote of the municipal governing body (i.e. City Council/Board of Aldermen/Board of Selectmen/equivalent governing body) authorizing the Superintendent of Schools to submit the SOI (meeting minutes are NOT required).
  - Vote of the School Committee authorizing the Superintendent of Schools to submit the SOI (meeting minutes are NOT required).
- Regional School Districts must submit the following vote documentation:
  - Vote of the Regional School Committee authorizing the Superintendent of Schools to submit the SOI (meeting minutes are NOT required).
Any supporting materials required and/or any supplemental material a district elects to submit with the SOI must be uploaded in the SOI system in order to submit an SOI. Hard copies will no longer be accepted.
- If applicable, districts are required to provide material specific to certain Statutory Priorities selected by the district, which must be uploaded in the SOI system to submit an SOI:
  - If the district selects Statutory Priority 1, an electronic version of the engineering or other report detailing the nature and severity of the problem and a written professional opinion of how imminent the system failure is likely to manifest itself are required. The district must also submit photographs of the problematic building area or system to the MSBA electronically. Hard copies will no longer be accepted.
  - If the district selects Statutory Priority 3, an electronic summary of the accreditation report(s) focusing on the deficiencies as stated in the SOI must be uploaded to the SOI system in order to submit the SOI. Hard copies will no longer be accepted.

The supplemental materials noted above must be uploaded in the SOI system as part of the SOI submission, on or before the submission deadline. The district and the MSBA should discuss in advance of the filing date any extenuating circumstances or requests for exceptions to receipt of the material.

2. Review each SOI submission and accompanying documents for content:

Once an SOI is determined to be complete, MSBA staff review the information, and any additional documents submitted electronically with the SOI. MSBA staff then compile the data necessary to assess SOIs filed in that year that may be categorized as the most urgent and needy.

Determining the most urgent and needy SOIs relies on many different data sources. MSBA staff use over 50 data points that include the SOI, the MSBA’s project management system, the MSBA’s enrollment tool, the MSBA’s 2016 and 2025 School Survey, and information from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”). There are many factors that can impact the assessment of urgency and need in an SOI, such as increasing enrollment, overcrowding, building conditions, general environment, and program deficiencies. As such, it is important to assemble as much data as possible so that staff may gain as complete a picture of the submitted SOI as possible.

Due to the volume of SOIs submitted for the Core Program, the MSBA requests that each district identifies its Priority SOI for consideration when filing more than one in a given year. This enables the district and the MSBA to focus financial and staff resources on completing a project and ensures an opportunity for a grant for as many districts as possible.

With a focus on each district’s identified Priority SOI, MSBA staff then look at this smaller cohort of submitted SOIs to assess urgency and need, focusing on:

The 2016 and 2025 School Survey rating of the building condition.
The 2016 and 2025 School Survey rating of the general environment.
The previous or ongoing Core Program project activity with the MSBA.
Section 8 of the MSBA's statute.

Consideration of these factors produces a smaller subset of the Priority SOIs that appear to be more urgent and needy than the other SOIs submitted that year. With this assessment, a group of SOIs are identified for further consideration. This further review may or may not require a Senior Study visit. If the MSBA is familiar with the school facility identified in the SOI or if the facility has already received a Senior Study visit within the previous two or three years, a Senior Study visit may not be needed for the SOI. The MSBA may choose to revisit a school within this two or three-year window, if the SOI contains new information from the last visit.

3. Conduct Senior Study Visits, if required:

If MSBA staff determine that a Senior Study visit is needed to complete the due diligence process, MSBA staff, accompanied by a technical consultant, will visit the SOI facility. The MSBA may conduct facility visits either virtually, in person or a combination of virtual and in-person. The MSBA may request the use of alternative technology to complete the visits such as virtual meetings, drones, district-supplied recordings, or by other means. Depending upon the method used, the Senior Study visit may be conducted in two parts, holding the meeting and the facility tour at different times and days.

The Senior Study visit lasts approximately two hours and represents an opportunity for the MSBA to further understand the issues identified in the district’s SOI. MSBA staff request that the district be represented by someone familiar with the facility and systems, someone familiar with the financial readiness of the district, as well as someone familiar with the curriculum as it relates to the programs offered. The district is requested to provide a copy of the school's floor plans (emergency/evacuation plans are sufficient) ahead of the MSBA visit.

The Senior Study visit starts with a meeting to review the SOI and the MSBA process, discuss the district’s community and financial readiness to proceed with a potential building project and to hear district concerns.  The discussion is followed by a tour of the main areas of the school, as well as typical general classrooms and specialty spaces. If in the proposed project the district is considering the potential of consolidating school facilities, then the MSBA may elect to visit the additional facilities identified by the district.

Depending upon the number of Senior Study visits that are required in a certain year, this phase can take approximately eight to ten weeks in total, with visits typically scheduled from August through October. This timeframe may vary.

4. Recommend SOIs for Invitation into Eligibility Period:

Once the content review and Senior Study visits have been completed, MSBA staff again review the factors that can impact the assessment of urgency and need in an SOI (e.g., increasing enrollment, evidence of overcrowding, building condition, general environment, and program deficiencies), to understand the total impact of all of the factors on the overall need expressed in the SOI. As the number of invitations that the MSBA can issue varies each year and the number of SOIs received each year exceeds the MSBA’s Annual Program Funding Cap, MSBA staff compare the SOIs that were selected for further review to each other to determine a degree of urgency and need, ranging from minor to major, for each of the SOIs.

MSBA staff then provide their findings to the Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director/Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the MSBA’s Facilities Assessment Subcommittee. Recommendations are then presented to the MSBA Board of Directors who vote to invite districts and their SOI schools into the Eligibility Period.