Clarksburg School Invited Into MSBA Eligibility PhaseStaff Reports, iBerkshires Staff
12:32PM / Wednesday, January 14, 2015 | |
 Clarksburg Elementary School has been invited to enter the MSBA's eligibility phase. |
BOSTON — After years of applying, Clarksburg has been invited to begin the process of renovating or of building a new school.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority board of directors on Wednesday morning voted to invite the school district into the eligibility stage.
"I'm delighted that the board has voted Clarksburg Elementary School into the Eligibility Period," said outgoing state Treasurer Steven Grossman, board chairman. "We look forward to working collaboratively with Clarksburg officials to develop the best solution to meet the town's educational needs in a fiscally responsible manner."
The school district will have 270 days, or about nine months, to determine its financial capability and the community's support for continuing the process.
Last week, the School Committee anticipated seeking approval at May's annual town meeting.
Once the school district gets approval and appoints a school building committee, it will become eligible for the feasibility study phase, subject to a vote of the board of directors. The MSBA will determine the state and town's financial responsibilities for the study and construction.
"The Eligibility Period is a critical step in the MSBA's process of evaluating potential work on Clarksburg Elementary School," MSBA Executive Director Jack McCarthy said in a statement. "We look forward to our continued partnership with the district as it enters the Eligibility Period."
The school district has submitted a number of "statements of interest" in applying for the program and set aside a stabilization fund in anticipation of doing a feasibility study. It renewed its pursuit of a new school in 2010 and the MSBA sent a team to review the school in 2013.
The 60-year-old building has had a number of additions, the most recent in the 1970s. School officials say the building is obsolete in terms of space and educational needs and has a number of structural and mechanical issues. Nearly 200 students are enrolled in the kindergarten-through-Grade 8 school; any new construction is also expected to include a preschool, which the town and school have been attempting to create for several years.
Should the district move into the feasibility study stage, consultants will prepare options for resolving its issues either by renovating or building new.
The final decision on construction would be up to voters.
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