MSBA decision expected on Friday

The School Committee and district will learn tomorrow whether the Middle School and High School campus project will be invited into the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) project pipeline.

The MSBA’s board of directors will meet at 10 a.m. on Friday to determine if it will invite Weston into the building program, which would open the door to state funding for the rehabilitation or reconstruction of the schools’ campuses.

To get a jump on a potential invitation to the program – which does not guarantee funding, as the MSBA’s program has a series of steps – the Select Board last week signed an initial compliance certification form at the request of School Committee member Ken Newberg, who is spearheading the project.

Newberg said there have been some signs that Weston may be accepted, even if it does not fit the profile of a community that needs financial support. The town had previously submitted a statement of interest to the MSBA in 2024 and then sent another one with additional information last spring.

Superintendent Karen Zaleski reported at the Dec. 1 School Committee meeting that the MSBA called her in November for what it deemed a “readiness discussion.” Newberg said this type of discussion, while potentially a good sign for Weston, is not a guarantee the town gets invited.

“What I strongly believe is we impressed the MSBA enough and they believe we are a good bet to have a successful project,” Newberg said. “We’re not a high-priority district. We don’t have a high need financially, we don’t check a lot of the boxes that may be a priority, except that we’re likely to have a successful project because of our priority of education and our ability to pay.”

If the town is invited into the eligibility period of the program, the MSBA will impose a 270-day deadline in which Weston will need to form a school building committee, complete an educational profile questionnaire, summarize maintenance and capital planning documents and receive local authorization for funding a feasibility study.

The feasibility study is one of the key steps in the MSBA’s program, and while the School Committee completed a feasibility study earlier this year, it will need to redo one within the bounds of the MSBA’s requirements.

“We have to repeat a good amount of what we’ve already done, but do it within the MSBA’s framework, which is much stricter and has more boxes to check,” Newberg said.

A minimum of 31% of funding could be reimbursable, according to Newberg.

Select Board members said they were concerned initially about signing the internal compliance certification form because they wanted to take the whole process into consideration before deciding whether to throw their support behind the project or oppose it. Members ultimately agreed to sign it as they said the project is something all residents should have a say in.

“This is ultimately not, in my view, something for the Select Board to say, ‘No, we’re not going to support it,’” Thomas Palmer said. “Personally, that’s a decision for the town to make … if the town wants to do it, then the town wants to do it.”

Newberg said he was unsure of when residents would be asked to fund the feasibility study because he was unclear on when the 270-day countdown would begin.

One option would be the spring Town Meeting, although Select Board Chair Lise Revers expressed concern about bringing both the school project and fire station building project before voters at the same meeting. Palmer said he believed presenting both projects wouldn’t be an issue, as the fire station project is on a different timeline than the school building, which could take several years to plan and design.

Another option, Newberg said, could be an early fall Special Town Meeting.

If the town is not invited to participate this year, the School Committee previously indicated it will continue to explore self-funding the project or it will attempt another MSBA round in 2026.