City appeals to state for school repair funds
By Nathaniel Weixel Contributing Writer

Marlborough - The Marlborough School District is one of hundreds across the state that will compete for up to $500 million in school construction grants this coming school year.

Under a new system designed to be tougher on schools requesting state funding, school districts had until July 31 to submit statements of interest (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), detailing which schools have problems and how the problems can be fixed. Marlborough submitted seven SOI: one for every school in the district.

The state will not be able to fund every project that is proposed, which means school districts will have to make a strong case on their SOI in order to receive state help. If a school district doesn't receive state funding for this school year, fiscal year (FY) 2008, they can reapply for FY 2009. As of Aug. 8, the MSBA had received 420 SOIs from more than 161 districts.

John Ghiloni, director of public facilities in Marlborough, said he had not yet determined which buildings get priority over others.

"Every building has needs, but we haven't determined yet which needs more," Ghiloni said.

The deadline for submitting prioritized project lists to the MSBA was Aug. 15. All seven of the SOIs Marlborough submitted cite severe overcrowding due to a projected enrollment increase as their main problem. Most of the schools also listed poor heating systems as a concern. Kane School, Richer School, Marlborough High and the Early Childhood Center were listed as obsolete buildings that either need an addition or need to be replaced.

Ghiloni said the Marlborough schools were built in the late 1960s and need to be updated. He said fixing every problem completely would require millions of dollars and take a long time.

"This is long-range planning," Ghiloni said. "We're just looking for some money. This is to let the state know we have needs and we're out there."

Ghiloni said all the major projects listed on the SOI were projects that can be done in the future.

"There are no active plans to build an addition or anything like that right now," Ghiloni said.

If Marlborough doesn't win any state funding this year, Ghiloni said some essential projects still would be completed.

"Some things will get done, some won't," he said. "There won't be a whole new school or an addition, but if the roof or heating system needs repairing, we can go through the City Council to get money."

Ghiloni said that the state visited Marlborough schools earlier in the year and will come again to assess the urgent claims made on the SOIs.

According to its Web site, over the next several months the MSBA will be working with communities that submitted an SOI to "verify the problem identified by the district and, if there is funding available to assist in fixing any problems from the MSBA, collaborate on potential solutions."

There are some projects that can't wait for state funding. Ghiloni said there are roof leaks in Richer School that are currently being repaired, and there are plans to fix the roof on Kane School in the near future.

"I have roof leaks … Those are pressing," Ghiloni said. "Nothing's falling down, but things need to get done."