NORTHBOROUGH – Before the start of the school year, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) held a site visit at Zeh Elementary School as part of the process to determine if the roof replacement project would be accepted into one of their programs.
In the spring, the school district submitted a statement of interest to the MSBA to replace the roof of Zeh through their Accelerated Repair Program. According to Assistant Superintendent of Operations Keith Lavoie at the Sept. 4 Northborough School Committee meeting, the district deemed that the roof was solar ready.
“Which I believe was a good criteria because we were contacted by MSBA about five days before school started … and we had a site visit,” he said.
Lavoie went on the roof with members of MSBA, and the authority conducted a deeper investigation. He expected that the authority would have a decision by the middle of October to determine which programs would be accepted.
In late 2023, seven solar projects were presented at a combined meeting of the school committees. In Northborough, the projects were proposed for Zeh, Proctor, Lincoln Street and a canopy at Melican.
In terms of the other solar projects, Solect Energy was able to get the solar arrays installed at Lincoln Street and Proctor over the summer. Lavoie said additional work needs to be done in terms of connectivity.
“We are National Grid ready,” said Lavoie.
Summer work
Because school was out for the summer early, Lavoie said the additional week “did play a dividend.”
“We were able to get to more maintenance projects, a little more painting, than we have in years past, which has definitely brightened the buildings and made things great,” he said.
At Melican Middle School, the outdoor courts were repaired. The Proctor Elementary School roof project has officially been fully completed. Lavoie said the district was almost ready to go out for procurement for the electrical side of the air conditioning project at Melican.
Part of the work included landscaping at each of the five schools in Northborough Public Schools.
“I think we’re committed to making sure that our facilities look as great as they are inside in terms of what students experience,” said Superintendent Greg Martineau. “I think it speaks volumes when you drive by a school and it’s well-maintained, the grounds look inviting. I think it sends a strong message to the community that we value education and we value the spaces students occupy each day.”