Springfield will receive more than $150 million in state funding to pay for school construction projects.

The city has been selected by the state for a pilot program whereby the state will supplement routine maintenance costs of school facilities.  Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy Cahill made the announcement during a recent visit to Springfield.

The city will be awarded $20 million by the Massachusetts School Building Authority over the next three years.  The award will help fund a number of scheduled repairs at 16 of Springfield’s schools.  This is unusual since the Authority typically only funds new school construction and large-scale renovations.  Chair of the Authority, Treasurer Cahill, stated that the hope was that if this program was enabled state-wide that it would decrease the need for such expensive projects.

Katherine Craven, executive director of the state school building authority, stated that Springfield was selected for the supplemental capital improvement pilot program due to the city’s impeccable history of funding school building maintenance.  School Superintendant Al Ingram stated that the repairs to the schools will attribute to a better learning environment.  He said, “…our kids deserve a place to come to school where learning can take place in an environment that is positive and nurturing, and I think this investment of resources will certainly go a long way in helping us do that.”

An additional $112 million is committed by the school building authority to assist in the building of a new Putnam Vocational Technical High School here in Springfield.  Only 10% of the $125 million project will be funded by the city.  The groundbreaking is scheduled to occur in December of this year.

Mayor Dominick Sarnos believes that it will be an economic boost for the community.  He believes that construction of the new facility will contribute to jobs and the local economy, along with providing work for city employees via the school’s maintenance improvements.  Along with all the funding already mentioned, the school building authority has pledged $29 million to renovate the Forrest Park Middle School.  The school was slotted for replacement; however, city officials recently changed their minds.

It will be interesting to see what all this school funding does for the economy of Springfield.  Of course, some of the funding may be soft benefits in the form of higher state test scores and improved academics overall.  Only time will tell.

Since schools are so important to most people, it might be time to check out Springfield, MA Homes for Sale to see if a move to a good school district is in your future.