Swampscott starts quest for changes at Hadley

SWAMPSCOTT – The Massachusetts School Building Authority Board has voted to invite Swampscott Public Schools to begin the process to potentially receive state funding for a possible project at the Hadley Elementary school, according to state and school officials.”It’s very exciting – very preliminary, but very exciting – that we’ve been invited into the process,” School Superintendent Lynne Celli said on Thursday.But school and state officials emphasized a lengthy process still awaited and there was no guarantee of funding. Moreover, officials said it was too early to determine what the possible project may be.”It’s a step in the right direction,” said Matt Donovan, a spokesman with the school building authority. “Now we’re going to partner and collaborate with them in terms of seeing what we can do in terms of a potential project.”The Massachusetts School Building Authority [MSBA] Board voted Wednesday to invite Swampscott Public Schools into the “Eligibility Period,” according to a press release from the school district. This is the first of eight “modules” from beginning to completion of a project participating in the MSBA grant program for school building construction and renovation projects, according to the authority’s website. The website notes the vote is based on the Statement of Interest filed and “staff due diligence and recommendation.”Celli said Swampscott submitted a Statement of Interest last winter. In that statement, school officials identified what they said were deficiencies in the Hadley Elementary School, Donovan said. An independent, third-party evaluator visited the school in September.The vote initiates a 270-day period in which the school district must complete seven requirements. These include forming a school building committee and completing summaries of the district’s funding capacities and maintenance practices, according to the website.Donovan noted that this is the first time the building authority has used this process, so it is a different initial process than what Swampscott went through with the high school.If the district fulfills all requirements of the eligibility period, the building authority will reevaluate the proposal and bring it to another vote of the board, Donovan said. If approved by the board, the district will begin the Feasibility Study, the next phase of the process, Donovan said. He said at this point there are more details about what kind of project is being proposed.School Committee Member Rick Kraft said he was glad the district had progressed in the process but that there were many questions to be answered.”I think it’s great every time there’s an opportunity for funding,” Kraft said. “But it’s still very early on in the process, so it will be a while before we know what shape that takes, whether a new school or a renovation. But I’m glad that we’re this far and look forward to moving through the process and hopefully get some money for a school.”Celli also emphasized that there was no guarantee.”The MSBA process is a very specific and a very lengthy [one] and this is a very preliminary step,” Celli said in a press release. “It is my hope that the MSBA continues to keep us in the process as we move through these next steps.”Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].