HISTORY, MSBA & the MASTER PLAN

MSBA's Core Replacement Program - Third time's the charm

In the Spring of 2017 with the 10-year Facilities Master Plan in final draft form, the School Committee-- with the support of the Select Board-- made a strategic decision to seek partnership with the MSBA for the replacement of BOTH the Muraco and Lynch elementary schools. Having only recently completed the gut renovation and expansion of Winchester High School with the MSBA, our applications were denied. We tried again in 2018 at which time the MSBA sent their Senior Study team to Lynch and the Executive Director paid a personal visit to Muraco.

After our third attempt, the District was notified in December of 2019 of the Lynch School’s invitation to the Eligibility Period of the MSBA’s Core Replacement program. This lengthy pre-schematic phase began officially in April of 2020. It involved a more thorough documentation of project need, existing physical plant, enrollment information, housing statistics and early educational programming assumptions by the School Committee.

When the MSBA partners with a district, it’s because the Board finds the project eligible and a priority based on an evaluation of specific criteria published in the annual Statement of Interest (SOI) process. In this instance, the School Committee and Select Board identified three eligible criteria for consideration for the Muraco and Lynch elementary schools: 1) Existing Enrollment/Overcrowding, 2) Future space constraints and impact associated with additional enrollment growth and 3) Existing Physical Plant’s age, configuration and Condition.

Application to the MSBA is a time-intensive and competitive process, with between 60 to 90 projects submitted by districts each year and often fewer than ten making the cut for invitation into the pre-schematic Eligibility Phase of the Core Replacement Program. In addition to the lengthy and time-intensive due diligence process required in the Eligibility Period, the MSBA also requires towns to authorize funding for the next step of the partnership-- the Feasibility Study. Winchester Town Meeting authorized funding for the Lynch Feasibility Study in the Spring of 2020. Following an authorization to proceed, the MSBA and Winchester jointly built the project team in the spring and summer of 2021.