District enters MSBA eligibility window and outlines feasibility‑study timeline

Superintendent Jason DeFalco said the district officially enters the MSBA eligibility window next Thursday and reviewed the deliverables and deadlines required to stay in the process. The district must submit an initial compliance certificate within about a month, an educational profile and updated enrollment projections by Aug. 30, and an enrollment certification and maintenance/capital planning information by Nov. 28. DeFalco emphasized the importance of getting a local vote authorizing a feasibility study before Feb. 26, 2024, so the feasibility‑study agreement can be executed and the MSBA can consider the district at its December board meeting.

DeFalco said the committee must also form a school building committee to be in place by July 31 and that the capital planning subcommittee has discussed likely stakeholder representation (parents, selectboard member, finance committee member, administration, possibly a student representative). He recommended the committee consider hiring a consultant because MSBA is procedural and inflexible: “They’re very specific about all their rules,” he said, noting even signature conventions and timelines matter for eligibility.

Why it matters: advancing through MSBA eligibility could secure state support for a future school building project, but the application timeline has tight deadlines and limited tolerance for missed deliverables. The superintendent urged early action so the district is not “backed right up to that deadline.”

Next steps: DeFalco said administrators will bring a draft of the school building committee membership to the July 10 meeting and that the superintendent’s office and the capital planning subcommittee will work to meet the Aug. 30 and Feb. 26 deliverables deadlines. The committee did not take a formal vote on the report itself at the May 25 meeting.