At a March 31 meeting of the NHERI School Building Committee in the Town of Southborough, the committee's finance subcommittee reported that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has increased the district's estimated reimbursement, lowering the town's expected share of the cost for the proposed K–8 school.

Kathy (chairman of the finance subcommittee) said the committee now “believe[s] the total project cost as of tonight is about … $109,000,000” and that the MSBA grant is “going to be 35,000,000 and change.” She told members the committee also expects more than $5,000,000 in federal and state funding tied to the planned geothermal system.

The subcommittee presented derived figures that show a net town cost of roughly $68,000,000 after those funding sources, and an estimated annual debt service of about $4,070,000 once the bond is permanently financed. Subcommittee members said they are accounting for projected operational savings — primarily staff reductions — that they estimate will average about $1,200,000 per year over the next five years. The committee’s working estimate of net annual impact (debt service minus operational savings) is about $2,900,000.

Using those assumptions, the finance subcommittee calculated a standalone tax increase tied to the school bond of $703 for the average Southborough home. The subcommittee also used an average home value of $1,245,000 for that calculation and said it will publish an interactive tool on the NHERI project website so residents can input their own home values to see individual impacts.

Committee members stressed some caveats. Kathy called the MSBA figure an “estimated grant” and said the authority’s final audit and paperwork must be completed before the town’s permanent bond is issued. She said the MSBA board vote is expected April 30 and that the permanent bond issuance and steady-state debt service projection will be later (the committee modeled impacts through fiscal 2032, ending June 30, 2032).

Members also highlighted design and efficiency gains. Committee members said MSBA reviewers and project staff view the proposed facility as unusually efficient on a per-student square-foot basis compared with recent projects. Brian (staff member) confirmed that MSBA’s comments — once returned — factored into the square-footage and eligibility calculations, and that those comments helped move several thousand square feet from ineligible to eligible for reimbursement.

The committee announced scheduling and outreach directions: a detailed cost-and-budget presentation will be held via Zoom at 8:00 p.m. the same night and repeated in person at 9:00 a.m. Saturday in the Trotter Auditorium; a Thursday meeting involving K–8, select board and advisory groups was moved back to the Public Safety Building at 6:30 p.m. The committee said it will not vote on the cost projection at this meeting and tabled a community letter and the outreach calendar to a future agenda.

During public comment, resident Ken Boy (10 Ashley Road) cautioned that Social Security cost-of-living adjustments may be competed with by other rising costs over the same period, saying, “people are gonna have other costs increasing over that time that's also gonna compete for that COLA money.”

No formal vote on the project financing or an outreach plan was taken at the March 31 meeting; the committee plans further presentations before any final actions.

Next steps announced by the subcommittee include posting the slide deck on the NHERI rebuilding website, presenting the budget projection in the two scheduled sessions, and awaiting MSBA’s formal audit and April 30 board action.