The Process
The Monument Mountain Regional High School (MMRHS) Project, encompasses all aspects of the planning and construction of the High School, including the selection of the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM), designer, and contractor, as well as oversight of the Project. The district has been selected by the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) to participate in their program to design and construct a new or renovated High School. Acceptance to the MSBA program does not guarantee state funding. The MSBA approval process must be successfully completed for the MSBA to provide significant financial assistance to the Project.
In June 2023, the district approved funds for the MMRHS Feasibility Study. The Feasibility Study will arrive at an educationally appropriate and cost effective solution for either a renovated or new Monument Mountain High School. The district must approve funding with a district vote in the Fall of 2025. The description of the MSBA process modules below.
- The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is a quasi-independent government authority created to reform the process of funding capital improvement projects in the Commonwealth’s public schools. The MSBA strives to work with local communities to create affordable, sustainable, and energy efficient schools across Massachusetts.
- The Legislature created the MSBA in 2004 to replace the former school building assistance program administered by the Department of Education (now the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education).
- The MSBA, which has a dedicated revenue stream of one penny of the state’s 6.25-percent sales tax, is collaborating with municipalities to equitably invest in finding the right-sized, most fiscally responsible and educationally appropriate solutions to create safe, sound, and sustainable learning environments.
- In its ten-year history, the MSBA has made more than $17 billion in reimbursements to cities, towns, and regional school districts for school construction projects.
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What is a Feasibility Study?
The Feasibility Phase of the MMRHS Building Project began in June 2023 and is anticipated to last 16-20 months.
During the Feasibility Study, the MMRHS High School Building Committee and Berkshire Hills Regional district/school staff work with the MSBA to document MMRHS’s educational program, generate an initial space summary, document existing conditions, establish design parameters, develop and evaluate alternatives, and recommend the most cost effective and educationally appropriate preferred solution to the MSBA Board of Directors for their consideration.
During this phase the Building Committee will submit the Preliminary Design Program (PDP) in July 2024, and Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) in December 2024. Approval of both reports by the MSBA Board of Directors is required for the project to proceed into Schematic Design.
Feasibility Study Steps:
- Statement of Interest
- The purpose of the feasibility study is to explore potential solutions to address existing and future overcrowding as well as the facility deficiencies for the Monument Mountain Regional High School, as identified in the Statement of Interest (SOI) submitted to MSBA dated June 10, 2021.
- Assumptions
- Grade 9-12 enrollment at Monument Mountain Regional High School: 485 students
- Explore options on the existing Monument Mountain Regional High School site
- Existing Conditions
- Analysis of existing conditions to assemble sufficient information on the problems and opportunities with the existing building and site, so any major implications for future requirements and design can be accurately judged.
- Educational Program, Standards, and Policies
- Document existing spaces using the MSBA Space Summary Template.
- Document inadequacies of existing spaces in delivering the educational program based on enrollment projections.
- Update the MSBA Space Summary Template for grades 9-12 @ 485 students for the Monument Mountain Regional High School.
- Preliminary Design Program
- Create a preliminary design program based on the MSBA Space Summary Template for grades 9-12 @ 485 students.
- Development of Alternatives
- In collaboration with the MSBA and the District, develop a few reasonable, educationally sound, economical, and practical solutions to evaluate. Each alternative shall satisfy the Educational Program, Standards, and Policies.
- Preliminary Evaluation of Alternatives
- Compare and evaluate alternative solutions to determine which solutions are educationally sound and meet basic requirements, including efficiency and cost effectiveness.
- Prepare comparative cost analyses for the various solutions.
- Renovation options shall include an evaluation of the environmental and cost impact of construction phasing on students and staff that may be occupying a building undergoing renovations.
- Final Evaluation of Alternatives
- The final evaluation shall include at least three potential options. At least one of the three options shall be renovation and/or addition to the Monument Mountain Regional High School existing building.
- Recommendation of Preferred Schematic Design
- In collaboration with the MSBA recommend the preferred solution to accommodate the district’s needs for the Monument Mountain Regional High School.
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The MMRHS Building Committee works with the Designer and the Owner’s Project Manager to develop a final design program and robust Schematic Design (SD) of sufficient detail to establish the scope, budget and schedule for the Proposed Project. The Schematic Design submission will be submitted to the MSBA in the summer of 2025.
Schematic Design Steps:
- Statement of Objectives
- Upon MSBA Board of Director’s authorization, the District may proceed into Schematic Design of the preferred solution. The schematic design submittal will include sufficient detail to clearly define and document the scope, budget, and schedule of the proposed project. The schematic design submittal will also inform the basis of the estimated total maximum facility grant and be used by the District to secure local authorization and financial support to allow the project to move forward.
- Schematic Design Submission
- The purpose of the Schematic Design, which must be based upon the preferred solution, is to document in detail the scope, budget and schedule of the proposed project. The Schematic Design Submittal shall include the following:
- Local Actions and Approvals
- The Schematic Design Submittal must be reviewed and approved locally for submittal to the MSBA, in accordance with the state open meeting law. The District must document local approval of the Schematic Design Submittal.
- MSBA Staff Review
- After receiving a complete Schematic Design Submittal, the District and the MSBA shall work in collaboration to establish a Proposed Project Scope, Total Project Budget, Estimated Basis of Total Facilities Grant, Estimated Total Maximum Facilities Grant, and schedule that may be recommended to the MSBA’s Board of Directors for approval.
- Project Scope and Budget Conference
- The District will be invited to participate in a project scope and budget conference to review the status of all submittals, compliance with MSBA regulations and policies, discuss the scope, budget and schedule for the proposed project, and discuss the MSBA’s Estimated Basis of Total Facilities Grant.
- MSBA Board Approval
- MSBA staff will present the proposed project to the MSBA Board of Directors for its consideration and approval. The District should secure local authorization within 120 days of the MSBA’s Board Vote.
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Based upon the completed Feasibility Study and the steps outlined in Module 4 – Schematic Design, the District and MSBA staff establish and document the project scope, budget, schedule, and MSBA financial participation to forward to the MSBA Board of Directors for their approval. Approval by the MSBA Board of Directors establishes the MSBA participation in the proposed project. Module 5 – Funding the Project provides guidance on MSBA vote language and outlines the steps necessary to be completed by the District to enter into a Project Scope and Budget Agreement and a Project Funding Agreement with the MSBA.
Upon Board approval of a proposed project, the District and the MSBA may enter into a Project Scope and Budget Agreement that defines the project scope, budget, schedule, and potential MSBA participation in the project. The district must approve project funding with a district vote in the Fall of 2025. Once the District secures community authorization and financial support, the MSBA and the District enter into a Project Funding Agreement, which also defines the scope, budget and schedule for the project. Once a Project Funding Agreement is executed, the District can begin submitting requests for reimbursement to the MSBA for project costs beyond the feasibility study.
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Pending a successful deb exclusion vote, the MMRHS Building Committee and Project Team will advance the design, generate construction documentation, procure bids and award a construction contract in accordance with the agreed upon project scope, budget and schedule as documented in the Project Funding Agreement, and the requirements contained in the MSBA’s standard contracts for Owner’s Project Management and Designer Services. The MSBA will continue to monitor the project to ensure it remains on track and meets the expectation of both the district and the MSBA as defined in the Project Funding Agreement.
During the construction phase, the MSBA will continue to monitor progress of the project to confirm that it remains on track and meets the expectation of both the District and the MSBA as defined in the Project Funding Agreement.
The district and the project team, specifically the construction manager, will ensure
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