The state agency that funds new school construction formally invited Gloucester to study building a new West Parish Elementary School yesterday.
The announcement, from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, gives the city 120 days to commit to the study and receive reimbursement from the state for around half the cost.
Feasibility studies are the first step in the MSBA's partnership process for replacing or renovating inadequate school buildings. If the agency and community agree on a plan for school replacement, the MSBA will reimburse at least 48 percent of the project through the finish of construction.
Last month, Katherine Craven, executive director of the MSBA, came to the city to tell the School Committee that after two years of choosing other communities, the state was ready to work with Gloucester.
The 120-day limit on the MSBA offer would give the city a deadline of mid-March to commit to funding its portion of the feasibility study costs.
Yesterday, School Committee Chairman Greg Verga said the city should begin considering the issue as soon as possible and the committee could address the study as early as next Monday.
"I don't think we should lose any time on it," Verga said. "We need to contact the (City) Council or mayor to see if we are barking up the wrong tree."
West Parish, the city's most crowded school, has been the School Committee's top priority for years. Its problems include a leaky roof as well as lack of adequate space.
While the feasibility study will focus on West Parish, it will examine all of the city's school facility issues and plot a best course of action, Craven said in October, even if it is something other than a new building in West Gloucester.
"The MSBA remains committed to working with the city of Gloucester to better understand the issues at West Parish," Craven said in a news release yesterday. "We look forward to continuing our due diligence to determine what the best action for is moving forward."
The city is responsible for commissioning the feasibility study and going through its procurement process to find a contractor.
An MSBA spokeswoman did not have a price estimate for a feasibility study yesterday and said the costs differ widely between projects and communities.
Leveraging the sale or rental of space in the now vacant Fuller School has been suggested as a way to pay for a new school building.
Patrick Anderson may be contacted at 978-283-7000 x3455 or panderson@gloucestertimes.com.
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