Madison Public Schools (MPS) and the Town of Madison have announced that the state reimbursement rate for construction costs related to the New Elementary School building project will be substantially increased via a state program. According to school officials, efforts by Madison’s state legislators and project consultants will raise the project reimbursement rate by 10%, translating into approximately $6 million in additional construction funding.

In a statement released by the MPS, officials said the new school project was previously qualified for a reimbursement rate of just 18.21%, which is lower than the reimbursement rate granted to projects categorized as renovations. According to officials, the newly announced rate of reimbursement will be 28.21%, a significant increase.

School officials thanked State Representative John-Michael Parker (D-101) for alerting them to a lesser-known clause within the state statute. That provision mandates that new construction projects become eligible to receive higher reimbursement rates if a municipality can demonstrate the project will cost less than a renovation, extension, or major alteration of an existing school, according to the statement released by MPS.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Craig Cooke reiterated how the reimbursement would impact the project’s cost to residents.

“The additional funding will reduce the amount of bonding required to complete the project. We anticipate the amount to be between $5.5-6 million dollars, so it is a significant reduction to the bonding requirements. That’s savings directly to the Madison taxpayers,” said Cooke.

In a joint statement with MPS, Parker said the savings for Madison taxpayers is expected to be significant.

“I’m thrilled to have helped Madison Public Schools secure this substantially expanded reimbursement rate for our elementary school project,” said Parker. “We identified a policy that was designed to incentivize efficiency and sustainability in school construction—and the district and its development partners worked hard to demonstrate our compliance. As a result, we’re helping save taxpayers over $6 million, which is that much more important in this moment of economic uncertainty. This is a big win for Madison, and alongside recent funding for the Academy Community Center and the American Legion, it showcases the growing investment in our community by the State of Connecticut.”

Madison Board of Education Chair Seth Klaskin said in the statement released by MPS that the rate adjustment should be welcome news for residents.

“My fellow board members and I were thrilled to learn about this additional reimbursement, which is a boost to the taxpayer,” he said. “It represents millions of unexpected additional dollars that will go straight to the town to help dampen the tax impact of the bonding for the Schools Renewal Project.”

First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said the funding uptick would have decades-long benefits in terms of bonding for the project.

“This is thrilling because it’s six million less in bonding we’ll have to do to pay for this project,” said Lyons. “We knew we were going to get some level of bonding from the state; now we will be getting $6 million more than we were getting before. That is money we don’t have to bond, so that means on an annual basis that means we are paying less for interest expense. That is a huge taxpayer savings. It’s a grant, basically, that will significantly reduce the long-term cost of the project. Anything we can do as a town to knock down that level of debt we are taking on is a win for the taxpayer. This is long-range, too; we are talking about real savings for the next twenty years. We are also going to continue to try and find other ways to save money on all the projects and find other grants and funding sources.”

Lyons also praised Parker for his diligence in spearheading the effort to secure the rate increase.

“We are thrilled with. A lot of work went into it, especially with John-Michael Parker. He, the Board of Ed[ucation], and the superintendent did an incredible job of gathering all the data that we should qualify for this.”

According to the building committee, the project is still on track to break ground in the spring of 2024. Officials are also still expressing hope that the new building will be finished by the opening of the 2025 school year.

The school development plan was approved via referendum last year and has three critical stages: the new PreK-5 elementary school, renovations at Brown Intermediate School with the goal of converting it to the system’s second K-5 school, and completion of significant renovations at Polson Middle School including air system, and heating and cooling systems upgrades, according to MPS officials.