Somerset School Committee Votes to Seek MSBA Delay on $5.17 Million South Elementary Project

SOMERSET — February 17, 2026 — Somerset School Committee votes 5-0 to seek delay on $5.17 million South Elementary repair project. The committee convened a special remote session February 17 during school vacation week after the project's cost ballooned from an original $2.1 million estimate to $5.17 million — driven by ADA compliance requirements triggered when improvement costs exceeded 30 percent of the building's $2.3 million assessed value, plus $430,000 in non-reimbursable temporary modular classroom costs. The Massachusetts School Building Authority was scheduled to act on the project February 23, but the committee voted to ask the authority to defer consideration to its June meeting, with Chair Bob Machado stating he would "have a very hard time at town meetings supporting this project at $5.1 million." The maximum MSBA grant would cover roughly $2.56 million — about 50 percent — leaving Somerset to bond the full amount and recoup half. Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Schoonover said advisers had estimated closing South Elementary someday could save approximately $550,000 annually, enough to service debt on a $15 million bond for a North Elementary expansion.