Christmas arrived early last week for some students in Boston's western suburbs, as state officials gave a preliminary green light to funding for high school renovation projects in Wellesley, Wayland, Natick, and the Berlin-Boylston district, as well as to education-related projects in seven other communities.
Massachusetts School Building Authority officials approved nearly 70 percent of school funding requests from area communities, which fared better overall than municipalities statewide.
One notable exception was the town of Franklin. Officials there face the tough choice of asking the high school students and staff to live with badly outdated science labs and technological infrastructure for another three to five years, or asking local taxpayers to bear the full cost of renovations.
Four other communities - Milford (looking for help with its middle school), Newton, Needham, and Marlborough (all with elementary schools in line for updating) - also had their funding requests put on hold or sent back for further study by the state authority.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed," said Wayne Ogden Franklin's superintendent of schools, said last week. "We will at least have a conversation now about doing this with local funds, and I imagine that that conversation will be taking place in the next few months."
The School Building Authority's funding list, a copy of which was obtained by the Globe last week, represented good news for 83 schools across the state. Culled from an initial pool of 423 requests, the winning schools now have a good shot at some of the estimated $2.5 billion in state funds to be spent on school construction over the next five years.
Four high school projects in the western suburbs were designated by the state agency for "feasibility initiation," meaning its officials believe they have significant problems that require remedies up to and including constructing new buildings. A new facility has been the focus in Wellesley, where officials have publicly favored building a high school that could cost as much as $150 million.
At Tahanto Regional (which covers Berlin and Boylston), Natick, and Wayland high schools, officials have been considering both renovation and new construction alternatives.
"We're open to either possibility if they prove to be cost effective and meet the educational needs of the community," Wayland Superintendent Gary A. Burton said.
School Building Authority and local officials will now jointly conduct feasibility studies and begin talks on whether renovation or new construction would be the best solution.
Payments for new construction could begin as early as next year.
Burton said that students and staff at Wayland love the school's campus configuration, which consists of eight free-standing buildings.
"Going outdoors means you get a breath of fresh air and a bit of brain growth," he said.
But with 90 exterior doors, the facility is not particularly energy efficient, so local officials will have to work with the state to see how much of the campus feeling can be preserved, he said. Wayland officials anticipate that the state will pay for at least 40 percent of the project, but - with incentives for green construction, energy efficiency, and design features that allow for easy maintenance - the figure could go as high as 50 percent, Burton said.
Other projects that received the coveted feasibility-initiation designation included the John F. Kennedy Middle School in Hudson, Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury, the Freeman-Centennial Elementary School in Norfolk, and Hopkinton's Center School, which serves kindergarteners and first-graders.
Three other projects received a "repair assessment" designation, which puts them in line for fast funding of repairs that state officials believe will significantly extend the life of existing buildings.
Projects making the state's list included Medway Middle School, the Lincoln Street Elementary School in Northborough, and the Pine Hill School in Sherborn.
