The Town of Needham reached a milestone on June 25, submitting the Schematic Design package for the Pollard Middle School Reunification/Renovation project to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Schematic Design is the phase in which the project team develops a detailed design with enough specificity to establish the project's scope, budget, and schedule — and completing this submission marks a major step forward in the MSBA grant program.

MSBA staff will review the submission and schedule a Project Scope and Budget Conference with the Town. The project will then go before the MSBA Board of Directors on August 26 for approval of a Project Scope and Budget Agreement, the document that formally establishes MSBA's financial participation and reimbursement rate in the project.

Following MSBA Board approval, the Town will bring the project to the community for authorization through a Special Town Meeting on October 19 and a debt exclusion vote on the Town election ballot on November 3.