Neary committee weighs surveys, public forums and alternate plans after failed school vote

Neary Building Committee Chair Jason, speaking at the committee’s May 15 meeting, said the panel will not make a final decision but will develop recommendations for elected boards after the recent special town meeting and subsequent ballot vote on the proposed Neary (NHERI) school project.

The committee focused on next steps for the Town of Southborough now that voters rejected the town’s MSBA-funded schematic plan, and members emphasized the legal and scheduling limits imposed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). “Any iteration or alteration to the plan that they have approved … would take us back to the statement of interest phase,” Jason said, adding the committee remains inside the MSBA’s 120-day window and must send a formal letter within 10 business days reporting the vote and a plan for next steps.

Why this matters: The MSBA funding and process shape what the town can do next. If Southborough alters the approved project’s site, size or scope it would need to re-enter the MSBA application process and likely forfeit MSBA participation in certain pre-construction phases, committee members said. The MSBA award discussed on the call was described as roughly $35,000,000 of…