Neary committee approves $108.5 million schematic-design budget after value‑engineering debate

The Neary Building Committee voted 6‑0 Thursday to submit a total project budget of $108,517,025 to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for the Margaret A. Neary Elementary School schematic‑design package.

Committee members spent most of the meeting reviewing a value‑engineering spreadsheet of building, site and mechanical options intended to reduce the town’s bonded share. The group narrowed dozens of line items — keeping most educational elements intact — and agreed to carry a package of changes that committee staff say reduces the town’s effective share toward the committee’s target (slightly below $70 million in the town’s internal accounting).

Why it matters: the schematic‑design budget and the list of identified alternates determine what the town will present at the May 10 town meeting and what the MSBA will use to calculate reimbursement eligibility. The committee’s decisions change the project’s estimated permanent bond and the projected annual tax impact for an average Southborough homeowner.

What the committee approved and kept: the group adopted several lower‑cost exterior and interior changes offered by the design and construction teams while preserving many programmatic elements requested by the schools. Among the items discussed and carried forward were a 50% reduction in acoustical roof screens (estimated savings…