According to the Boston Globe, the Massachusetts School Building Authority board awarded 43.3 million in total to the Collins Middle and Saltonstall Elementary Schools in Salem for repairs designed to improve the schools' energy efficiency and foster a more productive and comfortable learning environment for the students.
While initial repairs will be made to the building's exterior in order to prevent leaks and heat loss, and ailing boilers and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems will be replaced among other structural elements, both schools plan on updating electrical, communication and IT systems in the buildings.
Technology upgrades like classroom projectors and interactive whiteboards can markedly enhance a student's classroom experience.
A number of school districts across the state of Massachusetts received funding through the Green Repair Program, which gives money to schools looking to improve their energy efficiency.
"We are really grateful to the folks at MSBA for approving not only one project but two in Salem,’" Mayor Kimberley Driscoll told the news source. "Both schools suffer from significant leaks and they have severe building envelope needs. Being able to address both at one time will leave our school system in much better shape."
