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Audit

Audit  Audit of the Massachusetts School Building Authority

Our office conducted a performance audit of certain activities of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for the period July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024.

Organization: Office of the State Auditor
Date published: December 24, 2025

Executive Summary

In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has conducted a performance audit of certain activities of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for the period July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024. When examining MSBA’s verification of Green Schools Program building commitments, we extended the audit period to January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2024, to account for the multiyear nature of Core Program projects and to include a larger number of projects that had reached completion and received final grant payments. The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:

  • Did MSBA ensure that school districts that committed to green building standards under its Green Schools Program had fulfilled those commitments before MSBA disbursed final grant payments?
  • Did MSBA develop and implement written policies and procedures for evaluating and prioritizing statements of interest (SOIs)1 submitted by school districts for the Core Program and Accelerated Repair Program (ARP), as recommended in the prior OSA audit (Audit No. 2022-1461-3A)?

Below is a summary of our findings, the effects of those findings, and our recommendations, with hyperlinks to each page listed.

  
Finding 1
 		MSBA did not submit the required annual report regarding the condition and improvement needs of school buildings to the Governor and other legislative committees.
EffectIf MSBA does not submit required annual reports, then the Legislature and other stakeholders may lack up-to-date, statutorily required information on the statewide condition and financial needs of school facilities. This could impair oversight, planning, and funding decisions related to school construction and renovation needs across the Commonwealth.
Recommendation
 		MSBA should ensure that it complies with Section 17(a) of Chapter 70B of the General Laws by either preparing and submitting the required annual reports to the Governor and the appropriate legislative committees using data derived from the School Survey and other internal information systems, or by collaborating with the Legislature to amend the statutory reporting requirement to correspond with the current five-year School Survey cycle.
Finding 2
MSBA did not update its internal control plan annually in accordance with Chapter 647 of the Acts of 1989, as would be best practice.
EffectWithout an up-to-date internal control plan, MSBA may be limited in its ability to identify vulnerabilities, which could prevent it from achieving organizational goals and objectives. This also exposes MSBA to heightened risks in its operations.
Recommendations
 
  1. MSBA should review and update its internal control plan whenever significant changes occur in objectives, risks, or management structure, but at least annually.
  2. After updating its internal control plan, MSBA should ensure that the internal control plan is communicated to all employees and used within its operations.

In addition, as part of our audit, we conducted a survey of a sample of Massachusetts school districts to gather feedback on their experiences with MSBA’s Core Program. We have included selected survey results and additional related information in the “Other Matters” section of this report.


 

1.    An SOI is an electronic form submitted by cities, towns, or regional school districts to request funding from MSBA. Submitting an SOI is the first step in notifying MSBA of a district’s interest in the grant program. In the form, districts identify perceived deficiencies in a school building and explain how those deficiencies align with the statutory priorities outlined in Chapter 70B of the General Laws.

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