The Concord School Board set their hearts on $48 million in state funding to bolster its proposed new middle school. But as state leaders sound the alarm on leaner times ahead, their hopes are on thin ice.

Building aid for renovations and new construction projects was not included in the Department of Education’s proposed budget – it only allotted for payments on existing debt. Commissioner Frank Edelblut said during his presentation that he was instructed to leave the rest of it up to the Legislature.

This isn’t unheard of, especially in years when the state has to tighten its purse strings, but building aid is far from certain this session and could be left out of state spending entirely. If that happens, the cost of Concord’s planned $152 million middle school – the most expensive ever built in the state – would fall squarely on taxpayers if it moves forward in the next two years.

“When we look at all the other issues going on and dollars being limited, then that might be the reason why something like that doesn’t move forward, but I think it’s a topic which needs discussion,” said Rep. Rick Ladd, a Haverhill Republican and longtime building aid advocate.

The state had a $146 million revenue surplus in fiscal year 2024, but the next budget looks less rosy. Federal pandemic relief money has dried up, while underperforming business taxes and the repeal of the interest and dividends tax present impending revenue problems for the state.

In planning to build the new middle school at Broken Ground, the Concord School Board hoped for $48 million – about a third of the total costs – in state building aid, according to their preliminary application. Currently, the state allocates up to $50 million annually for building aid statewide, including debt. For 2024 and 2025, that’s spread among 17 projects approved by the Department of Education.

However, due to caps on cost per square foot and what specific parts of a project are eligible for building aid, Concord could be looking at a figure closer to $20 million, even if aid is available.

Despite the uncertainty ahead, Ladd said there’s a “healthy chance” that school building aid will get funded again in the next budget. He may take it upon himself to file such a bill.

“I’m toying with the idea of putting something in,” Ladd said. Lawmakers have until Friday to submit their requests for bills to be drafted ahead of the next legislative session but can also propose bills during the session, which starts in January. Additions can also be made to the state budget before it heads to the governor.

Ladd said he believes the state needs to invest more in school construction and renovation. He’s a proponent of making that $50 million the yearly minimum for renovation and new construction projects, not the maximum.

A bill that Ladd filed during the last session would’ve done that but failed, as have other recent efforts to increase building aid. A Democrat from Newmarket, Rep. Michael Cahill, has already filed a draft request for a bill that he said would increase building aid, but previous similar attempts haven’t made it through the Legislature.

Ideally, Ladd said he’d want to boost state aid for school construction and renovations, but he’s hopeful that aid will hold to its current level of $50 million.

“I don’t expect anything less than what we’ve approved in previous years,” Ladd said. “I would just like to see us spending more on the side of renovation and construction, and that’s going to be a task.”

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.