If the Concord School District is forced to backtrack on the location of the new middle school, it wouldn’t jeopardize any state building aid for the project.

That information — confirmed by a state education official Monday — is in direct contrast to what school leaders have told the community about revisiting the vote to relocate the school from its current location on South Street to raw land on the East Side of the city — a decision that has stirred community uproar.

In fact, Concord has already moved the location of the proposed middle school since it applied for aid without losing its place in line. The district first submitted its application to the state in 2022 based on plans to build the school on Clinton Street.

Furthermore, the school aid award will be far less than the $48 million Concord had hoped for the $152 million project. At most, the district would see a $29 million offer in 2025, or around $31 million if it waited until the following year, under the current rules. Since tax estimates for residents have been based on the project receiving the full amount, the tax burden will increase based on a much lower state grant.

“I’m sure folks know there’s been a lot of disagreement within the community about the location for the school,” said Sarah Robinson, a school board member representing the east side, during a meeting Monday. “One of my major concerns is that any change in direction could jeopardize our eligibility for state funding.”

The only way Concord would lose out on state funding is if the school board rejected the Department of Education’s fully funded offer, according to Amy Clark, administrator of the Bureau of School Facilities.

“If you reject an award for the full eligible amount, you would need to reapply to secure aid,” Clark explained, which would drop Concord to the bottom of the funding list.

However, while Concord has requested $48 million in aid from the state, it is in line to receive far less. Realistically, that number may hover around no more than $29 million at most, according to Clark.

State school building aid is capped at $50 million per year. From that amount, the state makes payments on debt issued for past school-building projects, significantly lowering the amount available for a new school. Once these obligations are paid that leaves a total of $29 million for 2025. Since the award is only a portion of the district’s request, it can reject it and wait until the following year, when Clark said the amount may increase to $32 million, without losing its place in line.

But rejecting one award and waiting on a potentially higher one means the district runs the risk of receiving no state funding at all, depending on the will of the legislature and how much money is afforded to the school building aid fund. Conversely, the next legislature could boost funding making more aid available to Concord and potentially other communities.

“There’s no requirement that the state pass on funds,” Clark said. ” I just want to make that clear. There could be no building aid.”

House Bill 546, which could have significantly impacted the amount of aid awarded to new schools, was recently voted down. The bill proposed raising the state’s minimum annual appropriation for school building aid to $50 million, rather than capping it at that amount. Notably, an active member of the citizens group seeking to overturn the location decision testified in the Senate against that bill.

Concord’s current request — which is still based on plans for the Clinton Street school — is based on rough math considering which facets of the project are eligible for aid and which are not. The district used a $176 million estimate and initially hoped for $70 million in state aid. Since then, the budget for the project has been pared down and final plans from the design team have not been completed.

While projects are eligible for up to 40% aid based on the overall price tag — that would be $60.8 million on $152 million — Concord’s project includes some ineligible features, which drops the potential award to $48 million.

Up to this point, projected tax impacts for residents have been based on the project receiving that full $48 million award from the state. With less aid, the amount to be bonded and the projected tax burden will increase.