Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Yesterday, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant, and state and local leaders toured Jaworek Elementary School to see how the city is putting school relief funding from the American Rescue Plan to use upgrading the school’s cooling and ventilation systems.

“When we passed the American Rescue Plan last year, we included school relief funding that was designed in part for long overdue HVAC upgrades like those happening here at Jaworek and Kane Elementary Schools,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “These upgrades will make it safer for kids and educators to be in the classroom, easier to control the temperature on a hot day, and result in better education outcomes. It’s great to see communities like Marlborough putting this federal funding to work for our students and teachers, exactly as we intended.”

“We are grateful to be able to receive this funding to upgrade our outdated HVAC systems in our schools. This is a great example of federal, state and local government working together to improve public facilities,” said Mayor Vigeant.

The City of Marlborough has received $9.9 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) relief since the start of the pandemic, with $6.3 million of that funding coming from the American Rescue Plan. Of that most recent disbursement, the city is using just over $4.5 million to upgrade the HVAC systems and add cooling systems to Jaworek and Kane Elementary Schools.

Trahan and Vigeant were joined for yesterday’s tour by State Representatives Danielle Gregoire and Carmine Gentile, Marlborough Public Schools Superintendent Mike Bergeron, and Jaworek Elementary School Principal Ron Sanborn, who was recently named this year’s Massachusetts National Distinguished Principal.

“The pandemic certainly shed light on the needs of our aging school infrastructure which have inhibited the learning of Marlborough’s students.  I am grateful to Congresswoman Trahan for her support of this critical federal funding that will help create a safer educational environment and protect our students for years to come”.

“I was delighted to attend the tour of Jaworek Elementary School to see how ESSER funding has made it a safer and better place to learn,” said State Representative Gentile. “I want to thank Congresswoman Trahan and everyone that was involved in the collaborative effort between local, state and federal public officials to ensure Jaworek and Kane Elementary Schools could upgrade their HVAC systems. I look forward to continuing to advocate for essential COVID-19 relief.”

Trahan supported passage of the CARES Act in March 2020, which provided $194 million in ESSER funding to Massachusetts schools, including $745,603 in Marlborough Public Schools. She also supported passage of the bipartisan COVID-19 relief package in December 2020, which sent nearly $740 million in relief funding to Massachusetts schools, including $2.8 million to Marlborough schools. Finally, Trahan voted for the American Rescue Plan that allocated more than $1.8 billion in ESSER funding to Massachusetts schools.

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