Slow sales mean less school construction money in Massachusetts

Slowing sales tax collections are threatening to sharply undercut the pace of school construction and repairs in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts School Building Authority, funded with a share of the state's 5 percent sales tax, was created when collections were conservatively expected to grow more than 4.5 percent annually. Instead, they have averaged closer to 2 percent in recent years. Now, the nation's sagging economy has authority leaders girding for zero percent growth, or worse, which would leave the authority with billions less for future school projects.