PEABODY — Anita Patel mistakenly arrived at the old red brick Brown School yesterday.

But at least the miscalculation allowed the advisor to State Treasurer Timothy Cahill to have some contrast with the new school building she eventually found.

Cahill — and Patel — came to the Brown School yesterday in a largely ceremonial gesture to hand Mayor Michael Bonfanti an $11 million check. The funds, actually transferred to the city last month, are state reimbursement dollars for the city's two newest school buildings, the Brown and Carroll Schools.

"That's what our children were going into a few years ago," Bonfanti said to Patel as he started the ceremony, referring to her inadvertent visit to the old Brown School.

Cahill touted the overhaul of the state's School Building Authority that allowed the treasury to offer the funds seven years sooner for the Carroll School and 19 years for the Brown.

"Come any time when you have $11 million," joked Sen. Fred Berry, who also thanked Cahill for his efforts.

But some local lawmakers said they originally viewed the state's school building program with skepticism.

"We've proved we've been able to do it," Rep. Joyce Spiliotis said.

Surrounded by books and computers in the Brown School library, Bonfanti — and the city's state legislative delegation — praised the state for the rapid fund turnaround, one that allows Peabody to save interest money for future projects.

Superintendent Nadine Binkley pointed out the library's cozy reading area and computer lab. "From an educational perspective, what's been done provides a wonderful, wonderful facility for our students," she said.