Select Board chair outlines cost, timing of proposed NHERI school ahead of May votes

Select Board Chair Cathy Cook, speaking with members of the NHERI Building Committee, told the Southborough Planning Board on April 28 that the proposed Neary (NHERI) elementary school project will likely require two town votes in May and that the town’s share of the project is now estimated at roughly $68 million.Cook said the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will vote on April 30 on a grant the town expects to receive, “$35,000,000 and change,” and that the town will need a two-thirds vote on May 10 plus a separate May 13 vote to exclude the debt from the two-and-a-half percent levy to proceed. “We need a two-thirds vote, to pass… We also need a positive vote on May 13 to exclude the debt,” Cook said.Cook and Mark Davis of the NHERI Building Committee outlined timing and costs. They described a design that targets a 2–5 grade school, with construction to begin after approvals and a projected opening in fall 2028 if the votes succeed. Committee members said the gross project cost is currently estimated at about $109 million, with an anticipated MSBA grant of roughly $36 million and approximately $5 million in federal/state incentives tied to the planned geothermal system, producing an estimated net town share of about $68 million.Cook said the town’s effective MSBA reimbursement rate is about 32.5 percent after program caps and current construction costs. The committee estimates approximate annual debt service of $4 million on a 30-year bond and expects operational savings of about $1.2 million from reduced full-time equivalents. “We believe the net impact to the town budget year after year is going to be about $2,900,000,” Cook said.The committee also described site-selection work, noting earlier studies, alternative configurations and an internal decision to site the new building at the current NHERI footprint because soils and wetland buffers made the athletic-field location impractical. Mark Davis, a committee member, said borings and monitoring wells were performed and that state and town testing of wells and landfill gas monitoring showed no evidence that landfill contamination is migrating toward the school site.The presentation emphasized the project’s educational rationale in addition to facility needs: members described NHERI’s outdated systems (roof, electrical, ADA access, HVAC) and argued a new building would reduce transitions for students and consolidate services. Committee members said they considered rehabilitation but that rehabilitation costs exceeded new construction costs, and that a new building is the preferred course of action.The Select Board and building committee urged the public to consult the project website for a tax-impact calculator and other materials and warned that contingency plans exist if some federal incentives do not materialize. Committee members said if the May votes fail they would re-evaluate options depending on vote margins and timing. Ending: The committee and Select Board representatives offered to return for further questions and said the project will be on the warrant and ballot on May 10 and May 13 respectively.