Nashoba Regional School Committee officials presented a consolidated FY27 five‑year capital plan and a set of town‑specific requests at their Dec. 17 meeting, urging early town engagement on projects that range from routine flooring and door replacements to multi‑million‑dollar roof projects.

The district’s facilities lead, Rob Freaswick, reviewed prior and proposed requests for each of the three member towns and told the committee the work reflects the buildings’ age and maintenance needs. “We’re coming up at the end of life on a lot of these major systems,” Freaswick said, highlighting recurring requests for network switch replacement, security camera server upgrades and gym‑floor renewals.

Lancaster and Bolton projects include exterior door replacement because of rot and thresholds that “aren’t securing properly,” network switch upgrades and carpeting replacements. Freaswick described the Sawyer Building roof as a near‑term priority with an industry estimate of about $3,600,000 for full replacement; he said the Emerson roof might be appropriate for a restoration approach with a lower cost and a 15‑year warranty.

Committee members pressed for funding pathways and timelines. Finance director Ross explained that each town must consider warrant votes or bonding for major capital items, noting that "the towns would probably have to take out loans" for some of the largest projects. He added the district will continue to coordinate with town finance committees and the district’s school‑town liaisons to prioritize requests and identify opportunities to package work with municipal paving or green‑community grants.

Lancaster’s top priority was replacing a dry fire‑suppression main line at the MRE section after bids came in at just under $900,000. At Stow’s Center School, a boiler replacement is already underway because several older condensing boilers had failed and parts were unavailable. Freaswick said some systems have parts that are no longer manufactured, raising urgency for replacement rather than short‑term repairs.

The presentation included cost‑estimates for future, larger projects: additional roof replacements across several campuses (estimates in the millions), water‑system upgrades for DEP compliance, and a possible $1.8 million replacement of high‑school turf and track when the district addresses the full lifecycle of stadium assets. Ross noted the district maintains a track/turf stabilization fund but that prior work had drawn that balance down and the district will review whether to increase the annual contribution.

What happens next: the committee will forward the FY27 requests to member towns so they can place warrant articles and consider debt or free‑cash options. District presenters said they will provide continuing updates to school‑town liaisons as the towns refine their capital priorities and budgets.

Quotations in this article come directly from the Dec. 17 meeting presentations and roll‑call discussion.