North Attleborough officials outline $287.8 million high school plan, students and neighbors raise questions ahead of June 3 vote

North Attleborough school leaders laid out a schematic design and financing plan for a proposed new high school at a community forum, saying the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has approved the project and committed $107,000,000 in reimbursement. Superintendent John Antonucci said the total project budget is $287,800,000 and that the town would borrow about $180,800,000 as the local share, which would be presented to voters on a single yes-or-no debt exclusion ballot question on June 3.

Students who have participated in the project’s visioning presented firsthand accounts of cramped classrooms, outdated labs and accessibility barriers. "If we want to be ready for the world after high school, then our school should reflect the world we're preparing for," said Mary Rogers, senior class president, urging support for the proposal. Junior class president Ryan Backner described classrooms as "cramped, dim and distracting," and Jayla Stone said the advanced manufacturing class is housed in a former custodian workroom and can serve only 12 students at a time.

Why it matters: The MSBA program is competitive; district officials said approval—and the $107 million reimbursement—creates a narrow window to fund a replacement that they say is essential to modernizing instruction, improving safety and addressing long-standing accessibility and HVAC problems. Presenters said roughly half of instructional spaces in the current 1973 building lack natural light, many core systems are at the end of their useful life, and the district has relied on temporary modular classrooms…