Cost

Quick Facts

Total Project Cost: $152 Million
State Contribution: $61 Million (MSBA) + $1.6 Million (Mass Save)
Local Share: $89 Million (fixed within budget)
Vote Date: November 4, 2025

Context & Comparisons

Why is this so expensive?

School construction is expensive due to modern building codes, safety, and accessibility requirements. Costs also reflect specialized spaces like vocational programs. The $152M budget is all-inclusive (design, demolition, contingencies), and the MSBA will contribute nearly $61M, reducing the local share to $89M.

View the full detailed budget here, and detailed cost estimate here.

Repairs vs. New Building

Repairs: $89M$89M total project cost, largely due to code requirements | $89M local share | $0 state aid | No educational/security upgrades, most disruptive option

New: $89M $152M total project cost | $61M state aid + $1.6M incentives | $89M local share | Full educational, safety, and sustainability improvements, least disruptive option

Why was new construction selected as the preferred solution?

As part of the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR) submitted on December 19, 2025, the School Building Committee studied a range of options, including a repair-only “Code Upgrade/Base Repair” approach, addition/renovation, and new construction.

Repair-Only Option (Alternative 1): Estimated at $89 million includes necessary repairs and replacements of the existing school, couple with code compliance upgrades. The MSBA does not reimburse repair-only projects, so the entire cost would have fallen on local taxpayers. To carry out this work in an occupied school, we would need to lease or purchase approximately 12 modular classrooms at approximately $1 million per year. The work would be significantly disruptive and would take many years to complete. In addition, the modular classrooms are not designed to accommodate specialized programs such as automotive, advanced manufacturing, art, and music, meaning students in those programs would face years of compromised educational environments.

Renovation / Addition Option:The cost of the renovation / addition is similar to that of new construction, however there would be significant amount of disruption to the school over many years. This option would not improve site circulation or provide an improved, new practice field when compared to new construction.

New Construction (Alternative 3E): A new 3-story, 140,500 SF school located west of the existing building, designed for 485 students. This option was found to be the cost-efficient, least disruptive, and most effective long-term solution for the district.

After reviewing all alternatives, the School Building Committee voted to advance Alternative 3E into Schematic Design.

Bottom Line: New school delivers state funding + modern facility, while keeping local share the same as repairs.

Cost Comparison, Repair vs. New Building, from June 16, 2025, Community Meeting presentation

Costs to maintain the current building (based on PSR cost estimate), November 25, 2024, Community Meeting presentation

Cost FAQ’s

At its August 26 meeting, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Board of Directors voted to approve the Scope & Budget Agreement for the Monument Mountain Regional High School (MMRHS) Building Project. This marks a major step forward toward a new $152 million high school, with the MSBA committing about $60 million in funding, which could increase to just over $61 million depending on final project approvals. The project is also expected to receive $1.6 million in incentives from Mass Save.

The District’s local share remains set at $89 million within the approved $152 million project budget. If contingency funds are used but deemed ineligible for reimbursement, they would be covered within the District’s share; only costs above the total $152 million would require additional local approval.

The project cost was established through a multi-step process during the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design phases, with oversight from the School Building Committee and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). At each stage, estimates became more refined as the design developed and reimbursement amounts were confirmed.

As part of the Feasibility Study, the Committee reviewed multiple options — including repair-only, renovation/addition, and new construction. Repair and renovation options were more expensive for the local community, more disruptive, and offered limited educational benefit. After careful analysis, the Committee selected new construction as the most cost-effective and least disruptive long-term solution.

Preliminary Estimate (PDP, July 2024): The project was initially estimated at about $180M using a Construction Manager delivery method. This early figure was conservative and intended to capture the broadest possible scope.
Preferred Solution Estimate (December 2024): With a shift to the MSBA-required Design-Bid-Build method and a more defined scope, the cost estimate dropped to about $154.5M for a 140,000 SF building.
Schematic Design Estimate (June 2025): With the design further refined to 142,800 SF, the final project budget was set at $152.6M. This includes construction, professional services, demolition of the existing school, contingencies, and required studies and testing.
MSBA Reimbursement Update (August 2025): The MSBA reviewed the project and reimbursement was confirmed at $61M, plus $1.6M in MassSave energy incentives, bringing the local share to about $89.9M.

This $152.6M budget is a set, all-inclusive figure that cannot be exceeded under state law.

If the project is approved on November 4th, the District will move forward with borrowing funds for the project. Borrowing may occur in stages, depending on interest rates, but once approved, the project budget cannot increase without additional local approvals.

Construction will tentatively begin in 2027, with the new building expected to open in fall 2029. The new high school will be located on the current site, outside of the existing school’s footprint, which allows the current building to remain fully operational during construction.

If the project is not approved, the district will lose its funding opportunity with the MSBA.

The existing school still requires extensive repairs, and even partial fixes such as the heating system would trigger full code upgrades. These costs would fall entirely on local taxpayers with no MSBA reimbursement and would be the most disruptive option for students and staff over many years, while still resulting in a school that does not meet the educational needs of our programs and students.

Bottom line: Turning down the project would mean paying nearly as much locally for repairs, but without state funding or educational improvements.

The total project budget is based on the Schematic Design cost estimate for the preferred design option, New Construction – Alternative 3E.

Schematic Design Submission (June 26, 2025):
- Section 16: Total Project Budget
- Section 17: Cost Estimate

Prior to the Schematic Design of New Construction Alternative 3E, the Preferred Solution Report (PSR), dated December 19, 2025 included cost estimates for all alternates:

Code Upgrade/Base Repair – Alternative 1
Renovation/Addition – Alternative 2C
New Construction – Alternative 3E (Preferred Solution)
New Construction – Alternative 3H

Detailed cost estimates for these alternatives can be found in the PSR 03 Final Evaluation of Alternatives, starting on page 158.

After a thorough review of all options, the School Building Committee elected to move forward with Alternative 3E, a new 3-story, 140,500 SF school to the west of the existing building, designed to serve 485 students.

Throughout the project, the School Building Committee (SBC) has been mindful of the financial impact of the project to today’s taxpayers while planning a school that meets the educational program and will serve the district for the next 50-100 years.

The SBC recently secured an additional $6M of state funding through the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Partnering with the MSBA will lower the local tax impact by approximately $61M. The SBC has also partnered with MassSave for a $1.6M incentive.

In December 2024, after a thoughtful review of the renovation/addition and new construction options, the School Building Committee elected to move forward with Alternative 3E, a new 3-story, building to the west of the existing building. The compact design provides an efficient building footprint and allows for shorter construction duration, saving the district on temporary phasing and construction escalation. The reuse of the existing parking lot in the site design was another consideration that reduced the overall cost.

The SBC has decided to bid the project as Chapter 149, Design-Bid-Build (DBB), assuring that the General Contractor with the lowest bid price will be awarded the project in a competitive bid environment.

The MSBA grant amount will be finalized at the end of August, and the local tax impact calculator will be available in September. If the project is approved by local voters on November 4, 2025, the Design Development phase will proceed, and cost-savings measures will be evaluated at each design milestone leading up to construction ensuring the project is on budget and there are opportunities to lower the project cost.

The project is being advanced with a total budget of $152 million. The District’s local share of $89 million (the portion funded by taxpayers) is capped by the borrowing authorization that voters are being asked to approve. Once this amount is approved, the District does not plan to return to voters for additional funds.

The project budget includes built-in contingencies and opportunities for value engineering to address changes in construction costs and stay within budget. In the very unlikely event that costs exceeded those safeguards, the only way to increase taxpayer funding would be through a separate debt-exclusion vote, requiring new approval from all three towns.