The total project cost is estimated at $154,452,000 with about $59,300,000 reimbursed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority and $1,585,000 of incentives from MassSave for a local District share of $93,567,000.

Only at the close of the Schematic Design phase (August 2025), with MSBA approval, will the project costs be finalized. At that time, the MSBA’s contribution will also be confirmed, as will the tax impact for the three district towns. At that stage, BHRSD will be asked to appropriate the entire project budget amount and MSBA will provide their agreed-upon contribution, based on the eligible reimbursement.

Of special note is that the MSBA announced in March 2025, that it had miscalculated the percentage of their contribution to the high school project, in the District’s favor. This correction brings the MSBA’s reimbursement of eligible project costs from 45.52% to 49.83. This update is reflected in the above calculations.

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 $59M. The SBC has also partnered with MassSave for a $1.5M incentive, and is pursuing the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center EmPower Grant, which would result in up to $5M of additional funding—resulting in a total of $65.5M in grant awards for the project.

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.

This June, the SBC will have the opportunity to review additional cost-savings measures before finalizing the project scope and budget in August. The MSBA grant amount will be finalized at that point, and the local tax impact will be known. 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 most recent cost estimates were performed as part of the Preferred Solution Report (PSR), submitted to the MSBA on December 19, 2025. Cost estimates were performed by two professional estimating firms. At the time of the Preferred Solution Report (PSR),  following options were studied and estimated: 

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

The detailed PSR total project budget (3011 form) and construction cost estimates can be viewed here, starting on page 158.

After a thoughtful review of the renovation/addition and new construction options, the School Building Committee elected to move forward in the Schematic Design Phase with Alternative 3E, a new 3-story, 140,500 SF, building to the west of the existing building to support the enrollment of 485 students. 

Since the December PSR submission, the design has been further refined, and the Building Committee will review an updated set of Schematic Design estimates to be submitted to the MSBA at the end of June. These costs will inform the final scope and budget for the project. Please check back here at the end of June for updated cost information to be shared.