The $286 Million Tri-County Vote is Today

Franklin participates in a district-wide vote on whether to approve a complete replacement of the The Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School, located in Franklin. Early voting has been ongoing but in person voting for the traditionally minded will commence at noon at the Franklin High School  gymnasium and end at 8 pm today.

Tri-County was constructed in 1977 with an approximate square footage of 285,000 on 60.5 acres of land. Now, according to officials, the school facility is outdated and has significant deficiencies with respect to specialty spaces in lab classrooms, nursing, cafeteria, auditorium, and the gymnasium. Other shortfalls in modernity include a main entrance that lacks security appropriate security and a cafeteria that does not meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, and utilities that are hard to access for modernization or replacement because they are buried in the slab.

These and other factors, including the availability of partial funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, have launched the district on a path to completely replacing the entire school structure on an adjacent path of Bright's Hill. The expected cost  of the project will be $285,992,692. Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is expected to contribute between $83 million and $100 million dollars.

But first, a majority of voters in a special election across the school district, must approve the replacement plan.

Assuming the measure passes, Franklin will later need to vote on a "debt exclusion" (technically not an over-ride) to pay for Franklin's portion of the project.