At a little less than 160,000 square feet, the new building will be about 6,000 square feet smaller than the present high school.
GREENFIELD – Residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to borrow money for a new $66 million high school.
The 2,392-557 vote means the town will borrow $24 million for its share of the project, the rest of which is being financed by the state. The local money will come in the form of a debt exclusion, which differs from a straight override of Proposition 2 ½ in that the money will stop being deducted from the tax base once the project is paid for. Straight overrides permanently raise the tax base.
In March, the Town Council voted in favor of the borrowing but put the matter before the voters for final approval. The project calls for the existing high school to be razed except for the auditorium. The new building will be constructed around that.
At a little less than 160,000 square feet, the new building will be about 6,000 square feet smaller than the present high school. It is designed to accommodate 585 students. There are 477 students at the Lennox Avenue school at present.
The new school will also include an all-weather track and turf field, a renovated 1,000 seat auditorium, 20 classrooms, five science labs, computer labs and art studios. Officials hope to break ground next spring and complete the project by 2015.