Blackstone-Millville officials outline a $97.7 million high‑school plan and MSBA steps, warn of local tax impacts

Greg Smalley, a consultant with DRA Architects, opened the district's Dec. 9 public information session by summarizing a multi-step facilities assessment of every building the Blackstone‑Millville Regional School District owns.

Smalley said the district faces near‑term maintenance needs and long‑term capital costs: "you're talking 40 to 50 million dollars" to maintain existing facilities over 10–20 years in one scenario, and he estimated immediate work in 2021 at about $3.5 million. He told the audience the high‑school option the subcommittee favors would be roughly 159,000 square feet and, at current escalation, about $615 per square foot — or about $97.7 million in total.

Why it matters: Smalley and the committee framed the presentation as an early, nonbinding step toward applying to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). If the district submits and the MSBA accepts a Statement of Interest (SOI) — a process the consultant said can be filed between January and April 2022 — the district could later pursue a funded feasibility study and, ultimately, construction funding contingent on town votes.

The consultant presented an illustrative grant scenario in which MSBA participation would cover roughly $53–54 million; the remaining local share, he said, would be about $44 million under those assumptions. Smalley also warned that previously awarded MSBA grants for district projects could be subject to reclamation if the state requires it, which would raise local costs (he gave an example moving Blackstone's share from $42.9 million to $46.7 million in one clawback scenario).

Residents pressed the panel on timing and cost. "If the towns don't vote to go forward they lose out on that feasibility study money, correct?" asked Brian Scanlan of Blackstone; committee members and Smalley clarified that feasibility‑study money would roll into construction costs if the towns later approved the project, but that submitting an SOI imposes no financial obligation on the towns.

Finance committee members asked whether the plan had examined lower‑cost remodels and infrastructure fixes. "I have some fairly steep reservations as to the process that has gone forward to this point," said James Watson of the Blackstone finance committee, urging the district to study options such as connecting the complex to municipal sewer to resolve septic and mold problems rather than committing to high‑cost interior renovations.

Committee leaders repeatedly underscored that the presentation and a possible SOI are early steps. The committee and consultants said the SOI does not obligate towns to build, a feasibility study would follow only if the MSBA accepted the SOI and the district chose to proceed, and construction funding would require additional town votes and a multi‑step process that can stretch over years.

What's next: The district said it plans more public outreach before any SOI decision in the new year. If the district files an SOI and is invited by the MSBA into the program, towns would have roughly 270 days to arrange a feasibility‑study vote and to decide whether to fund the next step.