GREENFIELD — Those looking to learn about Franklin County Technical School’s proposal to construct a new $246 million school building are invited to attend a public information session at Greenfield Community College this week.
According to a Franklin Tech event notice, the information session will provide an overview of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process, along with the needs driving the project and how the proposal “supports the future of vocational and technical education” across the 19-town district.
The event, which marks the second of three planned information sessions, will be held Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. The third session will be held on May 4.
Representatives from both the owner’s project management firm and the architectural design team will be in attendance to give details about the proposed design, take questions from the audience, and talk about the timeline and financial impact to the district towns.
The proposal is for a 152,785-square-foot, L-shaped building that would house an estimated 600 students. Franklin Tech Superintendent Richard Martin has previously said that the estimated reimbursement from the MSBA is around 46%, but it could be closer to 50% in the future. The net share to the member towns would be between $129 million and $135 million, with around $120 million reimbursed.
At the previous public hearing in November, Martin stressed that a new school is more cost-effective and sustainable than rehabilitating the current building, with infrastructure that is now more than 50 years old since the school opened in 1975.
Should the 19 member towns vote to approve the school’s construction in September, work is slated for completion in early 2028, with a goal of being ready for student occupancy in the summer of 2030.
Updates on the project and related documents are available at fcts.us.