Northborough Peasley School Building Committee Targets June Vote on Preferred Design Option

NORTHBOROUGH -- May 27, 2026, Northborough community forum advances Peasley Elementary rebuild toward a spring 2027 voter decision. The third public forum on the Margaret E. Peasley Elementary School building project, held May 27, presented four design alternatives for a roughly 76,000-square-foot pre-K-through-5 replacement or renovated school, all estimated in the range of $90 million in total project cost, with the town eligible for a baseline 48 percent reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Peasley School Building Committee Chair Erica Hall and Superintendent Greg Martinez led the evening alongside owner's project manager PMA Consultants and architect Flansburg Architects, noting that modular classroom costs of $3.5 million to $4 million, unreimbursed by the state, differentiate two of the four remaining options. Martinez told the forum that school consolidation scenarios were ruled out after a space analysis showed shortfalls of as many as 12 classrooms, leaving a pre-K-through-5 neighborhood school as the district's recommendation. A building committee vote to select a preferred option and authorize submission to the MSBA is scheduled for June 23, with a local funding vote targeted for the April 2027 annual town meeting; officials warned that a failed vote and re-entry into the MSBA queue would restart a five-to-six-year development process against annual cost escalation of 4 to 5 percent.