Swansea votes Monday on a $149.7 million Case Junior High, the first of two local votes the project needs
The state would cover about $61.4 million, leaving Swansea about $88.3 million. Town Meeting needs a two-thirds vote Monday, and a ballot vote on borrowing follows Nov. 3.
Updated Oct. 18 with more detail.
SWANSEA Swansea voters meet Monday night to decide whether to pay for a new Joseph Case Junior High School, a project the town's warrant booklet budgets at $149,723,734. It is the first of two local votes the project needs. The school district's Sept. 16 forum presentation says the Town Meeting appropriation needs a two-thirds majority, and a ballot vote on borrowing, which needs a simple majority, follows on Nov. 3.
The new building would go up on the Joseph Case High School campus at 70 School St., creating a shared campus. Article 2 describes a school of about 114,707 square feet for 510 students in grades 6 through 8, built to last at least 50 years. The current junior high dates to 1927 and the 1950s, according to the forum presentation.
What it costs
The booklet lists about $61.4 million in Massachusetts School Building Authority reimbursement and rebates, leaving a town share of $88,278,988. Construction alone is budgeted at $117,030,279. The project's question-and-answer flyer puts the base state rate at 56.26%, plus up to 5.56% more for maintenance and energy efficiency. The warrant caps the grant at 61.82% of eligible, approved costs, and the town pays anything above the grant.
The district's tax estimate puts the cost for the average single-family home, assessed at $494,954, at $141 to $200 a quarter, depending on interest rates on a 30-year bond. That works out to about $564 to $800 a year. The presentation says the estimate assumes the full contingency is spent, "which is not typical."
How we got here
The School Building Committee voted Aug. 14, 2025, to design a new school on the high school campus, the district's project page says. The state authority's board backed that plan unanimously on Dec. 12, 2025, according to the booklet. The district says a renovation was estimated at $98.6 million and would not be supported by the state. Design changes trimmed more than $3 million, the presentation says, including shrinking the building from 116,342 to 114,707 square feet.
If voters say no, the booklet warns, the town would "forgo approximately $61 million in state funding and rebates" and lose its place in the state program. "It is a bit like being put in the back of the line," the booklet says. The Advisory and Finance Committee recommends Article 2 by an 8-1 vote with one abstention.
The other article
Article 1 would use Community Preservation money from the budgeted reserve to buy a conservation restriction on about 33.7 acres at 1210 Wilbur Ave. The warrant names no price. The Advisory and Finance Committee does not recommend it; the warrant records that vote as 3-5.
What happens next
The state authority's board is set to vote on the project's scope and budget Oct. 28, and the ballot vote is Nov. 3, according to the district's project page.
How to take part
Swansea uses open Town Meeting, so registered voters attend and vote in person. Sign-in starts at 6 p.m. and the meeting at 7 p.m. at Venus de Milo, 75 Grand Army of the Republic Highway. A shuttle runs from Joseph Case High School. The town clerk's office is at 508-678-2981, ext. 4. The tax estimator is on the district's project page.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
How we verified this
Every fact comes from the town's meeting notice and warrant booklet, the school district's project page, and two district documents linked from it, listed below. We read them on Oct. 18. The tax figures are the district's estimates, and the yearly range is our own arithmetic (four times the quarterly figures). The booklet gives two addresses for the school site, so this story uses the 70 School St. address printed in the warrant article. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar, recomputed the town share ($149,723,734 minus $61,444,746 is $88,278,988), and checked each claim against the documents. Not heard: no one was contacted.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (6)
- Information for Special Town Meeting (News, booklet uploaded Oct. 15, 2026)Town of Swansea. Date, place, sign-in and start times, shuttle. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Special Town Meeting, October 19, 2026 (warrant and project booklet, 15 pages)Town of Swansea. Articles 1 and 2, committee votes, budget, reimbursement, town share, the 2025 state board vote, what happens if the vote fails. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- MSBA Joseph Case Jr. High Building ProjectSwansea Public Schools. Key upcoming dates, the Aug. 14, 2025 committee vote, the tax estimator. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- 2026.09.16 Swansea Community Forum PresentationSwansea Public Schools, linked from the project page. Tax impact table, two-thirds and simple-majority requirements, renovation estimate, cost cuts, building age. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Project Facts (question-and-answer flyer)Swansea Public Schools, linked from the project page. Reimbursement rates and ineligible costs. Read Oct. 18, 2026.
- Town ClerkTown of Swansea. Clerk office phone. Read Oct. 18, 2026.