By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
The North Attleborough Public Schools has identified 11 top-priority capital improvement projects it looks to submit to the town for fiscal year 2027 funding.
Administrators warn that aging elementary school buildings and equipment are past the point of repairs and in need of full replacement.
The draft, presented in November to the School Committee by Director of Facilities Christopher Murphy, includes roof and window replacements, special education vehicles, district-wide phone and security upgrades, and renovations to address outdated learning spaces. Decisions on what funding will be made available will likely be done late spring of 2026.
Murphy said that across the district, many of the facilities’ needs – especially at the elementary level – are similar.
“You see the same issues from school to school – roofs and building envelope needs. Our priority is to keep the buildings warm, safe and dry,” he said.
The top needs
The district’s top priority for the new year is replacing the roof at the Early Learning Center. Murphy said the roof is 31 years old, with less than two years of life to it. A recent independent roofing assessment by the Garland Co. in October 2025 confirmed the urgency and gave an estimated cost of $850,000 to $1 million.
School Committee member Lyndsey Benharris noted at the November meeting that the ELC roof has been leaking since 2005.
Second on the list of immediate needs is replacing the Fire Department control panels at both North Attleborough Middle School and Amvet Elementary School, following a recent walk-through by the department. Murphy said the current system is outdated and replacement parts may soon be impossible to obtain.
“If the system fails, the school either can’t open or we would have to hire a fire watch 24 hours a day,” said Murphy.
An estimate received in September 2025 projected the replacement at the middle school to cost between $175,000 to $200,000, and $130,000 to $160,000 at Amvet, due to the school’s smaller size.
Other major requests include replacing the original single-pane windows at Amvet. Murphy said they are not only drafty, but not energy-efficient.
An estimate from Gale Associates in December 2022 quoted $1.4 million for a total window replacement, though Murphy noted that he expects a 12% to 15% cost increase. This would be due to rising prices and additional mitigation work because of the school’s age.
“You could probably chill your lunch beside them [the windows] in the winter,” said Murphy in November. “They were probably appropriate when oil wasn’t as expensive as it is now, but they can most definitely do with an upgrade.”
Murphy also recommended setting aside $4 million for renovations at Amvet to modernize outdated and repurposed spaces. As enrollment and programming have evolved over the years, some rooms were converted for uses which they were never designed for. For example, an occupational and physical therapy space is currently located in a former locker room with poor ventilation and lighting, and the teacher’s lounge sits beneath old shower fixtures in another locker room.
“Educators are doing their best, but these spaces weren’t intended for how they’re being used today,” said Murphy.
Other school needs
Of the five special education vehicles the district wants to replace, two were recently purchased for $200,000 with FY25 free cash. However, several vehicles are approaching more than 200,000 miles and require thousands of dollars a year in upkeep outside of routine maintenance.
“Right now we’re up for inspections on most of them, and if any don’t pass inspection, we’re in trouble because we don’t have a spare bus,” said Gilbert Lefort, director of finance for North Attleborough Public Schools. “It’s really an aging fleet.”
The district’s Maintenance Department vehicle was described by Murphy as “the oldest vehicle in the worst shape.” He noted it was first a van deemed no longer usable by the Police Department before being passed to the Parks and Recreation Department and eventually to the School Department.
Murphy suggested that a 14-foot box truck would be a sufficient replacement, allowing maintenance to transport large items such as desks, chairs or televisions from school to school.
Other FY27 requests include:
- Commercial water heater replacement at NAMS. The current unit is 31 years old and requires two circulator pumps to function.
- Chromebook replacements, an ongoing program district-wide with an expected budget of $300,000 annually through 2030.
- District-wide door and exterior lock replacements to address security, structural deterioration and heat loss.
- A tractor with a wider mower deck to replace the current 63-inch mower and improve groundskeeping efficiency.
- A district phone system upgrade to replace outdated copper lines that routinely fail during rainstorms.
Over the next few months, the School Department will finalize its FY27 capital plan before submitting it to the town. Town officials will evaluate projects from all departments before determining which will be funded during the annual budget process.
“We meet every year with all departments. They submit their needs and wants, and through the process we fund the needs and try to fund as many wants as we can,” said Town Manager Michael Borg in a previous conversation with the North Star Reporter about the town’s budgeting process. “It’s one town, one budget.”
For FY26, nearly $975,000 was spent through free cash and stabilization funds for School Department capital improvements, including a ceiling replacement at Community Elementary School, an elevator repair at the Woodcock Administration Building and fire alarm replacements at Amvet Elementary.
Murphy said that while every project may not be approved immediately, the needs will remain after what he described as decades of delaying. In total, the draft outlines $10.5 million in improvement projects identified by Murphy and previous administrations.
“We collectively – this town – own these buildings and we just kind of put them off to the side,” said Murphy. “Then all of a sudden you have 20 years behind you and you run into very tired schools, which is what we have now. They’re clean, warm, safe and dry – but we need to spend some money.”