By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
With shovels in hand and students, educators, elected officials, and residents gathered nearby, North Attleborough broke ground on a new high school nearly a decade in the making.
The ceremony, held Friday, June 12, marked the start of construction on a 226,740-square-foot facility that will replace the town’s existing high school, which opened in 1973. The new building is expected to welcome students in 2028, with construction completed in 2029, and serve generations of future Rocketeers.
“This journey started over nine years ago in 2017 when the town first submitted a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA),” Superintendent John Antonucci said. “The result is a plan that will not only address the needs of today’s students, but will serve generations of students to come.”
The project carries a cost of $287.9 million, with roughly $106.9 million reimbursed through the MSBA and the town covering the remainder. Voters approved the project through a debt exclusion vote in 2025.
Representing the MSBA, Deputy CEO and Executive Director Mary Pichetti said the new three-story building has been designed to support modern education while also serving the broader community.
The facility will feature interdisciplinary learning neighborhoods on each floor to encourage collaboration among students and teachers, along with public and private spaces that will allow portions of the building to be used outside school hours.
“Today you are undertaking the construction of a new school that’s going to allow the district to retire its cherished, but 53-year-old high school,” Pichetti said.
Several speakers reflected on their own ties to North Attleborough High School and the path that led to this day.
State Rep. Adam Scanlon (D-North Attleborough), a 2015 NAHS graduate, called the groundbreaking a particularly meaningful milestone. He recalled concerns about the building’s future shortly after his graduation, when accreditation issues underscored the need for significant changes.
“Seeing the challenges inspired me to run for School Committee,” Scanlon said. “What started as a conversation about the future of the high school became a task force charged with charting a path forward for our schools and community.”
He said community leaders recognized that while the existing building had served generations of students, a plan was needed for the generations that would follow.
“Standing here today, it’s remarkable to see how far we’ve come,” Scanlon said.
State Sen. Paul Feeney (D-Foxboro) said the celebration represented more than the start of a construction project.
“We are not simply breaking ground on a building,” Feeney said. “We are laying a foundation for the future of North Attleborough.”
Town Council President Justin Pare compared the project to a snowball that gathered momentum over time, tracing its roots back to earlier community efforts — such as the 2018 override — to support local schools.
“This has been one long continuous story,” Pare said. “We should be proud.”
Antonucci also highlighted the partnership between town and school officials, specifically recognizing Town Manager Michael Borg for helping guide the project forward.
Borg said the effort succeeded, not because of any one individual, but a community willing to invest in its future.
“A bunch of ordinary people came together and did something extraordinary,” Borg said. “Residents, Town Council, School Committee and educators made the case, and a community stood firm and refused to leave its kids behind.”
He closed with a message that has become closely associated with the project.
“One town, one team,” Borg said. “The future of North Attleborough starts here. Right now, today, in this dirt we’re about to turn.”
School Committee Chair Tasha Buzzell shared a Greek proverb with the crowd: “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.”
High School Principal Thomas Rizzo, a NAHS alum, said the project represents both personal and community pride.
“I was raised here, went to school here and am lucky enough to raise my own family here,” Rizzo said. “We often talk about North pride, and today, that pride is tangible.”