Superintendent Maureen Cohen and Jay Baier, director of finance for the Mendon‑Upton Regional School District, on an informational night described three capital warrant articles the district will ask voters to approve this spring: a roof replacement at Nipmuc Regional High School, districtwide facilities upgrades and renovations to fields and grounds that serve both Nipmuc and Misco Hill Middle School.

Cohen said the projects respond to a decade of planning and a facilities assessment that initially identified about $90 million in needs and has been narrowed to roughly $30 million for the proposals now before residents. “We were accepted into that program,” Cohen said of the district’s application to the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Accelerated Repair Program, referring to the roof work at Nipmuc. “Because we’re accepted, we will be having the opportunity to receive 52.26 reimbursement from any of the approved roof project work, anything that is approved by them.”

The MSBA acceptance covers eligible roof work but not all rooftop equipment; Cohen said rooftop HVAC units will need to be removed for roofing work and the district plans to replace aging units rather than reinstall 30‑year‑old equipment. Baier said the MSBA reimbursement process is ongoing and determined by what MSBA ultimately deems reimbursable.

Why it matters: The projects address multiple buildings that range from roughly 22 to 65 years old, including Misco (Misco/Misco Hill) Middle School (built c.1960, renovated 1997) and Nipmuc (built 1996). Cohen said leaks at Nipmuc have forced the school to use buckets and barrels to catch water and described ceiling damage in offices and classrooms. At Misco she pointed to an oil‑filled transformer dating to 1958, noncompliant bathroom fixtures sized for much younger children and worn original lockers and flooring.

Key cost details and tax impact: Cohen gave high‑level cost estimates the district has posted online: the Nipmuc roof project total was presented as “a little over $10,000,000,” with roughly $4,000,000 in anticipated MSBA reimbursement resulting in a net local cost of about $6,000,000 for that portion; the facilities project was estimated at just over $11,000,000; fields and grounds work was presented as the third component, and the three projects combined were described in the presentation materials as roughly $30 million. Cohen said the designer and owner’s project manager (OPM) line items have been estimated near 18% and that the overall estimates include a 25% contingency to cover tariffs and related risks.

Cohen gave examples of homeowner tax impact the district’s online tool will calculate: a hypothetical example for the roof alone showed about $65 per year for a $500,000 home; Cohen said the difference between installing turf versus grass on a field is roughly $500,000 and that the incremental tax cost for that $500,000 was about $7 per year. For all three warrant articles together, Cohen said the estimated annual tax impact for a $600,000 home would be “approximately $380 in Mendon, and it’s about $368” (Upton), and that the district expects the financing to be a 20‑year debt exclusion.

Next steps and voting requirements: Cohen said the work will be presented as three separate warrant articles that must each be approved at multiple town votes: the district must win approval at both towns’ town meetings and in the subsequent ballot elections (she described this as four separate approvals), and that a failure at any of those points would end MSBA participation for this cycle. Cohen said MSBA’s ARP cycle runs roughly every two years and that the district would have one more chance within the program timeline if an article failed.

Facilities and fields specifics: The facilities proposal includes a new building management system (the district described current systems as obsolete, pneumatic in some schools and parts unavailable), single‑point access and keycard entry at the four schools, upgraded paging and emergency notification systems, replacement of auditorium seating and carpets at Nipmuc, data cabling replacement, and repairs to curbs and sidewalks at elementary schools. The fields and grounds package would regrade and add irrigation to high‑use fields at Misco, add an accessible walking path that loops about one mile around Nipmuc’s fields, reorient and renovate the softball and baseball fields, add accessible spectator areas and parking closer to fields, and plan for future conduit for potential lighting. Cohen said some wells and irrigation components at Nipmuc date to 1997 and may require heavy repair or replacement.

Public access and engagement: Cohen displayed a project web page with cost breakdowns, a downloadable flyer and a chatbot for questions. The district scheduled in‑person town presentations and another virtual session after the school break. An attendee watching online, identified as Kristen, told the presenters that the meeting’s chat/text field was not working and that the walking‑path slide had not been visible during technical interruptions. “There might be people with questions out there, but the text field is not working,” Kristen said.

What the district did not decide tonight: This meeting was informational; no motions or formal votes were taken. Cohen and Baier urged residents to review the online documents and attend the upcoming town meetings and elections where the three warrant articles will be debated and voted on.

Ending note: Cohen closed by saying the district seeks to provide clear cost information in advance so residents can make informed decisions at town meeting and on the ballot; she invited residents to submit questions via the site’s chatbot or by email to the district finance office.