Voters’ OK sets plan in motion

Scott, who assumed his job as head of the school system just under a year ago, said the building project will add to the “very rigorous course’’ of improvements the district has been undertaking, a list that he said also includes revisions to curriculum and internal systems.

The project to revamp the high school, which has 1,116 students this year, “sets us on a course to operate our facility and resources in a way that will greatly support the educational program,’’ Scott said.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority is reimbursing the town for 62.5 percent of the $58.4 million in project costs it has deemed eligible, according to Town Manager Dennis E. Piendak.

“The addition and renovation project at Dracut Senior High School will not only address facility deficiencies, but will also alleviate the overcrowding the school is currently experiencing,’’ authority spokeswoman Emily Mahlman said by e-mail.

In the annual election on May 2, residents by more than a 2-1 ratio approved a Proposition 2 ½ debt-exclusion override to fund the town’s share of the project’s costs. The vote to approve the temporary property-tax increase was 3,894 to 1,748. Over the 25 years of the construction bond, according to Scott, the measure will add on average $193 to the yearly tax bill for a single-family home valued at $274,000, the town’s average assesssment.

The ballot question came after Special Town Meeting, attended by nearly 1,000 people on April 26, approved funding for the project, subject to passage of the debt-exclusion override. The vote was called unanimous by the town moderator, according to Piendak.