The Barrington School Building Committee is working diligently to connect with the community and provide community members opportunities to learn more about the project and provide input and feedback.

Community Conversation #1

Tuesday, October 8, 2024, at 6:00 PM. Join the School Building Committee and representatives from Tecton Architects at Barrington High School to discuss visioning and initial concepts of the building project as the project progresses into Stage III.

Community Conversation #2

Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at 6:00 PM. Join the School Building Committee and Tecton Architects at Barrington High School to discuss refining the preferred option of the building project as Stage III progresses.

Community Conversation #3

Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at 6:00 PM. Join the School Building Committee and Tecton Architects at Barrington High School to discuss discuss a more detailed look at the spaces of the building project as Stage III progresses.

Community Conversation #4

Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at 6:00 PM. Join the School Building Committee and Tecton Architects at Barrington High School to discuss discuss the final design of the building project and what to expect during construction.

Barrington Public Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Barrington undertaking this Project?

What did Barrington residents vote on?

What are the challenges with current school buildings?

Where are we in the process?

What’s next?

How does this compare to the Barrington Middle School project?

Does Barrington have to bond for the Total Project Cost?

What is “Pay as you go” and is Barrington eligible?

If Barrington receives “pay as you go” money, does Barrington still need to bond for that money?

What happens if Barrington’s project exceeds this RIDE Per SF reimbursement maximum?

Can a Special FTM related to the School Construction Bond and 4% Tax Cap exception happen after the Bond Referendum?

What will be voted on at the Special FTM?

Will the issuance of the bond at $250M require approvals related to the 4% Tax Cap Levy or implied debt ceiling state restrictions?

Does the State need to approve exceeding the 4% tax levy or approve the additional debt?

What is the process for the divesting of Barrington town land for private or alternative use? How does the public have a vote in the process? Would this be a majority vote of the town council that would need to be approved at an FTM?

Does R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-53-10 in any way alter the process outlined in the previous question? Does Barrington lose any control or is the process outlined in the previous question changed?

Could the town council bypass a FTM vote for the divesting of town land?

Could the town develop affordable housing as an entity and bypass a town wide vote?

How does the fact that a school was located at a site affect this process? If a town council wanted to convert other town land (existing public spaces) to affordable housing is there anything different because a site featured a former school?

What does Charter say about town/school ownership of property?

Are there legal thresholds for ownership, such as requiring a structure on the site to establish ownership?

In the scenario where the town owns the land, and the schools own the building, but there’s no building on the site, who technically owns that land?

Are there precedents or legal frameworks for Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) between the town and the schools in similar situations, especially those that might remove the property from being considered by the state?