Tewksbury Boards Vote 5-0 to File State School Building Grant Application for Dewing Elementary

TEWKSBURY -- April 1, 2026, Tewksbury's Select Board and School Committee each voted 5-0 to pursue a state school building grant for Dewing Elementary School. At a joint session April 1 at Tewksbury Memorial High School, both boards authorized Superintendent Brenda Theriault-Regan and Town Manager John Curran to draft and submit a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by the April 17 deadline, targeting Statutory Priority categories 5 and 7. JCJ Architecture Principal Doug Roberts presented a best-case timeline under which a completed school could open in fall 2033, with a feasibility study costing $1 million to $2 million due before Town Meeting in May 2030. The new-school option under the town's preferred Option 2 carries an estimated price tag of $147 million, with the district historically bearing roughly 60 percent of costs. School Committee Clerk Jamey Cutelis voted yes while warning that comparable projects in Wilmington and Dracut have come in well above comparable estimates, and that the real cost to the average Tewksbury homeowner could reach $1,000 per year for 20 years.