Andover residents have until Friday, Oct. 9, to tell the town whether they want a new high school or a renovation of the existing building.

Andover Public Schools launched the survey through its AHS Future Subcommittee, calling it a tool to gauge community priorities, support levels and concerns about a potential facility investment. The district said the survey takes less than five minutes to complete.

Town Manager Andrew Flanagan told the Finance Committee at its Aug. 19 meeting that the starting figure for the financial analysis would be "$485M build in escalation costs." That number is a planning baseline, not a formal bid, and the minutes show Flanagan said the analysis will model three tracks: maintaining the existing facility, pursuing state reimbursement through the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), and building without MSBA help.

The MSBA offers two programs, one for major renovations and one for new construction. Both will be evaluated, Flanagan said.

Waiting would increase the cost. Finance Committee minutes from March 4 projected that a new high school built through the MSBA process would cost roughly $638 million based on a 2027 submission. Delay the application to 2040, and the estimate tops $1.06 billion.

The School Committee voted in March 2026 to prepare a Statement of Interest for the MSBA, targeting a 2027 submission. That vote was conditioned on two things: a financing investigation by the superintendent and town manager, and public feedback. The survey now open is part of that second requirement.

Voters rejected a similar proposal in 2023. At the Nov. 20, 2023, Special Town Meeting, 2,004 voters turned down a $1.3 million appropriation for new-construction design services by a vote of 541–1,339. Voters did approve $500,000 for interim renovation design, according to town meeting results.

A separate town planning committee noted in February 2026 that the MSBA process alone could take 10 to 11 years. By the time an MSBA-funded project could be finished, the high school would be roughly 85 years old.

Flanagan and the superintendent are due to deliver a financing-options report to the School Committee by Nov. 1. Residents can take the survey at aps1.net.