Andover families waiting for answers on the future of Andover High School now have a date circled: Nov. 1, 2026. That's the deadline the Select Board has set for Town Manager Andrew Flanagan and Superintendent Keith Taverna to deliver a detailed financing roadmap for replacing or renovating the aging building, part of a broader push to sharpen the town's FY27 goals with clearer benchmarks and less reliance on debt.

The financing plan is a critical stepping stone toward the School Committee's goal of submitting a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in spring 2027. If the MSBA accepts Andover's application, a feasibility study would go before Town Meeting in 2028 — and even then, Flanagan told the School Committee in April, a feasibility study and schematic design take years. Under this timeline, students wouldn't move into a new building until around 2038.

That long runway is exactly why officials pushed through a $3.85 million interim project this spring, covering furniture replacement and security upgrades. "If it passes, the students of today will start to see an impact," School Committee Chair Shauna Murray said in April. The project won unanimous support from the School Committee, Finance Committee, Select Board and Permanent Town Building Advisory Committee before heading to Town Meeting, funded through existing capital balances and a free cash transfer — with no direct tax impact on residents.

That $3.85 million plan was actually the smallest of three options studied over a two-year process with an architect and project manager. The largest option — a base scope plus new science wing — carried a roughly $80 million price tag, while a mid-range option covering furniture, security and mechanical systems ran an estimated $17 million to $27 million. Flanagan described the interim project as a bridge: enough to keep the current building functional while the town pursues MSBA funding, the same state partnership that helped fund Bancroft Elementary in 2014 and West Elementary/Shawsheen Preschool in 2024.

The 2027 SOI submission depends on two things: Flanagan and Taverna's financing investigation, and feedback from the community. Murray said the School Committee wanted to give residents a concrete target date to keep the project moving forward. As of early May, the two officials hadn't yet delivered the report, though joint subcommittee minutes noted they were working on it together.

The financing report is due Nov. 1. Community engagement sessions are expected before any SOI submission, and the School Committee says it will gauge whether residents feel ready before filing with the state.