It's (almost) unanimous

In a near-unanimous vote Thursday night, representatives of Bristol County towns and cities approved a nearly $104 million improvement project for the campus of Bristol County Agricultural High School.

The project would result in construction of a new building that will accommodate a variety of classes and disciplines — including small and large animal science; natural resource study; and science classes. The library would also be reconfigured and included in the building.
Other improvements would be to the school’s main academic and administrative building, where the size of classrooms and labs would be enlarged to comply with standards set by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

The commission has said that the Massachusetts School Building Authority has agreed to pay for $50.5 million with the balance of $53.2 million falling to the 20 towns and cities that constitute Bristol County.

A total of 15 out of 20 representatives of the county’s municipalities, known collectively as the Bristol County Advisory Board, showed up Thursday.
The two towns voting no were Seekonk and Freetown. Members of the advisory board who did not attend Thursday’s meeting and vote were from Fall River, New Bedford, Westport, Norton and North Attleborough.

The vote authorizes the three-member Bristol County Commission to petition Beacon Hill for special legislation to accept the measure.