The Barrington School Committee voted unanimously on Thursday night, Feb. 1 to hire Brait Builders Corporation to construct a new middle school in town. 

Brait was the low-bidder for the project at $51,275,000, which was about $3 million less than school officials had set for a construction budget. Brait had earned the recommendation of the Barrington School Building Committee during a meeting on Monday, Jan. 29.

Thursday night's vote of approval from the school committee paves the way for work to begin soon on the new middle school.

The school committee was expected to issue a "notice of award" to Brait today, Feb. 2, and a "notice to proceed" on Feb. 12. The notice to proceed triggers the start of construction for the contractor.

Officials have established an aggressive deadline for the construction of the new Barrington Middle School — they hope to complete the project by June 28, 2019.

Brait Builders Corporation, which is based in Marshfield, Mass., specializes in school construction projects. According to documents included in the company's bid package, Brait has completed 10 school construction or renovation projects in Massachusetts since 2012. Most recently, the company built a new middle/high school in Abington, Mass. and an intermediate and middle school in Nantucket.

Middle school bids

Four companies bid to construct a new middle school in Barrington:

• Brait Builders Corporation — $51,275,000

• KBE/Bentley — $52,125,000

• Bacon Construction Company — $53,197,000

• HV Collins — $56,230,000.

The school building committee had set a construction budget of $54,295,000, and has an overall project budget of $68.4 million.