Students and staff at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School are in their second academic year sharing space with construction crews working on a new facility that is slated to be ready for use in the fall of 2026.
Diman Superintendent Director Brian Bentley says exterior work on the building is moving along as scheduled.
Mr. Bentley says in early December the Diman community and construction crews will celebrate the installation of the final iron beam on the project. The traditional “top-off” will include students, staff and supporters adding their signatures to the beam.
Coinciding with the on-time construction schedule is the news that thus far the project is still on budget to be built based on its original $293 million price tag.
A portion of the cost of the school will be borne by taxpayers of the four communities (Fall River, Somerset, Swansea and Westport) Diman serves. Mr. Bentley says recently the school received word that more money has been allocated for the project by the state that will reduce the cost to each community.
Fall River’s payment toward the construction of the new school has decreased from $110 million to $101 million. Nearly 80 percent of Diman students live in Fall River.
Even though the opening of the new school is about two years away, plans are underway to organize the move of materials from the old building to the new one.
