ADAMS — It's official: McCann Technical School is getting a new roof.

On Tuesday, Adams became the last town in the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional District to approve spending measures for the nearly $17 million roof and windows replacement project.

Adams voters approved a proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion by a vote of 553-169, according to Adams Town Clerk Haley Meczywor. The measure will temporarily raise property taxes over the next 15 years to finance the town's $1.8 million share of the project. Once the debt is paid, the property tax will go back to what it was before.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority will pay 64 percent, or $9.3 million of the McCann project, leaving the district responsible for the remaining $7.4 million, or 36 percent.

The other eight towns in the district have already approved the project: Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, Lanesborough, Savoy, Monroe, North Adams and Williamstown.

Superintendent Jim Brosnan said that McCann's roof is past its serviceable life and its original single-pane windows need upgrades to make them safer and more energy-efficient. Brosnan said the project will add another life to the school and not cost nearly as much as a complete rebuild.

Adams does not have room in its current budget under the levy limit to pay its share of the project, said Finance Director and Town Accountant Ashley Satko. Satko estimated the debt exclusion would add 18 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to the tax rate during the 15 years it pays off the project.

Proposition 2 1/2 is a Massachusetts law, passed by voters in 1980, that limits the total amount of property taxes a city or town can raise in a given year to no more than 2.5 percent of the community’s total assessed property value. It also limits the annual increase in the total tax levy to no more than 2.5 percent over the previous year’s levy.

The only way a town can raise taxes beyond that threshold is if it gets the majority of voters to agree to either a debt override, which puts more money in municipal operating budgets, or, in the case of the McCann project, a debt exclusion, which are tax hikes that fund specific capital projects.

Any one of the district's communities could have vetoed the project by voting no, but communities that took no action within the 60-day window — which started ticking either Sept. 5 or Sept. 8, depending on the community — automatically assumed the debt.

Adams and Savoy were the only two towns that acted and held Special Town Meetings. Savoy, whose share of the project including interest comes to about $184,000, voted to approve the project on Oct. 1. In Adams, the vote passed unanimously on Oct. 28. Tuesday’s vote was on the debt exclusion measure.

Adams will pay its highest one-year obligation of $146,410 in 2028. It will pay its lowest obligation of $97,217 in 2042.

Brosnan said construction is expected to begin early next year and the roof and windows are estimated to be replaced in the summer.