The town of Tisbury is partnering with a regional council in Texas to lease modular classrooms for use while the Tisbury School building project is under way.

Approved by the school board earlier this month, the 20-month lease will cost the town about $3.4 million, town administrator Jay Grande told the select board last Wednesday.

“That includes setup and removal and barging, and covers both ends of that lease agreement,” Mr. Grande said.

Supplied by Michigan-based VESTA Modular, the temporary buildings will be leased through the Houston-Galveston Area Council, a public agency that offers a cooperative purchasing program to local governments nationwide.

The lease qualifies as a collective procurement under the terms of the Massachusetts uniform procurement act, town counsel David Doneski told the board.

The $55 million, 30-year borrowing measure approved for the school project by Tisbury voters last June includes $1.5 million for temporary classrooms, leaving a $1.8 million funding gap.

The board also voted to hire the school building committee’s top choice for construction manager at risk, W.T. Rich of Newton.

Mr. Grande did not present a dollar amount, noting that the contract is still being finalized between W.T. Rich and the town’s owner’s project manager (OPM) for the school, CHA Consulting, which is conducting the negotiation.

Mr. Doneski said only a couple of elements remain outstanding, including liquidated damages — the daily penalty should the school not be completed on time. The town expects that amount to be $2,000 a day, he said.

The other matter regards a computation methodology, Mr. Doneski said.

“I think probably one more exchange between the OPM folks and W.T. Rich will get that [resolved],” he said.

Tappé Architects of Boston is designing the school project.

Work is expected to begin in June 2022.

— Louisa Hufstader