The proposal to build a new middle-senior high school in West Bridgewater cleared a key hurdle Wednesday when the Massachusetts School Building Authority board agreed to provide partial funding for the project.

The building authority committed to reimbursing the town for 54.16 percent of eligible costs for the $63.7 million project, according to Gary Keith, chairman of the town’s School Building Committee. He said the town’s share is estimated at $34 million.

The School Building Authority action sets the stage for a Special Town Meeting vote on Oct. 1 on whether to approve the full project cost. Town Meeting approval then would be subject to passage of a debt exclusion, or temporary tax increase, at an Oct. 6 election.

The project calls for constructing a 141,250-square-foot school on West Center Street, replacing the existing seventh- to 12th-grade school at that location. The proposal will be the subject of two public information forums, on Aug. 7 and Sept. 11, both at 7 p.m. at the current Middle-Senior High School.

“We feel confident based on the [building authority] board’s action that we’ve got the right design at appropriate budget levels, and we are prepared to present that to the town, first through the informational sessions and then to the formal Town Meeting,” Keith said.