Wareham’s bid to replace the 51-year-old Minot Forest Elementary School received promising news Wednesday after a vote of support from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

In a Feb. 15 press release, the School Building Authority announced that the aging school was one of eight across Massachusetts invited to launch feasibility studies regarding new school construction. The vote is a critical step in the process. The town could be reimbursed up to 70 percent of all the costs associated with building a new school.

“These feasibility studies will carefully examine potential solutions to the issues identified at the school facilities and will help us develop the most cost effective plan to address those issues,” said State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg. “We look forward to partnering with the districts to move these potential projects forward.”

Funding for the study was approved in April when Town Meeting voted to borrow $1 million.

Members of the Minot Forest School Building Committee have been meeting since September to explore rebuilding options for the school, which suffers from a series of structural deficiencies. Problems include outdated security measures, electrical wiring and fire safety components. Many items, such as windows, classroom floor tiles, an elevator, boilers and ceiling tiles, need replacing. Additional classroom space is required, too.

In November, committee members recommended to the School Building Authority that students in preschool through grade four be housed in two, new buildings – most likely located on Minot Avenue – with preschool and first grade students attending school in one and students in grades two through four attending the other. Currently, preschool students and grade four students attend Minot Forest while kindergarten through grade three students attend Decas Elementary.

School officials have cautioned that the project could take several years before ground is broken. Project approval also hinges on the School Building Authority because its members must decide if the project is practical. Eventually, a Town Meeting vote authorizing a debt exclusion -- a temporary property tax increase to fund the construction -- will also be required.