EAST GREENWICH — School officials will trade in the aging Archie R. Cole Middle School for a brand new three-story building on the same lot, thanks to voters who soundly approved a $52-million school construction bond last night.

The new school on Cedar Avenue will house sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. Currently, Cole operates with only seventh- and eighth-graders. School officials say the new building should be ready for students by the fall of 2011.

The $52-million plan also includes renovation work at the town’s four elementary schools and at the high school. That work includes replacing the floors at Meadowbrook Elementary School; installing sinks and modifying countertops in five classrooms at Frenchtown School; expanding and renovating administrative office areas and the main entrance at Hanaford School; and converting some classrooms at Eldredge School into computer labs, an expanded library and special-education spaces. At the high school, the science labs will be renovated.

The state Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education approved the town for 30-percent state reimbursement on a portion of the bond.

Over the past three months, supporters did what they had to do to get the word out. They created a Web site, hosted community meetings and created slogans, such as “Our Kids, Our Schools, Our Town, Our Future,” that were emblazoned on lawn signs, buttons and stickers.

“We are extremely excited that the community had confidence in our planning,” said School Committee Chairwoman Suzanne McGee Cienki. “I think people understood these were priority needs and that they had to be done. We were in risk of losing our accreditation at the high school. They got behind us 100 percent.”

John J. Gowell, chairman of the East Greenwich Schools Building Committee said he was amazed that the bond issue received so many votes.

“It’s gratifying that people realize it’s now time to do the right thing for all the people of East Greenwich,” he said. “This is a plan that has been vetted. This is a very reasonable and sensible plan.”

lsparks@projo.com