JOHNSTON — The townwide School Building Committee has unanimously approved a proposal for installing a solar-heating system at the Brown Avenue School, if the town can get federal money to pay the project’s $350,000 estimated cost.

The vote Tuesday came on a proposal by resident Richard Weinberg, founder of the Thermal Reserve solar heating company.

The plan would require approval by the School Committee.

The system proposed for the school would heat water and store it for heating purposes. The project also involves the construction of a new roof to support the solar panels. The estimated cost of the thermal energy storage system is $225,000, and the integrated roof is expected to cost another $125,000, Weinberg said. Under his proposal, he would help the school apply for stimulus money that the federal government has awarded to the state for green-energy projects.

The design of the elementary school, which has a flat roof, makes it ideal for the project, Weinberg said. He incorporated the roof project in his initial proposal because he had seen aerial photographs of the school’s roof, and the pictures indicated that it was in bad shape.

The school has an oil-fired heating system that costs $21,000 a year to operate, said School Supt. Margaret A. Iacovelli.

The project would aim to reduce annual heating costs by 80 percent, according to Weinberg. The oil-fired system would remain as a backup.

The building committee is a panel of local officials, including members of the School Committee and Town Council, who review school building needs.

Prior to the vote Tuesday, Iacovelli emphasized that finding money to pay for a new roof at the school is a priority, but the district has no money to earmark for a solar-heating project.

She said she had questions about the potential for hidden costs, such as the price of replacing panels damaged by weather or vandalism.

“What are the underlying costs here?” she said.

She said she would give the School Committee her own review of the proposal after she does her own research.

mreynold@projo.com