BARRINGTON — After hearing that the proposed site of a town wind turbine has been shifted away from classrooms at the high school, the School Committee last night unanimously endorsed the plan.

It now goes to the May 28 Financial Town Meeting, where voters will have to decide whether to finance the $2.4-million project with the help of a $2.1-million no-interest federal loan.

The committee’s approval didn’t come without reservations.

No wind measurements have been taken at the site, and committee member Jim Hasenfus warned that Barrington is a “marginal wind area.”

If the average wind speed — calculated from computer models and real-time measurements from other sites through the East Bay area — turns out to be lower than projected, a wind turbine may not be as economical as proponents suggest.

“We’re being asked to make a decision without really knowing what that wind speed is,” he said.

However, if the town were to spend a year making those measurements, the current no-interest loan would be lost.

Town officials, including Town Council president Jeffrey Brenner, told the committee that the assumptions made about the viability of the project have been very conservative, yet still show that Barrington stands to save nearly $2.5 million over the 20-year life of the turbine.

“We’re not looking to blow money here. We’re looking to save money,” he said.

Brenner said that wind measurements in towns around Barrington have shown that winds would be strong enough for the turbine to be economical. He said he believes the town’s consultant “when he says Barrington can’t possibly be the hole of the wind doughnut.”

“We’re not done kicking the tires,” Brenner reassured the committee. “At many places along the way, we could kill this project if it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do.”

At a joint meeting with the Town Council on April 7, some committee members expressed concern about noise and safety issues because, at the time, the 410-foot-tall turbine was to be located next to the industrial arts building and the football field grandstand.

Last night, James Bride III, chairman of the Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington, said those reservations prompted his group to shift the site about 150 feet west.

It would now be adjacent to the northeast corner of the parking lot.

School Committee members endorsed that change.

The only serious objection to the proposal was raised by Kathleen A. Shafer, of 210 Lincoln Ave., who said her research has shown that most guidelines issued by manufacturers and various government bodies typically call for the turbines to be built 800 feet away — and in some cases a half-mile away — from homes.

She said her house would be about 400 feet away.

Shafer also contended that turbines have been known to explode, ice chunks may fly off the spinning blades, and the noise could be disturbing.

Advocates of the Barrington proposal “don’t seem to take into consideration what agencies around the world considered to be a safe distance,” she said.

Neither Bride nor anyone else responded to her comments.

Earlier, advocates had said that the unit would automatically shut down, for safety reasons, when the average wind speed exceeded 47 miles per hour. Sensors would also shut down the unit during icing conditions.

The high school was chosen as the site for the windmill because it is, by far, the town’s largest consumer of electricity.

“I don’t need to tell you what’s going on with energy costs,” said Schools Supt. Robert O. McIntyre, who was involved in siting a turbine in Hull, Mass.

“If we could have this project at Barrington High School, I think it would be a positive step in the right direction,” he said, adding that, “if we approve this tonight, it is only the next step in the process. . . . The next step is to decide what the public wants to do.”

Said School Committee Chairman Patrick “Buzz” Guida: “We will continue to monitor the project as it moves forward.”

gemery@projo.com