The population in the town doubled between 1950 and 1960 (from 3500 to 7000). It doubled again in the next decade. This increase made Acton look at its public schools to expand. In 1953, new schools were constructed to accommodate the growth in the student population. In 1957, Acton and Boxborough created a regional school district for grades 7 -12 (Littleton pulled out of the planned regional district halfway through the planning process). The Merriam School was constructed in 1958. Other schools quickly followed (Douglas (1966), Gates (1968), and Conant (1971)). In 1967 a building was constructed for the Junior High. In 1973 a huge addition was added to this building and it became the high school (the junior high moved to the old high school building). In the 1990, it was clear that both the Merriam and the McCarthy Towne buildings were obsolete. In 1998, the town constructed a single replacement building, called the Parker Damon Building, to house both schools. The school run separate programs but share gym and cafeteria space.