It’s all about treasures.

There are the school kids, of course, and their needs.

There are their parents, folks justifiably concerned with their kids’ education, and where they get it.

Then there’s the neighborhood.

It consists of people. They recognize and appreciate the value Lake Street School holds for them.

But many also recognize and appreciate some little jewels – leaves turning to autumn hues, for example – that make their corner of the universe what it is.

Setting a value on those treasures, deciding which is more important than the other, isn’t an easy task. It’s the task, though, of the city’s School Committee and members of its school building advisory panel.

Or maybe not.

After School Superintendent Barbara Eretzian finished listening to 10 concerns voiced by neighbors Tuesday evening about a plan to expand Lake Street School, she sounded ready to toss in the towel on the project.

“I have major concerns about being able to meet all of your needs,” she told more than three dozen people crowded into the school’s tiny meeting room. “I’m not that sure that we can put a project here” and meet state and educational requirements, Eretzian added.

Auburn may have to look elsewhere to educate the neighborhood’s children, she said. Most likely, she added, elsewhere would be Washburn or East Auburn school grounds.

And while she said she wasn’t speaking for her bosses, the city’s School Committee members, she quickly polled building panel members who attended the forum. In light of neighbors’ concerns, they hastily agreed to scuttle a straw vote on the Lake Street School plan that had been set for May 8. Another date will be set, once the educators and those planning the school can discuss the issues raised Tuesday.

That they hadn’t thought more about the issues amazed some of the neighbors.

Their No. 1 concern was communication, or the lack of it between school planners and those who live nearest to the project. To improve it, they suggested adding two school neighbors to the building committee.

City Councilor Rich Livingston, who represents the Lake Street neighborhood, said that’s a good idea. Neighbors could be found, he said, who didn’t abut the property and who wouldn’t have a financial interest in selling land, or in having it taken by the city for the school.

Other concerns ranged from the postage stamp sized lot, and finding a way to make it work for the expanded school, to the size of the proposed building itself. There was talk, too, about increased traffic, about a parking lot some saw as twice as big as needed, about options for buses.

Held dearest by neighbors, however, seemed to be the potential loss of what John Goodwin called “a natural gem.” A tree-lined gully area running through land owned by Rachel Feeley would be taken, or bought, then leveled for the school’s playing field.

The gully offers a mini habitat for wildlife, he said, and “plays a key role in making our neighborhood unique.” It’s been used as a nature’s classroom by school students, he and others noted, and benefits neighbors in both ecological and aesthetic senses.

Neighbors, according to Cathy Goodwin, John’s wife, “are looking for win-win solutions for this challenging project.”

They favor the school’s project, she said, but also urged the “extra consideration” needed “to assure that this model expansion has a positive impact on this residential area” given available land limits.