AUBURN – Voters will decide the fate of a new Auburn elementary school in just more than a month.

Councilors agreed to present a $9.6 million bond issue to replace aging Lake Street Elementary school with a new Park Avenue building. Voters will also decide if they want a larger gym and year-round climate control, at a cost of $635,000.

That all goes to the voters on Sept. 14, councilors agreed.

School officials said last week that having the vote sooner than this November’s general election would save the city between $70,000 and $92,000.

Councilor Richard Livingston said he wanted some proof of those savings.

“I would hate to vote to have this early election and then not have the school finish on time and lose whatever savings we’ve discussed,” Livingston said. “Unless we have some sort of a guarantee, I’m not convinced we need to have this election early.”

School Superintendent Barbara Eretzian said the School Committee could not negotiate the contract until voters had passed it, and architects said state construction contracts do include some guarantees.

Livingston agreed, and voted with the other councilors to set the election in September.

If voters approve, work would begin in June 2005 and finish by July 2006. Classes at the new school would begin in September 2006.

Plans call for putting the school on Park Avenue, southwest of the current school.

The design calls for 17 classrooms, separate music and art spaces, and a room for science experiments and other projects spread out over three stories. The music, art and science space would be on the basement level, while most offices and the library, gym and cafeteria would be on the first floor and classrooms would be on the first and second floors.