LEWISTON – Voters went for a new Pettingill School and upgraded its gymnasium Tuesday at the polls.

Voters agreed to build the new school 3,305 to 758. They agreed to the new gym 3,063 to 1,115.

“There is a desperate need for it, and there has been a long public process and good work by the building committee,” said School Superintendent Leon Levesque. “Voters actually understood just how desperate the need is.”

Levesque said architects and the building committees will continue work designing the building and present it to the state for final approval this summer. He hopes to begin taking bids for the work this fall. The school should open for classes in 2009.

The new school will be built about a mile from the existing school at the site of Cote’s golf driving range on College Street. The new K-6 school would be energy-efficient, and would have four classrooms for each grade level and the capacity for full-day kindergarten as well as a pre-school program for 4-year-olds. It would have space for special education, a library, an art room, a cafeteria and a gym with a stage.

According to the proposal, the state will pay for 96.5 percent of the $21.9 million school. City taxpayers will pay the remaining 3.5 percent – roughly $766,500 over 20 years. That’s was an important selling point for voters, he said.

About $500,000 of the city’s share is the new gymnasium, he said.

“The state only agrees to pay for the small gym,” Levesque said. That doesn’t make sense, he said.

“We didn’t ask for anything extravagant,” he said. “But the issue is, you should do it right when you first build it. It’s much cheaper that way, rather than having to go back in years later.”

Linda Scott, president of the Pettingill PTO group and a member of the construction committee, said the gym was an important part.

“It makes it something that can hold bigger events,” she said. “It makes more than just a school, but something for the entire community.”

Diane Roy, of Gagne Street in Lewiston, said it the new gym would be worth the money.

“It just seems kind of foolish to build a nice new school with out a gym,” she said.

Other voters cited the poor shape of the existing school. It was built in 1929, and last updated in 1965.

“That’s one thing I don’t feel bad spending on,” said Linda Dilodovico of Elaine Avenue. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to that building just to make it safe and secure. We put too many kids in those little temporary buildings.”

Others said the state’s deal was too good to pass up.

“We need it, and it’s going to cost $21 million to do it,” said Shirley Karahalios of Central Avenue. “If the state pays for it, that’s a pretty good deal.”