LEWISTON — If the city is lucky enough to get one of its two elementary school construction projects approved by the state one year from now – and that’s a big if – the next step would be to consolidate schools.

That could mean combining Longley and Martel into one big school, Superintendent Leon Levesque said. It could also mean redistricting several elementary schools to ensure all students have equal programs.

On Tuesday, the Lewiston School Department submitted applications for state school construction money for three new schools: Lewiston Middle on Central Avenue, Longley Elementary on Birch Street and Martel Elementary on Lisbon Street.

The last time the state accepted applications was six years ago, so a high number of applications are expected to compete for a limited amount of state money.

Despite the tough competition, Levesque told the Lewiston School Committee on Monday night that it was his sense that Martel or Longley could rate high enough to get funding.

If that happens, and it would happen after Levesque retires in December, he advised them to “put your thinking caps on” and look at the needs of all elementary students.

“It could allow us to redistrict in ways we’re not thinking about now,” he said. “It could be (one school) for Martel and Longley. It could also mean redistricting for Farwell. It could involve a project for McMahon.”

One issue Lewiston has is the children of the inner city “should be children of all schools,” Levesque said.

At Longley, 96 percent of students qualify for free or reduced meals. “It’s unfortunate we have now a high concentration of poverty in one school,” Levesque said.

Breaking up such a high concentration of poverty at Longley, along with a federal grant to improve student learning, would help, School Committee Chairman Jim Handy said. Students do better when surrounded by students performing at higher levels, he said.

Longley is one of 10 schools in Maine with such persistently low test scores that the school qualified to apply for a federal grant of up to $2 million to improve its program. The catch is that the principal and half of the teachers must leave. The school department has applied for the grant and should find out how much it could receive in the next month.

Levesque and Handy said Tuesday that Longley has outgrown the small space added to the side of the Lewiston Multi-Purpose Center, which was planned in the 1960s as a community center.

Back then, “the powers that be noticed overcrowding at Frye and Wallace,” Handy said. A wing was used to relieve overcrowding. It got bigger, but the building was not intended for a school of Longley’s size.

In the past six years, Longley’s enrollment has jumped from 240 to 325, Levesque said. There are seven portable classrooms.  Educational challenges have created a bigger need for specialized programs such as English language learning, he said.

Martel’s enrollment is around 300 students; the middle school’s more than 600.

School Committee member Sonja Taylor asked how the federal grant would work if a new school building is approved.

Levesque said the grant would be for three years and that a new school wouldn’t be built before 2014 in a best-case scenario.

“The timetable could work out very well,” Levesque said. The grant could provide new opportunities that could help with the design of a new school.

Tuesday was the deadline for school systems to apply for state construction money. By 3 p.m. with two hours to go, the Maine Department of Education had received 64 applications from 29 school districts.

“The projects will be far more than we will have money for,” department spokesman David Connerty-Marin said.

One application is for a new Edward Little High School in Auburn, Superintendent Tom Morrill said Tuesday. A new EL near the existing school could cost about $60 million, according to one estimate. But there will be no official price tag until later in the review process.

The high school has heating problems, is too small for today’s educational needs, lacks athletic fields and has an inadequate cafeteria in the basement.

The last time Auburn submitted an application for a new high school was in 2004, the last year the state accepted applications. Then, a new EL was rated 44th of 66 projects. Only the top 22 received state money.

“We’ll see where EL falls,” Morrill said. “The School Committee decided it was too important a project not to attempt to go down this road.”

State lawmakers will decide next spring how much money will be available for school construction. More money becomes available as existing loans are paid off. The trouble is, a school approved 20 years ago that cost $8 million would cost $22 million now, Connerty-Marin said.

Projects make it to the top of the approved list according to need, not cost.

“If we only have $60 million and the first school is a high school, you’re done,” Connerty-Marin said.

— Bonnie Washuk