Auburn residents meet in August 2017 to discuss where the new Edward Little High School should be built. From left: Sandra Skillings, Sheila Plummer, Bob Gardner and Ralph Tuttle. The proposed site of the high school will be announced Friday morning at Edward Little High School. (Sun Journal file photo)

AUBURN — The proposed site of the new Edward Little High School is scheduled to be announced at a press conference Friday, acccording to Superintendent Katy Grondin.

The public is invited to attend and hear details.

Grondin and School Committee Chairman Tom Kendall declined to reveal the site until the formal announcement, set for 9 a.m. in front of Edward Little High School.

The site selected by the New Edward Little High School Building Committee will be announced by Kendall, who also chairs the building committee.

Site selection of the new school is one of the biggest steps in a long process for building a school. Site review began in June 2017.

“I am excited that we have reached the first big step toward the new high school becoming a reality,” Grondin said Tuesday.

“The building committee worked hard to look at every possibility that would meet the community’s priorities, for a site that is centrally located and able to accommodate the building and athletic fields.”

The proposed site meets those priorities, she said. 

A new Edward Little High School building has been debated in Auburn for 20 years. It was not until 2016, when Auburn won state funding approval, that the new high school went from dream to pending reality.

Before the Maine Department of Education approves the proposed site, Auburn residents must approve the site in a straw vote. 

And before any construction begins, Auburn voters will have to approve the new school in a formal referendum. If approved, the new Edward Little is estimated to open in the fall of 2023.

Details will be shared Friday at the event, including the date for the community straw vote on the site selection. 

Members of the Edward Little High School Building Committee debate in August 2017 where to locate the new high school. The proposed site will be announced Friday morning. (Sun Journal file photo)