AUBURN — At a projected $125.5 million, a new, state-of-the-art Edward Little High School would cost Auburn taxpayers less than expected, members of the Building Committee were told Tuesday night.

The school would be the best — and most expensive — in Maine, officials said.

The state’s most expensive high school is now in Sanford, built about five years ago for $100 million.

Of the total cost, $109 million (87 percent) would be paid by the state, and $16.48 million (13 percent) would be covered by Auburn taxpayers, according to Harriman architect Lisa Sawin.

The cost would add about $104 to the annual tax on a property valued at $150,000, according to Brian Hanson, business manager for the Auburn School Department.

If the project is approved by voters in June, it would be two years before the bond is taken out. Over those two years, fundraising is planned to help soften the impact on local taxpayers, with a goal of raising between $3 million and $5 million.

Superintendent Katy Grondin said the projected costs to build a new high school are not final. If they change, “they’ll only get better” for taxpayers, she said.

Plans call for the new Edward Little to be built on Harris Street and to open in 2023. It would offer career programs, such as firefighting, hairdressing, engineering and culinary arts. It would also boast more athletic fields.

Amenities not fully covered by state funding include geothermal heating and cooling, green energy with a small carbon footprint; air conditioning throughout the complex; an athletic complex with two turf fields; and a 1,200-seat auditorium, with catwalk, tech shop and dressing rooms.

Last month, the cost to local taxpayers was projected at $23 million, which would have meant a $150 increase to the annual tax on property valued at $150,000.

Two factors have reduced the local cost, Sawin said.

The proposed school has more interior space than the state will cover for the projected enrollment of about 1,100. As negotiations progressed, it was clear some of the extra space would not be for student programs but to house industrial and technical equipment to run the building. Taking that square footage out of program space saved about $6 million.

And in its pursuit of green energy, the state said it would pay for much of the school’s geothermal heating and cooling system, saving $900,000.

The payback time for geothermal was estimated earlier at three years or more. Now, it is projected to be 1.8 years.

“As energy costs go down,” Sawin said, “the return on investment gets better.”

Two city councilors who heard Tuesday night’s presentation said they were pleased.

“The architects and the Building Committee have done an amazing job at looking very carefully at every aspect to make sure it’s the best high school in Maine but also something the community can afford,” City Councilor Holly Lasagna said.

The initial projected cost to Auburn taxpayers — more than $20 million — “was not palatable,” City Councilor David Young said.

The $16.48 million now being asked of taxpayers is “pretty close” to what city councilors wanted to see, he said.

“We have two years to soften the blow” with fundraising, Young said. “I’m willing to send that off to the voters.”

Tom Kendall, chairman of the Building Committee, said negotiations with the state have resulted in a proposed school that would “be the best in the state, and within the pocketbook of what this community can afford.”

“The community has expressed to us over and over: ‘Build this school. Don’t do it cheap like we did the last time in 1963. Let’s do it right. The students deserve it. This community deserves it,’” Kendall said.

The School Committee is scheduled to meet with the City Council at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Auburn Hall to go over the projected costs. If councilors back the project, Auburn residents will be asked to participate in a straw poll March 13.

If residents back the proposal, a local referendum would be held in June.