AUBURN — The Edward Little Building Committee came to a consensus Tuesday night, recommending the proposal to approve a $120.4 million high school be presented as a single question on the June 11 ballot.

The design plan for the new Edward Little High School. The auditorium is the large block to the right of center, in dark blue. Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham

Superintendent Katy Grondin said the phrasing of the question must be decided so it can be presented to the School Committee and City Council.

City officials have not made a final decision on whether to present one question that combines the $105.89 million to be paid by the state and the $14.53 million local taxpayers will be asked to pay.

A safer route, some say, would be to present two or more questions to voters: one question seeking approval of a school project financed entirely by the state, and one question or more seeking approval of the elements of the project to be financed by Auburn taxpayers.

“That’s how most school referendums have been presented,” said Jim Rier, the former commissioner of the Maine Department of Education.

The reasoning, Rier said, is that if the first question were approved but the second were not, the result would not jeopardize the entire project or the state money behind it.

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Tom Kendall, chairman of the Auburn School Committee, said the June 11 ballot question will explain that the state is paying for the bulk of the project, and that taxpayers would pay the remaining cost. Or less.

Under a fundraising plan, school officials and supporters of building a new high school have set a goal of raising between $3.5 million and $5 million through sponsorships and other means that would reduce the cost to Auburn taxpayers.

The anticipated local cost — $14.53 million — was deemed acceptable given the school “would be a state-of-the-art facility that will lay the foundation for the rebirth of Auburn as a dynamic and vibrant place to live and work,” Kendall said.

During recent community meetings, few people have raised questions about two proposed elements of the school that would not be covered by the state: A larger athletic complex and a geothermal heating and cooling system, which would pay for itself in about two years, according to officials.

A proposed, $5.5 million performing arts center has also generated relatively little opposition.

If one all-inclusive question were included on the June 11 ballot and voters said no, another referendum would have to be held quickly, Rier said.

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Regulations provided by the Maine Department of Education stipulate that to secure funding, a community must approve a new school within six months of the state’s approving the project. The Maine Board of Education is expected to approve the Edward Little project Thursday.

If Auburn voters were to reject the referendum June 11, the city would have four months to win voter approval.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

Staff Writer Bonnie Washuk contributed to this report.

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