AUBURN – Even though there may be little if any state money to help pay for it, the School Committee and City Council heard a recommendation Monday night that the city should spend up to $35 million to improve schools.

Even before either body had much debate – much less a vote – on the sweeping proposal, interim School Superintendent Tom Morrill passed out schedules showing a citizen referendum on the proposal is planned for Nov. 8, the same date of the upcoming presidential election.

Unveiled by Portland architect Stephen Blatt, the plan would impact most students in Auburn.

As recommended by Blatt, the city would spend $24 million to $25 million for a new-and-improved Edward Little High School, and another $4 million to $10 million to improve and restructure other schools.

The exception would be East Auburn Elementary School, which would be closed. The East Auburn school has only 140 students, and is too small to provide programs similar to what other Auburn students are receiving, Blatt said.

Last year, school officials proposed closing East Auburn to solve a budget proposal, drawing many East Auburn parents to protest. Their protests prompted officials to withdraw the proposal and keep the school open.

Blatt suggested East Auburn students attend Washburn, which would be expanded, resulting in better programs for Washburn and East Auburn students. The East Auburn school building, Blatt said, would be a good place to host Auburn’s land lab and some special education programs.

Blatt recommended that all of Auburn’s K-6 schools become K-5, and all sixth-graders attend the Auburn Middle School.

According to the state funding formula, the middle school has too much space for too few students. It could handle extra students while improving programs and conditions at the more crowded elementary schools, Blatt said. The middle school could convert the first floor to become a sixth-grade wing, and the school would need four new science classrooms. While most of the middle school building is in good shape, a few classrooms are “nasty,” lacking adequate windows, Blatt said.

The centerpiece of his proposal is Edward Little. The high school campus is in an unusually good location, on valuable land perched on a hill with plenty of space, about 50 acres, Blatt said. “It has great potential to add on, to renew what’s there,” Blatt said.

While Edward Little is one of the largest high schools in Maine, “we’re behind the eight ball. We’re lacking a number of things,” Blatt said. “When we compare Edward Little with other high schools, we come up short.”

There’s not enough parking. Energy leaks out of the building, built in 1961 with little insulation and single-panel windows. The library is too small. The campus lacks athletic fields. There’s no auditorium. The kitchen is too small to provide normal hot lunches. There’s insufficient space for programs, including music and band.

He’s recommending the city spend $10 million-plus to renovate the existing building, making it energy efficient. Another $10 million-plus would pay for a new cafeteria, performing arts center (stage and auditorium), library and music rooms. That addition would free up space for programs. Meanwhile, acres of the EL campus would be developed for athletic fields, including a small stadium.

School committee members and city councilors asked some questions, such as why close East Auburn or why doesn’t Auburn qualify for any state money for a new high school. No one spoke across-the-board in favor or against the plan.

Blatt said enrollment in East Auburn is small and is unlikely to grow. “There’s no sewer and water out there,” and watershed restrictions of Lake Auburn make future housing development tough, if not impossible, he said.

As to why there’s been no state money to help with improving the high school, Blatt said while the EL is in bad shape, “there are other schools in the state that are worst.” School officials said they’d try to get state loans and grants.

The Auburn School Committee will vote on the plan on Feb. 8.

If approved, the committee would hire an architect and form building committees in March in April. From June through Nov. 8 there’d be a campaign to convince voters that up to $35 million in improvements are needed.