LEWISTON – Absentee ballots are now available for the Dec. 7 vote on a new Farwell Elementary School.

Registered voters may cast absentee ballots at the city clerk’s office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Voters may also call the city clerk at 784-2956 or visit the city’s Web site at www.ci.lewiston.me.us and request that a ballot be mailed to them.

A family member may also ask for an absentee ballot on behalf of another family member as long as a written request is submitted.

The referendum will ask voters two questions. The first asks to demolish Farwell Elementary School and replace it with a $10.7 million building on the same site.

The new school would be set on 4.8 acres and would accommodate 425 students.

A second question would allow voters to add a $566,000 middle school-sized gym to the project.

Under the state’s new funding formula, called Essential Programs and Services, the state would pay for nearly the entire project, according to Superintendent Leon Levesque. The city would likely pay $33,500 across a 20-year period. If voters approve the gym, Lewiston would pay an additional $566,000.

A copy of the sample ballot with the two referendum questions is available at the city clerk’s office and on the city’s Web site.

The referendum will be held Dec. 7 at the Multi-Purpose Center, 126 Birch St. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.