AUBURN — The City Council will vote Monday to give final approval to sending two bond packages to referendum for a new Edward Little High School.
The votes from the council come after some debate between city and school officials over how the construction project should be presented to voters.
Earlier this week, the School Committee and City Council agreed to divide the state and local costs into two questions on the June 11 ballot.
After a joint meeting between the two bodies Wednesday, the School Committee met briefly and voted unanimously to recommend the two ballot questions to the City Council. The council then met and took a first vote on sending the bonds to referendum.
Monday’s special meeting will feature a public hearing and second reading on the bonds, as well as approving the ballot questions for the municipal referendum.
Initially, the school Building Committee recommended to the School Committee on April 9 that only one ballot question be asked to approve the state and local funding.
Officials agreed Wednesday that Question 1 will ask voters to approve the $105.9 million in state funding, plus $5.5 million in local funding to pay for items not covered by the state, including extra program space, geothermal heating and cooling, a larger gym area and other interior features.
Question 2 will ask voters to approve $10.5 million in additional local funds to pay for a 1,200-seat performing arts center and state-of-the-art athletic stadium with a turf field and a larger track.
If Question 1 passes and Question 2 fails, a second referendum could be held in October to tweak the size and other specifications of the performing arts center and stadium, officials said.
The full proposed ballot language is included in Monday’s council agenda packet, available on the city’s website.
Following the special meeting Monday, the council will continue with a scheduled budget workshop, taking up the Recreation Department, the proposed School Department budget and joint agencies such as the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Authority and Lewiston-Auburn 911.
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