The Westbrook Planning Board on Tuesday approved a contract-zone change for a Stroudwater Street site where a new junior high school could be built.

The zone change is one of four remaining steps required by the state before giving final approval for a new school. The state requires any new school be built in an area designated as a growth zone within the city. The city wants a new Wescott Junior High at the 65-acre plot off Stroudwater Street it purchased from Thomas DeWolfe and Elizabeth Faye in April for just under $990,000.

The planning board meeting was well attended, but few spoke out about the zone change. The board also referred the zone change back to the Westbrook City Council, which will hold a public hearing on the issue at its meeting Monday, Jan. 22. The council will take an initial vote at that meeting and a second vote at a subsequent meeting.

Officials hope to complete the zone change and other remaining tasks before holding a referendum on the new school some time between mid-April and June.

The city is working with the state through an extensive review process, in which all the state’s requirements must be met before the state provides funding for the school. If the city complies fully, the state will refund 100 percent of the costs of constructing a new school, with the exception of any extra construction the city chooses, such as a new auditorium. The cost of a new school is expected to be upwards of $30 million.

Ultimately, the state will determine the best course of action: whether to renovate the existing Wescott Junior High, build new on the existing site or build new elsewhere.

Originally, the city and state were expecting to renovate or build a new school on the current Wescott Junior High site, off Bridge Street. Extensive problems with both the school and the site, however, led both parties to look elsewhere.

Problems with the old school, built in the mid 1970s, include poor air circulation and excessive noise in classrooms stemming from an outdated design based on open space, versus individual classrooms. Beyond that, it was estimated that to build new on the site would cost an extra $8 million to excavate land and move two sets of power lines, among other activities, before construction could even begin.

As an alternative to the current site, the city bought the Stroudwater Street land in April. Analyses of potential new sites around the city suggested that property was by far the most attractive, according to city and school officials.

In early December, the state asked Westbrook to make a formal site application for the Stroudwater Street plot. City and school officials believe the request suggests that the state is leaning toward that site as the location of a new junior high, as opposed to renovating the old school or building new on the old school site on Bridge Street.

The request for a formal application came from the Department of Education team that has worked with Westbrook on the review process. While the final approval would come from the state Board of Education, Westbrook School Superintendent Stan Sawyer said he thinks the team will recommend to the board to build on the Stroudwater Street site following the submittal by Westbrook of a formal application.

Between now and final approval, Westbrook has three additional things to do in the process in addition to the zone change and formal application. The city must provide the state with costs of building the school on the Stroudwater Street site, including costs for any roadwork or other construction associated with the project. It must also provide at least two appraisals of the property’s value. One is already complete.

The city expects to hear from the state Board of Education on final approval for the DeWolfe site in February, according to Mayor Bruce Chuluda, followed by approval in mid-March for a school concept drawn up by the city’s architect.