A plan to ask voters to borrow up to $49 million this year to renovate South Portland High School has been withdrawn by a school advisory committee.

School Board member Ralph Baxter Jr. said this week that the Secondary Schools Facilities Committee will recommend that the School Board delay plans to rebuild and expand the city’s only high school.

The board is expected to review and vote on the recommendation when it meets Jan. 12.

Meanwhile, the facilities committee has decided to go into hiatus and not meet for the rest of the school year.

“When times improve, we will go ahead with our renovation plan. It’s complete,” said Baxter, who sits on the facilities committee.

At the same time, the facilities committee plans to ask the board to endorse a more modest, phased-in program for fixing maintenance problems and meeting health and safety codes at the high school and two middle schools – Mahoney and Memorial.

That maintenance program would require voter approval, with Phase 1 costing up to $13 million, if all the proposed updates are done.

The School Board would have the option of endorsing some or all of the repairs recommended in the phased-in program, which would be completed over five years.

City leaders offered early praise for the committee’s decision to delay taking a major school-construction project to voters and optimism for addressing immediate maintenance needs at the three schools.

“In these tough economic times, and with so many issues facing South Portland, I applaud the Secondary Schools Facilities Committee for delaying major renovations of the high school,” Mayor Tom Blake said Monday.

“At the same time, I support the maintenance plans brought forward by the committee and encourage the School Board to establish a process to implement … some form of the plans,” said Blake, who is the City Council’s representative on the facilities committee.

Delaying plans for a high school renovation represents another setback for school officials. In 2007, voters overwhelmingly defeated a $56 million school bond proposal, with many people complaining it was too expensive.

The facilities committee, which had been meeting for three years, vowed to reduce costs and win the support of voters. The group went back to the drawing board, eliminating plans for a second gym and an artificial-turf playing field.

The building expansion also was reduced. The original footprint proposed for the rebuilt school was 294,500 square feet. The newly revised plan is for 281,900 square feet.

The changes enabled the committee to develop a plan that may total between $45 million and $49 million, depending on construction costs, Assistant Superintendent Steve Bailey said.

But reconfiguring the building plans also led to new costs, Bailey said. The revised plan eliminates a second gym but calls for a more extensive renovation of the existing Beal gym, which needs a new roof, bleachers, locker rooms, plumbing, electrical wiring and entry ways.

Although the committee announced in the spring it planned to present the less costly proposal to voters in 2009, members changed their mind in December, after Gov. John Baldacci announced significant proposed cuts to education spending.

In South Portland, the cuts may result in layoffs, bigger class sizes and fees for some athletic programs for next school year.

Baxter said it was unreasonable to expect voters to approve a school construction bond, given the economic hardship. He did note that costs for school construction are more favorable right now, as demand has dropped off and contractors are bidding more aggressively for work.

Because the high school and two middle schools are facing immediate problems with building maintenance, the facilities committee is proposing that the School Board adopt one-, three- and five-year plans for upgrades.

In year 1, the work involves updating electrical wiring and securing the building entrances at the high school and two middle schools. The cost is projected to be $4.4 million at Memorial, $2.9 million at Mahoney and $5.6 million at the high school.

In year 3, the heating, ventilation, lighting and roof systems would be fixed. The costs would be $2.9 million at Mahoney, $3.6 million at Memorial and $7.8 million at the high school.

In year 5, construction would entail meeting parking needs, repairing fencing and handling room-by-room maintenance, from updating electrical outlets to repairing bathrooms. The estimated cost would be $3.9 million at Mahoney, $4.2 million at Memorial and $5.5 million at the high school.

Baxter noted that the School Board can choose to adopt some or all of the proposed fixes to the schools.

If the board chooses to follow the complete maintenance plan through year 5, the schools should be operational for the next 15-20 years, Bailey said.

A complete renovation of the high school would meet the city’s educational needs for the next 50-75 years, he said.

The fixes – some of which are required to meet health and safety standards – could be handled through the capital improvements program, which requires the city to float a bond, Bailey noted.

Embarking on a thorough maintenance program does not preclude school officials from renovating the high school in the near future or from consolidating the two middle schools, which the state is encouraging to save money.

The School Board could choose to forgo some of the maintenance work on Mahoney, for example, if it proceeded with tentative plans to build a brand-new middle school on the Memorial campus.

Baxter said he hopes that the improvements for year 1 can be decided by voters in 2009. But even maintenance may be deferred as the school deals with deep funding cuts.

The school department lost $875,000 in state funding in December. The school department anticipates that the money will not be restored next school year, and that it may lose an additional $875,000 in state subsidies.

“We want the Board of Education and City Council working on this together to determine the priorities and needs for the city,” Bailey said.