SANFORD — Residents will have a chance to voice their view on the proposed design of the new Sanford High School and Regional Technical Center in a straw poll vote Tuesday. The meeting starts at 6 p.m., with the vote scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.

The new school, expected to cost about $97 million, is projected to be finished in 2018.

According to a recent update from Superintendent of Schools David Theoharides, the state will pay for 93 percent of the cost. The city anticipates utilizing a 30-year bond for the estimated $8 million in local expenses. According to the website, the city’s debt level at the time of project completion will not require any tax increase due to the retirement of current bonds.

The project building committee is recommending an auditorium for about 700 people, installing bleachers and lighting on the athletic fields and upgrades to the gym.

The straw poll vote follows the state Board of Education’s approval last month of the location of the proposed school building on lower Main Street, behind the Burger King and Sanford Manor Apartments. The site is comprised of 132.3 acres; the state will pay about $90,000 for 49 acres, with the city picking up the remainder, at slightly more than $600,000.

Meeting attendees on Tuesday will have the opportunity to see the layout and design of the new facility, and view architectural renderings of certain key spaces such as the gym, performing arts center, tech labs and classrooms, Theoharides said.

The building design includes four educational “pathways”: science and technology, business and management, art and communications, and human services. The art and communications wing sees art studios, music and chorus, classrooms and some science labs grouped adjacent to video production, digital design and graphic arts. In the science and technology wing, physics and chemistry labs and classrooms are adjacent to automotive, welding, precision manufacturing, robotics and other disciplines.

The straw poll is a required step before the project can be brought to the State Board of Education in October for its approval. Voters will have final approval of the new high school and technical center project in a binding referendum set for January.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].