SOUTH PORTLAND – The South Portland Board of Education on Monday heard a formal presentation on a $41.9 million plan to renovate and expand South Portland High School, but when the proposal might go to voters remains uncertain.

The board at a workshop meeting two weeks ago had informally agreed not to recommend sending the proposal out to voters this June. The board feared that paying for the project would negatively impact education in the city by creating too big a hole in the school department’s operating budget.

Board members said then that they might endorse putting the proposal on the ballot in November or in June 2011. But during board discussion on Monday, there were no ready answers on how or when the project could be financed.

The board is expected to discuss the issue further at its March 8 meeting. It is expected then to vote on whether to formally accept the high school renovation plan and perhaps set a timeline for when it wants the project to move forward.

Monday’s meeting was the latest development in the community’s struggle to upgrade the aging high school, which is under an accreditation warning from the New England Association of Schools & Colleges to improve the facility in terms of health, safety and opportunities for student learning.

City voters in 2007 rejected a $56 million plan to upgrade the high school by a 3 to 1 margin. The latest proposal calls for a scaled-down project that would cost $14.1 million less than that plan. But now the plan is ready to go before voters in an economic recession.

The schools already are facing a $2.4 million shortfall in the 2010-2011 school budget, because of a $1.6 million cut in state aid and increased expenses. City councilors have said they won’t allow a tax increase in the new budget, which would take effect July 1. So School Superintendent Suzanne Godin announced last week that 30 to 50 positions would need to be cut, class sizes made larger and, possibly, school buildings closed.

Future school budgets also are expected to be tight, so the cost of financing the high school project would add to the financial difficulties, board members were told.

If voters were to approve the project, the city would not go out to bond immediately, but instead issue the bonds in phases, said the city’s Finance Director Greg L’Heureux. However, by fiscal year 2014, the school department’s debt payment would be $5.9 million, more than double its current debt of $2.2 million, according to information he provided.

L’Heureux said that would significantly impact the city’s tax rate.

Still, board member Sara Goldberg raised concerns that delaying the project would end up costing taxpayers more money.

The current price tag factors in the now-favorable construction climate, when costs are low. Waiting one or two years could add $3.5 million to $3.8 million to the bottom line, according to the architectural firm developing the plan, Harriman Architects + Engineers of Auburn.

“It’s $41.9 million if we go in June,” Goldberg stressed.

Last month, the cost of the project was estimated at $41.2 million. However, the Secondary Schools Facilities Committee, which made the presentation to the board on Monday, set the final price tag at $41.9 million.

Richard Carter, school board chairman, said the board took no formal action at the January workshop meeting, and could still recommend a June vote. “We haven’t taken anything officially off the table,” he said.

The City Council has final say on whether a referendum question goes to voters. A decision on the school proposal would have to be made soon in time for the question to be placed on the June ballot. Carter said the school board could schedule a special meeting to vote to send the issue to the council, but no such meeting was scheduled on Monday.

Instead, Carter recommended the board vote to formally accept the high school proposal at its March meeting and decide where to go after that.

Godin said that it is hoped that if the board accepts the plan, that will assure the New England Association of Schools & Colleges that the district is making progress in upgrading the school. There is no immediate danger of the high school losing its accreditation, school officials have said.

Some board members suggested the board meet soon with the City Council to discuss possible funding measures, such as dipping into city reserves to help pay for the debt or asking the council to consider raising taxes to cover the debt payments.

The school facilities committee in its presentation told the board that the renovation proposal calls for an energy-efficient “green” building that would enhance learning for students, provide meeting space and educational and recreational opportunities for the public, and increase parking.

Five residents addressed the board, four supportive of the project. However, Albert DiMillo, a city resident, said the 305,713-square-foot project is too large and too expensive. He said a 210,000-square-foot project that would cost much less is all that is necessary.

DiMillo said, “$42 million is ridiculous. $25 million is more than enough to do everything that needs to be done at the high school.”