AUBURN — Resident are invited to offer their input Wednesday night on where the new Edward Little High School should be built.

A community forum, hosted by the Edward Little High School Building Committee, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the high school. Before the meeting, tours will be offered of the high school.

The site could be where the school is or elsewhere in the city.

Superintendent Katy Grondin said the meeting will start with an overview on the timeline from Harriman, the architectural company chosen to design the school.

Also covered will be criteria that the Maine Department of Education has for the building site, as well as characteristics of the site selection identified by the Building Committee. That will be followed by the public identifying spots they think would be good for the school.

“We’ll be looking at maps of the city to identify where they are hoping the high school will be built,” Grondin said. “We have to look at every possibility.”

The existing site is on the list and is prized for its nearness to many homes and the downtown. But if it’s chosen, sports fields would have to be built somewhere else because there isn’t enough usable land.

Some of the considerations for the new high school site are:

• Does it have enough acreage? A minimum of 25 acres is needed, but that would not be enough for the sports fields.

• Will the land allow for dual use by residents and students?

• Is there access to police, fire, water, sewer and natural gas?

• What kind of impact would it have on traffic?

• Would there be environmental or drainage concerns?

Last fall, Auburn won state approval to build a new high school paid for by the state. The Maine Department of Education has oversight on the project, and must approve big decisions as the project nears groundbreaking.

When three to five land parcels make the priority list, a public meeting will be held to get input. The site must be approved by the state and by residents in a straw vote.

Before construction can begin, the school must be approved in a referendum by Auburn voters. The school is estimated to open in five to seven years.