Portland voters will decide Tuesday whether to borrow $19.7 million – money that would be reimbursed by the state – to build a new elementary school on Ocean Avenue.

The bond vote comes nearly two years after a panel of city and school officials examined whether 100-year-old Clifford Elementary School should be renovated and expanded, or closed and replaced with a new school at another site.

The new-school project evolved through several controversial decisions, including the Portland City Council’s near rejection of the proposal in April.

If voters approve the borrowing, the new 440-student school will open in 2011 where the former Baxter Elementary School stands, and Clifford School on Falmouth Street will close.

The new school would cost $20.2 million, including $474,000 from grants. Interest on the bond would bring the state’s total cost over a 20-year term to $31 million.