After months of debate, the Wichita school board decided to build a new Southeast High School, rather than renovate the current building.

The board voted Monday night to proceed with construction of a $54 million high school about six miles from the current building. It isn’t expected to open until 2016.

The project will be funded with money from a 2008 bond issue, which was originally targeted to renovating the old school and building a new one. But board members said a reduction of nearly $60 million in state aid since that bond issue passed made it difficult to operate two schools.

The old school will be used for administration offices. And the district will negotiate to bring some programs from Wichita Area Technical College to the old building.