Voters in the North Platte County R-1 School District will decide the fate of a $6 million bond in a special election Tuesday.</p><p>If approved, the money would build and equip a new intermediate school at the site of the district&rsquo;s existing immediate school in Edgerton.</p><p>The ballot language contains an option for the renovation of the existing school. However, the ballot was written before the school board&rsquo;s decision on what to do with the building, said Superintendent Jeffrey Sumy. </p><p>&ldquo;Since the ballot language had been written, the board has committed to building a new structure on that campus in Edgerton,&rdquo; Sumy said.</p><p>The current school, at 900 Lewis St., is about 28,000 square feet. The new school would be about 32,000 square feet and would be built south of the existing school.</p><p>&ldquo;That would allow us about a 14-month projected turnaround if the weather works for us,&rdquo; Sumy said. &ldquo;We would go ahead and have school in session during that construction phase.&rdquo;</p><p>The new school would cost about $5.2 million, Sumy said. The main complex of the existing school was built in 1927 and initially was used for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. </p><p>The district has added on to the building four times since the 1960s. At one time, it was used as the district&rsquo;s high school, then a middle school and now just grades 4, 5 and 6, Sumy said.</p><p>Any proceeds from the bond not used for construction of the new building would go to improving other facilities in the district.</p><p>The junior high in Dearborn was built in 1933 and needs roofing repairs and tuck-pointing. The elementary school in Camden Point needs some energy efficiency improvements.</p><p>The bond would be for 15 years and it is estimated that the property tax levy for debt service would increase 99 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, Sumy said. </p><p>However, the district currently makes payments under a lease/purchase agreement for its high school. The agreement is set to expire in several years, but if the bond is approved, the district would pay that off early, Sumy said.</p><p>For homeowners, that means they would notice a tax increase of about 40 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, or about $76 for a person who owns a $100,000 house, Sumy said.</p><p>The district is hoping to qualify for some federal economic stimulus funds through the Qualified School Construction Bonds program, which help school districts pay interest on bonds. Any money the district receives would allow it to pay off the bond faster.</p><p>The bond issue is the only item on the ballot in Platte County. Because of that, the district will pay the full costs of the election, an estimated $10,000.</p><p>The bond issue requires 57 percent approval to pass.