ALPENA — A vote on Tuesday will determine the future of Alpena Public Schools and its facilities.

The district is asking voters for permission to sell $63 million in bonds for major facilities upgrades, to be repaid over the next 25 years by increased property taxes. Voters will not approve a tax rate, which will set year by year depending on annual bond payments due and taxable values in the district.

If the measure is approved, APS taxes are expected to rise by 1.9 mills in the first year, or $95 for the owner of a $100,000 house.

A big component of the bond proposal is a new Ella White Elementary School. If the vote is approved, the district would build the new structure behind the current Ella White with the current kitchen and cafeteria being kept and incorporated into the new school.

Current estimates say it would cost about $12.4 million to rebuild Ella White, according to documents provided by the district.

Every school with students in it would get a secure-entry vestibule, with card access to all exterior doors, and a new security camera system inside and outside the schools.

Alpena High School needs an estimated $27 million of work in the bond proposal, district Superintendent John VanWagoner told The News. Proposed renovations include moving the school’s main office from the back of the school to the front, updating the roof, and repaving parking lots.

Both the high school weight room and locker room would be moved from the basement to the ground floor of the school to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If voters approve the bond sale, the money would be used for specific projects that are named in the ballot proposal language. The bond money can’t be used for salaries, service contracts, base payments, installments, or supplies. It also can’t be used for operating expenses, purchasing automobiles, portable classrooms purchased for temporary use, uniforms, textbooks, upgrades to existing computer software, or computer training/consulting or computer maintenance contracts.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday throughout Alpena County and in Krakow and Presque Isle townships in Presque Isle County.

Julie Goldberg can be reached at 989-358-5688 or jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jkgoldberg12.

Vote

Voters in Alpena Public Schools district — all of Alpena County, plus Presque Isle and Krakow townships in Presue Isle County — will head to the polls Tuesday to ask voters to approve the sale of up to $63 million in bonds for major facilities upgrades, to be repaid over the next 25 years through increased property taxes.

Here’s what you need to know:

∫ Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

∫ Visit michigan.gov/vote to make sure you’re registered to vote, find out your polling location.

∫ The vote is a simple yes/no decision.

∫ Visit TheAlpenaNews.com in the hours after the polls close to see the results.