Voters face many important choices on the Nov. 3 ballot, and one of them is the proposal to extensively renovate and improve Biddeford High School.

The Journal Tribune’s editorial board has been split on this question. In August, the  newspaper noted the $34 million cost of the proposed improvements, and suggested a phased approach to addressing the school’s many problems.

But there are strong arguments to be made for a unified project, and this editorial takes that point of view: We urge Biddeford citizens to vote Yes on the BHS plan for a safer and more efficient school building.

In a letter to the editor urging support for the BHS project, Principal Britton Wolfe made a key point: Biddeford High School’s present design is unsafe for students and staff.

Almost everyone would support fixing a structural flaw that endangered students. In this case, the risk isn’t a structural collapse, it’s a security breakdown. With no office at the front entrance, the school’s staff can’t effectively keep track of those who enter the building. The staff is used to encountering strangers wandering the halls looking for the front office; it’s a risky situation that must be corrected.

The BHS renovation project proposes to build a two-story addition at the southern end of the building. This would create a secure entrance lobby, more office space and a more useful school library. It would also relocate locker space that is now not accessible to handicapped students. The addition makes essential improvements to the complex, but it doesn’t begin to address all the pressing problems.

Biddeford High School is a sprawling facility serving nearly 1,000 students. It was built in 1961 with a major addition in 1971. Its heating, ventilation, plumbing and electrical systems are badly out-of-date, making it uncomfortable and inefficient. There is no sprinkler system.

The proposed project would address these deficiencies, make improvements to the two gyms, renovate bathrooms and science rooms and restore Little Theater, to list a few priorities. It would also replace or repair leaking roofs, windows and foundations and improve parking. At $34 million, it is far cheaper than building a new school.

Cost is a real concern; the owner of a $200,000 house could expect a tax increase of $186 per year. But it is doubtful that postponing the project, or doing it in stages, would be cheaper. Construction costs are currently low, and the sooner inefficiencies are corrected, the sooner the School Department will begin saving money. Borrowing would spread the cost over many years, so postponing payments shouldn’t be confused with saving money.

Biddeford High School is an important asset and many people believe investment in the complex is long overdue. We hope a majority shares this point of view and will make their opinion known where it counts – at the polls on Nov. 3.