FREEPORT – In the final days before the June 11 election, the $16.9 million bond question to renovate Freeport High School and build a new outdoor track and athletic field has become a hot topic in Regional School Unit 5, where both supporters and detractors are ratcheting up campaigns.

Residents of the three towns in the RSU, Freeport, Durham and Pownal, are also being asked Tuesday to approve the $25,855,313 school budget for 2013-14 and whether they wish to continue the budget validation process for an additional three years.

The Freeport High School Renovation High School Committee, a fully sanctioned RSU 5 committee, has held a series of informational meetings the past few months highlighting what they say are glaring structural deficiencies in the high school.

“The school is simply not big enough to handle our current student population,” said Freeport High Principal Bob Strong. “It’s about creating the best environment for the students.”

Opponents of the plan say the bond is an unnecessary expenditure and would cause another tax hike in a year when the school budget alone will add an additional 8 percent in property tax to both Pownal and Freeport, according to numbers prepared by RSU 5 Finance Director Kelly Wentworth.

“We are being told it’s only going to cost the average person $200-$250,” wrote Tim Kieger of Durham in a letter to the editor published in this week’s Tri-Town Weekly. “What they don’t understand is, it’s also $200-$250 extra in taxes to just pass this year’s budget. So we are looking at a $500 tax increase on the average house in Durham alone. I myself am looking at seeing my taxes this go from $2,250 to $2,800. It was only $1,600 three years ago.”

If approved, a 31,000-square-foot addition would be constructed to replace the industrial arts building on the northwest side of the school. The renovations would be designed to absorb any potential population growth and allow the school to build a third story in the future. The new athletic complex, which would be built behind the high school, would have an eight-lane track, as well as competition and practice spaces for discus, high jump, javelin, long jump, pole vault and shot put.

The track and athletic fields also would be open to use by residents of Freeport, Pownal and Durham. The $16.9 million price tag of the expansion would be funded entirely by the RSU 5 towns and paid for by a 20-year bond. The cost would be shared per the funding formula that the RSU uses for determining its budget, meaning that Freeport would be responsible for almost 66 percent of the cost; Durham, which rejected a proposal to pull out of the RSU in 2012, would pay 21 percent; and Pownal would have a share of about 13 percent. Wentworth said for each $1,000 paid in taxes, residents should expect an increase of $73 in Durham, $47 in Freeport and $72 in Pownal.

The referendum vote also underscores the lingering tension between the smaller towns, Durham and Pownal, with Freeport after the formation of the regional school unit four years ago. In 2012 Durham toyed with the idea of pulling out of the RSU 5 altogether, but residents voted to keep the unit intact.

If approved by Freeport voters, due to the town’s higher population, the bond would pass even if Pownal and Durham overwhelmingly voted against the measure. The inadequacy has led some Pownal and Durham residents to question whether their vote matters. For others, like Donna Church, owner of the Durham Get & Go, the $16.9 million question is another example of what is seen as scare tactics employed by RSU 5.

“They told us when we (Durham) joined that it was the best arrangement. There was nothing wrong with the high school them, so why now?” said Church.

Lifelong Freeport resident Bob Davenport agrees. He said the expected increase in taxes is a hard pill to swallow in tough economic times.

“Enough is enough. People just can’t afford this,” said Davenport.

Proponents of the renovation and expansion point to the advantages of having a quality high school in the district, regardless if an individual has children in the system.

“A good school system is important for all of us, whether we have kids in school or not,” Durham resident Kevin Nadeau wrote in his letter to the editor. “Good schools contribute greatly to increased home values. Even if you never plan to sell your home, the increased value provides equity that can be used to help fund expenses down the road or enable you to leave a bigger nest egg for your children.”

High school enrollment is projected to increase from 540 students to more than 650 in the next 10 years, said Strong.

“Enrollment has grown to a point where we can’t offer the programs we think will help our students move on to the next level,” said Strong. “Ultimately, it’s the respect for and the responsibility to our students. We’re packed in here.”