MALAD — Voters within Oneida School District No. 351 will cast their ballots Tuesday to determine if their district should be allowed to issue $17.35 million in bonds to build a new elementary school and demolish both the current elementary school building and an old, vacant high school.

The current Malad Elementary School building is 70 years old and deteriorating, and it does not fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, said Superintendent Rich Moore.

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Malad High School, 181 Jenkins Ave.

Students with disabilities have voiced complaints that it’s difficult for them to navigate through the current building, which has classrooms on two levels and is equipped with a stair climber rather than an elevator.

Moore said the structural integrity of the building is also an issue, with cracks in the walls and foundation. He said windows are drafty, and the old radiator is also worn and inefficient. A committee concluded it would be more cost effective to replace the school than to remodel it.

The new school would be built on a single level, with a gymnasium equipped with roll-out stadium seating for assemblies and community events.

Moore said the new school will “not be anything fancy. We’re planning on having just the number of classrooms we need.”

If the bond passes, More said the district’s first order of business would be to demolish an old high school building that has been vacant for more than 40 years. The new elementary school would be built on the old high school grounds, where there would be ample room to construct a one-level facility. The current elementary school would be demolished later.

The bond requires approval by two-thirds of voters. The district previously put the proposal up for a vote in March, and it failed by a percentage point, Moore said.

Cost estimates for the project have risen considerably since the March vote, when the district sought to issue $14.8 million in bonds to do the same work.

“Our construction manager says it’s uncanny how labor and material costs have gone through the roof this past year,” Moore said.

Moore said the district has hosted several educational meetings to raise awareness about the project.

The district would qualify for a 33.67 percent state subsidy on both the principal and interest through Idaho’s Bond Levy Equalization Support Program, which provides assistance to communities in need of financial assistance.

If the bond passes, an owner-occupant of a home with an assessed value of $120,000 would pay an extra $143.40 per year in taxes, factoring in the homeowner’s exemption.