FELCH TOWNSHIP — North Dickinson County School District officials are moving toward placing a 1 mill levy on the Aug. 4 ballot to help finance two new buses and technology upgrades.

The money also could be used to improve the school’s fire alarm system, Michael Roell, district finance/athletic director, told the school board Monday.

The proposed measure sounds similar to what district voters approved in March 2016 in asking for a 1 mill levy, or $1 per $1,000 in taxable property value, for two new buses, computers and other technology.

As in 2016, this proposed levy would generate about $300,000 over three years, Roell said.

And as in 2016, the school board would drop an almost equal amount from its sinking fund levy, which can only be used for building projects, not equipment purchases.

So district residents should see little effect on their property tax bills if they authorize the measure, Roell said.

Roell also advised the district will need to consider repairing the school’s roof, which has developed several seasonal leaks. An initial estimate on repair costs is about $6 per square foot, which for the 86,000-square-foot roof comes out to be more than $500,000. But he did not favor reducing the existing $540,000 sinking fund to that low level.

The district will have a better idea of the cost after engineering firm Integrated Designs Inc. of Marquette looks at the project in the next couple months, Roell said. He also passed along a suggestion it might be cheaper if a contractor is hired that can do the project and engineering.

Board President Carl Steinbrecher said he was uneasy with the same contractor deciding both.

In other business, the board:

— Heard in Roell’s financial report the district has received a $9,500 state grant to help fund its growing robotics program. North Dickinson first competed in robotics last year and now has about a dozen students participating in the program.

— Kept driver education fees at the same level as last year, $325 for North Dickinson students and $375 for those from outside the district.

— Authorized two versions of the middle school and high school schedule for 2020-21 that might include a chorus class if enough students are interested, Superintendent/Principal Angel Inglese said.