There's no doubt that the Springdale Junior-Senior High School is in need of some major repairs.

But should the Allegheny Valley School District stick to the bare necessities or incorporate some bells and whistles?

That question will be put to Allegheny Valley voters in September, thanks to Pennsylvania's Act 1.

It is the first such referendum in Allegheny County mandated by the 2006 taxpayer relief law, which requires that if a school district wants to raise taxes beyond the rate of an inflation index, it must put it to voters -- though there are exceptions.

A handful of such referendums statewide have met with mixed results.

The first one for school construction, a $119 million bond issue for a new high school in Upper Dublin, Montgomery County, passed easily in 2007.

Since then, several referendums have failed by overwhelming margins, including those in the Rockwood School District in Somerset County, Unionville-Chadds Ford School District in Chester County and Forest Area School District in Forest County.

In Springdale, the "D Wing" of the junior-senior high school was built in 1931 and needs extensive repairs to its plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems.

An architectural study recommended that the district raze and rebuild the "D-Wing," which houses the junior high school, rather than renovate it.

"When we looked at the cost, you can't do a lot with what's already there," said Superintendent Gabriel Ziccarelli. "The cost factor, renovation versus new, wasn't that much different."

To do the most necessary repairs, the district has already scraped together as much as $18 million: $8 million left over from a bond issue in 2004 and up to $10 million in new financing that fits under the inflation index. The district will announce the exact amount of that financing at a 6 p.m. meeting Wednesday at Acmetonia Primary School.

To fund additional school improvements, such as renovating spaces for the band, building a new art area and adding restrooms to the auditorium, the district will hold a referendum in September for the public to vote on whether to approve a $9 million bond issue that would raise the property tax rate about 1.3 mills. The district has not yet announced the exact date.

Allegheny Valley actually could have qualified for an exception to Act 1 because the renovation is a continuation of ongoing construction from 2004. But doing so would have required additional paperwork and altering the financing structure.

The district chose to put it to the voters instead.

"The board wants to leave it to the community," said Dr. Ziccarelli.

Thus far, that community includes a citizens group that has packed school board meetings to voice fierce opposition to additional financing for the renovation.

"For some ungodly reason, they've got their mind made up and they want to put up a new building," said Darryl Yetter, a founder of Allegheny Valley Citizens Against a New School. "The public is just outraged over it, and there's nothing we can do other than protest, demonstrate and vote 'no' on a referendum."

Mr. Yetter said that he cannot fathom building a new building in a small school district (with fewer than 1,200 students) that continues to lose population.

Dr. Ziccarelli said that though the district is small, it still has to be able to offer the computer labs and science facilities needed to prepare students for global competition -- something that he said isn't possible in the current facility.

Whether the majority of voters in the school district agree with him remains to be seen.

"I wish I had a crystal ball," he said. "It's hard to tell. We have a group that is pretty outspoken campaigning against it. I don't know whether this group is totally representative or whether there's a silent group that supports it and is not saying anything."