CAPE ELIZABETH – Cape Elizabeth town councilors on Monday approved a $1.75 million bond to make long-overdue repairs at all three of the town’s schools beginning next summer.

The proposal, submitted by the Cape Elizabeth School Board, is part of a 10-year capital stewardship plan that includes repairing and replacing roofs at the high school, elementary and middle schools for a combined $1.1 million; upgrading the electrical system at the high school for $275,000; and repairing and replacing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment at the middle school for $325,000.

Without the 20-year bond, School Board Chairman John Christie said the projects would have to be funded through the school department’s 2015-2016 operating budget, posing an unnecessary increase to taxpayers.

“The projects slated for bond funding are one component of the school and town’s 10-year facilities plan,” Christie said. “We propose to borrow, rather than run the costs through the operating budget, in order to share capital investment costs between current and future beneficiaries, and to reduce the annual tax impact and school budget volatility.”

The school board initially presented its proposal to the Town Council last January. According to the proposal, the board estimates that capital improvement projects district-wide would cost about $11.8 million during a 10-year-period, and about 75 percent of repairs would be funded through the annual capital maintenance and improvement projects budget.

At a public hearing on the $1.75 million bond Monday, resident William Gross said he did not support the school board’s proposal and urged the council to vote against it.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to issue any bond in order to fund part of that 10-year plan,” said Gross. “I believe that the entire $1.75 million can be funded purely from the savings on the debt service” in the next 10 years.

Councilors said the $1.75 million bond proposal does not require a referendum because each of the five separate projects falls under a different category and costs less than $1 million, the amount at which a public vote would be triggered.

“Doing electrical work in a school has nothing to do with doing roof work,” said Town Manager Michael McGovern. “The council, under the charter, has a responsibility to determine when it’s appropriate to bond (projects).”

Gross said that he does not agree with McGovern’s reasoning and would prefer that residents have a chance to vote directly on the $1.75 million bond. He said he didn’t dispute a single dollar of the school board’s overall $11.8 million capital improvement plan, only the way the board has chosen to fund the projects.

Christie said that the district’s facilities, buildings and equipment are valued at more than $53 million, and that the proposed maintenance and improvement projects reduce the risk of major and larger-scale renovations in the future.

Michael Moore, chairman of the school board’s finance committee, said, “Bond funding promotes prudent sharing of capital investment costs between current taxpayers and future taxpayers as the cost for the projects are spread over a 20-year period.

“By matching the life of an asset such as a 20- to 25-year-old roof, to the funding, such as a 20-year bond, funds are available to meet future capital maintenance needs as those assets depreciate and the bond matures.”

At a 2.57 percent interest rate, the median property owner in Cape would pay 38 cents per week, or $19.76 per year, for the life of the loan.

According to the town’s assessor, Matthew Sturgis, the median home assessment in Cape Elizabeth is $314,400. An expense of 38 cents per week would increase the town’s tax rate of $16.80 by six cents.

Moore called the capital improvement needs for the school district “significant.” According to the school board’s proposal, the average age of the roofs and other assets being replaced is 25 to 30 years. Councilor James Walsh said earlier this year the power failed at the high school due to its 48-year-old electrical system.

This week, Christie said all five of the proposed improvement projects are an immediate need for the town. He said construction is expected to begin next summer and would take about two years to complete.

“These are failing roofs that are beyond their lifespan,” said Christie. “They have been reviewed by external engineers and our internal facilities (personnel), and are slated for immediate replacement.”

This story has been updated to include how the bond would impact the town’s tax rate.