The Ward County Auditor’s Office has responded to 123 absentee ballot requests so far for Minot Public Schools’ upcoming bond issue election, with 70 voted ballots already returned, according to information provided at an inter-governmental Liaison Committee meeting Thursday.

Absentee voters in the Minot Public School District have until Dec. 6 to turn in ballots. The election is set for Dec. 7 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Minot Municipal Auditorium, but early voting also will be available Nov. 29, Dec. 3 and Dec. 6 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Ward County Administration Building.

Voters must bring identification showing residency in the district. Not all of the city of Minot is located in the district, although some rural areas are included. People can determine their school districts by checking their annual tax statements or contacting the county auditor’s office or school superintendent’s office.

“Bottom line is our middle schools right now are terribly overcrowded, with 1,674 students in middle school, and those numbers are only going to get larger,” Supt. Mark Vollmer told the committee. “All of our elementary classes are well over 600.”

Vollmer said Jim Hill Middle School has 14 classrooms in portables, and Ramstad School, built new and larger after the 2011 flood, is at capacity.

“Our numbers dictate the need, and we don’t believe we can answer the overcrowding at the middle school without talking about how we’re going to divvy up into a two high school system,” he said.

The first part of the measure deals with construction of a second high school and conversion of Central Campus into a middle school.

A second question on the ballot asks voters to approve construction at the new high school of a 50-meter pool that will have 25-meter competition lanes. The proposed pool could handle 600 athletes and 800 spectators at any state, regional or other tournaments.

The second question also asks for approval to expand an artificial turf field at the new site to create a stadium for soccer and football, creating a facility similar to Duane Carlson stadium at Magic City Campus.

Vollmer said the district has received a number of questions about how students from three middle schools would transition to two high schools, but that is among issues that the community would address if the bond issue is successful.

“They will be happy discussions because it will mean that we’re working towards an end to the overcrowding that we’re experiencing right now,” he said.

Vollmer added that Minot currently has the largest high school in the state. Minot’s nearly 2,000 students is about 600 students more than any other North Dakota high school.