Auburn School District voters have two important questions to answer in Tuesday’s all-mail, special election.

First, are they willing to support a $239 million bond to rebuild Auburn High School, Terminal Park Elementary and Olympic Middle School over the next 10 years?

And are they willing to support a $46 million capital improvements levy to fund improvements at 18 schools and six support facilities for the next six years?

The bond requires a 60-percent supermajority. For the bond election to be considered valid, 40 percent of those who voted in the last election, about 12,500 voters, must do so by midnight Tuesday.

As of Monday, King County had received back 8,403 ballots of the 37,139 mailed out to Auburn School District voters.

The capital improvement levy requires a simple 50-percent-majority-plus-one and it has no validation requirement.

All ballots must be postmarked by midnight Tuesday.

According to district calculations, the combined school tax rate with the bond is projected to be $5.05 per $1,000 of assessed property value, calculated as follows: the $5.36 actual 2006 school tax rate, minus $1.59 in retiring bonds and levies plus $1.28 in new bonds and levies and existing school taxes.

“We’re not raising taxes over the long haul because we’re paying off debts,” said Auburn School District Superintendent Kip Herren. “We’re paying off the construction bonds on Rainier Middle School, Hazelwood, and we’re close to paying off Auburn Riverside. As we retire debts, that creates capacity that allows us to keep the rate level.”