DURHAM – Besides acting on the state referendum election on Nov. 6, residents here will be asked to issue bonds or notes not to exceed $22,388,247 to build a new $23,786,405 elementary school, of which the state will pay $21,609,709.

Residents will also be asked to spend $778,538 in local tax dollars for a larger gymnasium, as the state will only fund a gym that would be 25 percent smaller than the existing facility. A high-performance schools grant up to $120,000 will also go toward the cost.

In two companion questions, residents will be asked to spend another $628,290 more in local tax dollars for a pitched roof the state will not pay for; plus $769,868, also in local tax dollars, for a state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling system using groundwater. The state will pay $246,025 toward the cost of the $1,015,893 system.

School officials say that though electricity drives the heat pumps in a geothermal system, less energy is required. Payback for the additional cost would be about 6.8 years. Selectmen, the school committee and budget committee recommend a yes vote.

If approved, the school will be built on the existing site on Hallowell Road. Voting will take place at the elementary school gymnasium, 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. Absentee ballots are at the Town Clerk’s Office; call 353-2561, ext. 2, for information.