Justin Cook The Roanoke Times

Blacksburg High School's gymnasium collapsed in February, throwing the system into turmoil.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- The Montgomery County School Board voted Tuesday night to ask county supervisors to build new Blacksburg and Auburn high schools and to renovate Auburn High School for middle school students, projects that would cost an estimated $124.6 million and likely raise property taxes.

The decision, if approved by the county board, would be the most ambitious option to remedy districtwide upheaval since Blacksburg High School's gymnasium collapsed in February.

The school board will present its decision to supervisors at a joint meeting Aug. 30. The option would require the county to issue bonds and then raise property taxes by as much as 15 cents per $100 of assessed value to pay for the bonds.

"I have often asked myself the question, what is in the best interest of students and communities, and what is also fiscally responsible," Superintendent Brenda Blackburn told the board. "Educationally, I believe it is the best decision for students."

About 50 people attended the three-hour meeting at the county Government Center, and many applauded when the vote was taken at 10 p.m.

Five board members voted for Blackburn's recommendation, and two -- Penny Franklin and Drema Foster -- voted against.

"I'm not stupid. We all know taxes are going to be raised," Foster said after the meeting.

The resolution's details include building a new Blacksburg High School for 1,200 students, at $57.5 million; building a new Auburn High School for 600 students, at $44.6 million; and renovating Auburn High School to become Auburn Middle School for 480 students, at $22.5 million.

Students couldn't move into a new high school until January 2013, administrators estimate.

"I'm glad they made a decision, and now they'll pass it on to us," said board of supervisors Chairwoman Annette Perkins, who sat in silence as an audience member as the school board wondered what her board would want.

Perkins did not say whether she would vote for the recommendation. The county board will hear its own financial advisers advice at a meeting Monday night.

If the board of supervisors does not agree with the school board's vote, Blackburn said, she would consider backup plans to renovate the structurally unstable, 37-year-old Blacksburg High School.

Rebuilding Auburn High and Middle schools and Christiansburg-area elementary schools were the next planned construction projects before the high school gym collapsed.

The Auburn High School building, which accommodates students from the Riner area, is 72 years old. Many Blacksburg and Riner residents had begged the board for new buildings in both their communities before the vote.

Other county residents asked officials to consider the increased tax burden, which would hit the same year as a property reassessment.

The county most recently borrowed $77 million in 2008 to pay for new Price's Fork and Eastern Montgomery elementary schools, among other capital projects. County debt policies may prevent the government from borrowing more than another $10 million until 2013 without increasing revenue, according to financial advisers.

Choices that Blackburn did not recommend were building a new Blacksburg High School, for $57.5 million, or building new Blacksburg and Auburn high schools, for $102 million. Another option involved renovating Blacksburg High School and rebuilding its gym for $14.5 million, some of which would be paid with insurance reimbursement.

This school year, Blacksburg students face some inconvenience. High school students will be displaced to Blacksburg Middle School, and the middle school students will go to old Christiansburg Middle School. The county's alternative education program and special education offices will use the now-vacant Shawsville Elementary School.

The transition, which may cost the county $2.5 million, should be complete by the first day of school, which is Aug. 30, administrators said.