Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for a special election called by the Lawrence school district.

Voters will be asked to give the school board the authority to increase its Local Option Budget. Administrators expect that if the 1-percent increase in the LOB passes, board members will have $1.7 million to $1.8 million in new unrestricted funding to spend on staff salaries and, possibly, to funnel to other programs. Among those programs is WRAP, which places Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center clinical social workers in some schools.

Those opposed to the LOB increase have said the election is poorly timed, considering the economy’s situation, and they fear, in particular, that senior citizens who live on fixed incomes will be hit hardest by a property tax increase.

If the election is successful, board members say, the owner of a $200,000 home would pay about $13.80 additional each year in property taxes – or $1.15 a month.

This special election will cost the district about $45,000.