MARIETTA, Okla. (KTEN) -- Marietta Public Schools is asking voters to pass an $18 million bond issue to erect a new building for junior and senior high school students.

Superintendent Brandi Naylor said the project would take about two years to complete if approved in a referendum to be held next Tuesday, March 2.

Naylor said the new facility is needed to handle increased enrollment.

"We used to have classes of about 75 kids in a grade level," she said. "Now we're up to 90 in some of our grade levels. So we're basically just out of room."

The current high school opened in 1970 and the classrooms were built for 30 students. The new facility  would allow for even more growth in the future.

"We actually conducted an enrollment study to look eight years out on how much our enrollment was going to increase, and there is definitely going to be a need for more room," Naylor said.

Along with more room, the new high school and junior high school would bring with it a significant upgrade in technology.

"The new building also will have STEM labs, which is our science, technology, engineering and math program that has really grown in the middle school," Naylor said.

Marietta Public Schools believes more space and the latest technology will lead to more growth for the school district.

If voters sign off on the plan next Tuesday, the bond will be paid off over a 17-year period with an 8.5 percent tax increase.