When voters head to the polls in three months, they will likely be asked what they want to see happen to the old Westport High School — sell it, or keep and restore it for municipal use while decommissioning the current town hall and town hall annex as municipal offices.

The Westport Select Board is looking into putting a non-binding question on the ballot to help guide them as they determine the next steps for the old school, which has sat all but vacant for several years apart from its current use by the school department's administration offices. It was assessed last year at approximately $11 million.

With such a valuable piece of property at stake, select board members say they want a mandate from the public on what to do with the property. Studies completed last year on the building's current value, and the cost to rehabilitate it, suggest that while it could cost $29 million to restore and reconfigure the building for municipal use, it would cost nearly as much — $24 million — to renovate the current town hall, annex and Council on Aging buildings. Several board members believe the money would be better spent moving town offices to the old high school, as the town hall, annex and COA properties are old, cramped and inadequate for the town's future needs.

At the most recent select board meeting, chairwoman Shana Shufelt and town administrator James Hartnett said they favor putting the old school on the market. Board vice chairman Brian Valcourt, who for months has stressed his desire to hold on to the property, wants to attempt a re-use of the building.

Four options presented last year

Keeping the building and re-using it for municipal use was one of four options presented late last year by Hartnett:

•Sell the school: If the town were to sell the school for $11 million, renovations at the town's other municipal buildings would eat up all of that windfall and then some. According to Hartnett, the current town hall needs $4.08 million in renovations; the annex $4.53 million in renovations; the Council on Aging building $2.4 million in renovations; and costs for relocating the school department's administrative offices would run $2.4 million. He estimated that the net cost to the town if it chose this option would be $2.68 million.

•Save the school for municipal use, sell current town offices: Under this scenario, the town would spend $29.05 million to renovate the school for re-use as municipal office space. That cost would be offset somewhat by the sale of the town hall at its projected value of $1.3 million; the annex at $834,200, and the Council on Aging building at $653,700.

Subtracting the sale price of those buildings from the cost to renovate the school, Hartnett estimated the net cost to the town would be $26.27 million.

•Use the property for affordable housing: Under this scenario, the town would seek to develop affordable housing on the property. The cost to the town would be $14.18 million.

•Keep the property, including ball fields, and demolish the school: This option would cost the town $15.98 million, most of that due to the costs of renovating the town's current municipal offices. As with the second option, to keep the school, it would allow Westport to retain the ball fields on the site.