According to Superintendent Joseph White, that 1 mill will generate about $123,000 a year that the district will use to buy computer equipment and security systems for the middle and elementary schools.

The last two levies were 7.5 mills for operating expenses in 1995 and a 1-mill continuous permanent-improvement tax for renovating school buildings and grounds. It expires in 2002.

The district's total millage is 45.1. but would be 46.1 if the levy passes.

A mill represents $1 for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. The owner of a home worth $100,000, and assessed at $33,000, would pay an additional $33 in taxes under the new levy.

It is earmarked for the purchase of hardware, software, and upgrades for the computers the district already has, and for monitors and a buzz entrance system for Brookfield Elementary, Addison, Stevenson and possibly the middle school, said White.

"We have to get the message out about what this levy is all about," said White. "If we want our children to be able to compete with other districts, we need the funding to do it."