RALEIGH, N.C. -- Wake County voters could be faced with a multi-million dollar question this November.

• Included is a proposed $548 million bond referendum for Wake County Public Schools
• Also includes a separate $349 million bond referendum for Wake Tech Community College
• Wake County Public Schools' referendum would fund the construction of seven new schools in the district

County commissioners moved a trio of bond referendums one step closer to the ballot on Monday. That includes a proposed $548 million bond referendum for Wake County Public Schools and a separate $349 million bond referendum for Wake Tech Community College.

"We are continuing to try forge ahead with less and less support and help from the state," said Wake County Commissioner Matt Calabria. "That is a very real element of the atmosphere we're in right now."​

Wake County Public Schools' referendum would fund the construction of seven new schools in the district, mostly in the booming southwest portion of the county, and the renovation of eleven more. County Commissioner John Burns says even if voters don't approve a referendum, they will still likely have to find money for new schools.

"Those schools have to be built," said Burns. "We're constitutionally required to build them and upkeep them, and this will be the cheapest possible money to do it...otherwise we have to do it in a much more expensive way, which won't be good for anybody."

Meanwhile, Wake Tech's referendum would mainly focus on expanding their current campuses. $90 million would be used for an "advanced institutes" building at the South Wake campus, $83 million would go towards a new Health Sciences building at the North Wake campus, and $35 million would build an auto repair facility at the North Wake campus.

"We have to remain a step ahead of the other communities," said Wake Tech president Dr. Stephen Scott. "Not just in our state, not just in our country, but in the world."

Those two referendums, plus an additional $120 million referendum for parks and greenways, are estimated to raise taxes by 3.8 cents in the 2019 fiscal year if they are approved. The referendums will not be finalized for the November ballot until the county commissioners' next meeting on Aug. 6.