LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Officials are preparing for the first ever mail-ballot election in Douglas County.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the election will determine the level of funding Lawrence schools will receive. School officials are seeking to recoup about $1.4 million of funding by keeping the local option budget at its current level.

A local option budget represents funding that is raised by local property taxes for school districts. The size of a district’s local option budget can be no larger than 33 percent of its general operating fund, which in Lawrence’s case is about $72.2 million.

At a cost of $100,000, the Lawrence district will mail the ballots to registered voters Jan. 7. School officials are hoping residents don’t mistake the mail-in ballots for junk mail.