Give voters more places to vote

Voters in the Cedar Rapids Community School District are being asked to vote in a special election on Sept. 9 to approve a boost in the district's Physical Plant and Equipment Levy to the maximum $1.34 per $1,000 taxable valuation allowed by law to be effective 10 years beginning July 1. This is twice the current levy of 67 cents per $1,000 that expires on June 30.

The district has chosen to have four polling places available for this election which is one less than the September 2014 school election when the levy was last voted upon and defeated. Only 4,033 voters voted then, but 22 percent of them voted at the new Educational Leadership Support Center located on Edgewood Road NW that was constructed as a result of the 2008 flood. The other four polling places that will once again be used are the four high schools (Washington, Metro, Kennedy and Jefferson).

It is unfortunate that there is low voter turnout in school elections and it seems that one less voting place does nothing to encourage voting. The Cedar Rapids Community School District accounts for approximately 40 percent of a residential property taxpayer's annual bill.

Absentee voting is open and available for the special election.

Betty Smith Good

Cedar Rapids