New College Community budget decreases with completion of construction

CEDAR RAPIDS — The College Community School District’s spending plan for the 2022-23 school year will be significantly less than this year’s as the district wraps up its 10-year facilities master plan.

The proposed fiscal 2023 budget — which runs from July 1 through June 30, 2023 — calls for expenditures of $146 million. That’s a 7 percent decrease from this fiscal year’s $157 million, according to Angie Morrison, the district’s chief financial officer.

The proposed school property tax rate will be $16.61 per $1,000 of taxable property value, the same as this fiscal year.

A public hearing on the budget will be held Monday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the College Community School District, 401 76th Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids. The district includes southern portions of Cedar Rapids, Ely, Fairfax and rural areas.

The Iowa Legislature approved a 2.5 percent increase in state supplemental aid for the coming year.

But the College Community district’s per-pupil cost has increased almost $1,000 since 2019, and state supplemental aid has not kept up with that increase, Morrison said.

In fiscal year 2023, the district’s per-pupil cost will be $7,413 compared to $6,736 in fiscal year 2019.

The district’s enrollment decreased by 114 students during the 2020-21 pandemic school year, but increased by 40 in the fall of 2021 to 5,411.

“We will have some new money going into next year,” Morrison said. “A little bit of a rebound is good news, but we continue to hope we get back up to where we were and continue growing.”

District officials plan to spend another $1.5 million in federal funds awarded the district last year by the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund passed by Congress in its COVID-19 relief package. That’s the same amount spent last fiscal year to address learning loss.

Construction

District voters passed a $49.5 million general obligation bond issue in 2016, which helped fund renovations to the district’s oldest elementary schools.

Completed construction projects included a new classroom addition to Prairie Crest, the remodeling of office areas into an art room and activity space, remodeling of the former early childhood care wing and a new elevator.

Prairie Heights was outfitted with new technology, LED lighting and brighter hallways and classrooms.

A secure entrance and upgraded mechanical systems were added to both schools.

The final project in the district’s 10-year facilities master plan is a new fifth- and sixth- grade school with two gyms and art, music and media centers. The building, with capacity for 960 students, is on track to be completed by the fall of 2023.

To fund that construction, district voters passed a $54 million general obligation bond issue in December 2020.

Linn-Mar budget

MARION — Bus replacement purchases and capital improvement projects like the parking lot at Excelsior Middle School are some of the major expenditures anticipated in the Linn-Mar Community School District’s fiscal year 2023 budget.

The district’s proposed $101.4 million budget is a little more than a 2 percent increase for this fiscal year.

The school property tax rate will be $18.01 per $1,000 of taxable property value, the same as this year’s.

A public hearing on the budget will be held Monday, April 11, at 5 p.m. at the Linn-Mar Learning Resource Center, 2999 N. 10th St., Marion.

The highest school tax rate in Iowa in fiscal 2022 was in Perry, at $19.98. The lowest was $7.87 in Lu Verne, a small district in north-central Iowa.

About 85 percent of school districts in Iowa use some sort of income surtax, which reduces its overall tax levy. Linn-Mar does not apply an income surtax in Marion.

While the Linn-Mar district’s property tax base continues to grow, it still is considered a “property- poor” school district in Iowa, with no major industry to help cover the cost of schools.

Because of this, Linn-Mar’s general fund levy tends to be higher than average because it has to “work harder” to generate the same amount of funding compared to a property-rich district, according to board documents.

Linn-Mar school officials did not respond to an interview request about the district’s budget.

Enrollment down

The Linn-Mar district reports having 7,579 students, which is down for the second year in a row, causing a loss in per-pupil state aid.

Over the last 10 years, the district’s enrollment has grown by about 700 students, and before the pandemic, district officials projected annual growth of 100 students a year.

During the 2020-21 school year, the district’s enrollment declined by around 78 students, the first loss in 30 years, according to board documents. Enrollment declined by another 19 students this school year.

The two-year decline in enrollment will mean $2.2 million less in per-pupil state aid in the new fiscal year and $1.3 million less in this fiscal year.

With the new Boulder Peak and Hazel Point intermediate schools opening in September 2020, the district requested a one-time additional spending authority from the state School Budget Review Committee — a nonpartisan body established by the Legislature with authority over school budgeting and accounting — to cover staffing costs related to the new schools.

The review committee approved $1.8 million for these costs. Of this amount, $1.3 million was levied for in fiscal year 2022, and the remaining $538,278 is expected to be levied in fiscal year 2023.

Voters in the Linn-Mar school district approved a $55 million bond referendum in September 2018 to build the two intermediate schools. By moving fifth- and sixth-graders to the new schools — each with the capacity for 800 students — will alleviate crowding in Linn-Mar's elementary and middle schools.

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