Cedar Rapids schools purchases 51 acres to build future northeast middle school

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids school board Monday approved the purchase of almost 51 acres of land for $7.5 million off Highway 100 in northeast Cedar Rapids as the location of a future middle school that would replace Harding Middle School.

Development of a school on this site will be contingent on the successful passage of a school bond referendum, which could possibly be brought to voters in November.

By purchasing the land and stating its intended use, Chad Schumacher, director of operations for the Cedar Rapids district, is hopeful school officials are answering a question critical to voters in the last school bond referendum, which failed in November 2023. That question was where would a proposed new middle school be built?

The land was purchased by the Cedar Rapids Community School District from private property owners the Tauke family, whose mother Dr. Joan Nickol-Tauke was the first female surgeon in Cedar Rapids in the 1960s. She was an ophthalmologist.

The purchase agreement was unanimously approved by the Cedar Rapids school board Monday.

“This land purchase marks a significant step forward for our community and the future of education in Cedar Rapids,” school board President Cindy Garlock said in a news release from the district. “Securing a site for a new middle school ensures we can provide our students with a learning environment that meets the needs of today and tomorrow. We are incredibly grateful to our community for sharing their insights and helping guide this process.”

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To purchase the property, the district is using funds from the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy. This levy is funded by property taxes levied and collected by the school district and can be used for the purchase and improvement of grounds; purchase, construction and remodeling of buildings; and major equipment purchases.

Voters in September approved a 10-year extension of the levy by 72 percent. About 4,250 people cast their votes, or about 5 percent of registered voters.

The PPEL funds being used for the land purchase are “holdover” from the last 10 years.

School leaders say the fund is vital to the district’s ability to maintain its buildings. The renewal of the levy did not increase the property tax rate for schools — the levy simply continues.

“The acquisition of this land is more than just an investment in real estate; it’s an investment in our community’s future,” Cedar Rapids district Superintendent Tawana Grover said in a news release. “By building this new middle school, we aim to provide an environment that fosters innovation and opportunity, inspiring students to explore fields that continue the legacy of trailblazers like Dr. Nickol-Tauke.”

Development of land contingent on bond referendum

One project under a possible bond referendum would be to build a new middle school on the northeast side of Cedar Rapids that would replace Harding Middle School. Building a new middle school is estimated to cost $90 million.

“I hope it’s something the community thinks is a nice location and a valuable improvement to the school district,” said Kathy Tauke, the daughter of Dr. Nickol-Tauke and Donald Tauke, and fiduciary of her family’s estate.

The school would serve elementary students in the Cedar Rapids district’s Area 3, Schumacher said. This currently includes Harrison, Hiawatha, Viola Gibson and Pierce elementary schools and Kennedy High School.

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Incorporating Nickol-Tauke and her husband Donald Tauke’s legacy into the purchase agreement helped the family come to their decision to sell the property after Cedar Rapids district officials reached out to the Tauke family inquiring about their interest in selling the land to the school, Kathy said.

It put the district’s offer “over the top,” and moved the rest of her family to want to sell the property knowing they can return to visit in the future and see that legacy in action, Kathy said.

As part of the purchase agreement, a memorial for Nickol-Tauke and Tauke, designed by the Tauke family and school officials, will be located in the new school. Joan Nickol-Tauke died July 11, 2024, and Donald Tauke died July 25, 2017.

Schumacher said there’s a large grove of trees the Cedar Rapids district is hoping to maintain and where a walking trail could meander. As part of the sale agreement, a paved walking trail of at least one mile would be constructed on the property and named Tauke Trail.

Kathy said this will be a “nice tribute to my dad” who loved walking the property.

The sale includes six parcels of property in Linn County that will be annexed into the City of Cedar Rapids, Schumacher said. The addresses include:

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“I applaud the District’s decision to place the new middle school in a high-growth, opportunity-rich area in order to meet our city’s evolving needs,” Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said in an email to The Gazette. “At the same time, it is essential to balance this progress by reinvesting in our existing middle schools, ensuring they, too, reflect the excellence all our students and families deserve.”

The property is being purchased for about $3.39 per square foot, drastically less than other property for sale on the northeast side of town, Schumacher said.

For example, about two and a half acres the district looked at near Edgewood Road and 42nd Street is being sold for $14 per square foot. Almost 3 acres near Center Point Road and Highway 100 is being sold for $9.85 per square foot, Schumacher said.

Comparable farmland for sale along Edgewood Road southwest is being sold for about $3.50 per square foot, Schumacher said.

New middle school to be funded by possible bond referendum

A Future Ready Facilities Task Force helped school officials create several options for a referendum, ranging in cost from $177 to $189 million — less than a $220 million bond issue that voters rejected in November 2023. The new options will be presented to the community in a survey expected to be mailed to about 60,000 voters this winter.

A final plan would be presented to the Cedar Rapids school board this spring for approval before it could be taken to voters in the school district this fall.

In Iowa, school bond issues — basically, loans that schools take out typically for 10, 15 or 20 years — require a supermajority of 60 percent approval to pass. In passing bond issues, voters in the district agree to repay the loan, with interest, through their property taxes.

The proposed projects would help “rightsize” the district by reducing the number of schools in its inventory as the district grapples with declining enrollment and funding. Reducing the number of elementary and middle schools in the district is expected to decrease operational costs and address uneven distribution of resources.

Schumacher said many students living in the neighborhoods near Harding Middle School actually are in the attendance boundary for Franklin Middle School, 300 20th St. NE, Cedar Rapids.

As Eastern Iowa continues to develop toward Highway 100, more students will be served at a northeast middle school from Palo, Robins and Hiawatha, Schumacher said.

Who were Joan Nickol-Tauke and Donald Tauke?

Joan Nickol-Tauke was the first female surgeon in Cedar Rapids and was on staff at both St. Luke’s and Mercy hospitals. She retired in 1994.

Nickol-Tauke earned her medical degree from the University of Iowa in 1958, as one of only three women in her graduating class of 130 doctors.

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When Nickol-Tauke entered medical school, students were expected to purchase their own microscopes, Kathy said. She couldn’t afford it.

It was her stepfather, who was “pivotal” in her pursuit of education, that purchased her microscope for her. Family lore said it cost about $500, a “significant amount of money” at the time, Kathy said.

“When she graduated, most students would sell that microscope because it was a big investment for them. My mom told her sister, ‘I’m never going to do that because it was the item that gave me confidence and showed me someone believed in me,’” Kathy said.

After Nickol-Tauke died, the family found the microscope. “She did keep it. It’s such a good lesson. It only takes one person to give you confidence in yourself,” Kathy said.

Kathy and Schumacher both said they hope the microscope can be part of the memorial to the Tauke family in the future middle school someday.

As a female surgeon in the 1960s, Kathy said Nickol-Tauke didn’t have patients for “months” after starting her own practice in downtown Cedar Rapids.

“She would go to work and do crossword puzzles, waiting for the phone to ring or for someone to walk through the door,” Kathy said.

The couple considered leaving Cedar Rapids and moving somewhere more welcoming to a female surgeon.

“Finally, she got her first patient. It was someone from Monticello, her hometown, who had remembered her from when she was a little girl. She had the confidence to keep going and built a really thriving practice,” Kathy said.

Nickol-Tauke also was an avid balloonist, flying in Eastern Iowa for more than 34 years until she was 80 years old, according to her obituary from Cedar Memorial. She is credited with starting the annual Balloon Glow Festival previously held in Cedar Rapids at Brucemore during the Freedom Festival in July.

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Donald Tauke served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He worked as a civil engineer for many years in Linn and Delaware counties. His favorite projects included construction of the chapel at Mount Mercy College and his own development of the Twin Knolls 5th subdivision.

The couple married July 28, 1962.

They purchased the property being sold to the Cedar Rapids district in 1969. Kathy said her father “had a vision for the ground,” that included farming some of it and having animals. Part of the land was eventually rented out as horse stables.

The family moved into a house they built on the property in December 1981, when Kathy was a senior at Kennedy High School.

Today, there is a house, barn and several outbuildings on the property.

When Nickol-Tauke died last year, the family considered what to do with the estate.

“There were mixed feelings about selling it. However, the opportunity of having this legacy for my parents was something we couldn’t pass up. Education was a really big deal for both of my parents,” Kathy said.

Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com