116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids City Council shows support for school bond referendum
Endorsement of school bond comes ahead of Nov. 4 community vote
The Gazette
Sep. 12, 2025 5:25 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Members of the Cedar Rapids City Council have signed onto a letter of support for the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s $117 million bond referendum.
Members of the council said they appreciated the district’s efforts to refine the proposal and listen to community members and noted both entities have a shared future.
“While the City and CRCSD are separate taxing entities, we share a common future. Strong cities need strong schools to support strong neighborhoods, stabilize housing, and preserve community character and vitality. For these reasons, we write to highlight the importance of this year’s school-bond vote,” Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell wrote in a letter to Cedar Rapids schools Superintendent Dr. Tawana Grover.
“When families seek new opportunities, they look for places that offer both great jobs and great schools. Cedar Rapids’ future is directly tied to the continued success of the CRCSD. This bond measure puts that future in our hands,” O’Donnell wrote in the letter which was signed by all nine members of the Cedar Rapids City Council.
“Together, we urge every member of our community to support schools that reflect the excellence we envision for Cedar Rapids,” the letter states. “ A ”Yes“ vote on this bond measure is a commitment to the future our youth deserve -- and an investment in our families, economy and shared future.”
Download: CRCouncilBondEndorsementLetter.pdf
Several other groups -- including Matthew 25, Foundation 2, The ARC, Waypoint and NewBoCo -- as well as labor groups have written letters of support for the school bond.
The $117 million school bond referendum would modernize and renovate schools will appear on ballots within the Cedar Rapids School District boundaries on Nov. 4. It requires approval from 60 percent of voters to pass.
The plan includes renovations to four schools in the district:
- $25 million to renovate Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy, a middle school in northwest Cedar Rapids, to address school safety and operational efficiency issues and to accommodate students from Wilson Middle School, which would become an elementary school;
- $45 million to renovate McKinley STEAM Academy, a middle school in southeast Cedar Rapids;
- $35 million to renovate Wilson Middle School into an elementary school that would house Cedar River Academy and Grant Elementary, which would be removed from the district’s inventory;
- And $12 million for renovations at Kennedy High School to address crowding in the cafeteria and common areas and constructing additions to add high school college and career programming.
A $117 million bond issue would cost the owner of a $200,000 home in the Cedar Rapids school district about $7.47 a month, or $89.60 per year, starting in fiscal 2027.
The property tax levy for fiscal 2026 — which began July 1 — is $13.64 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.
Daily Newsletters