116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids schools $117 million school bond referendum would ‘help students learn’
Cedar Rapids school board candidates mostly support the bond on the ballot Nov. 4
Oct. 12, 2025 6:00 am
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CEDAR RAPIDS — Lauren Wilson, a special education teacher at Grant Elementary School, teaches kids with “big emotions.”
To help the students regulate their emotions, Wilson incorporates movement, having the kids lift heavy objects, wiggle, stretch and other physical activity that can help reduce their anxiety and agitation.
But the Grant Elementary school building is “limiting,” Wilson said. She shares a classroom with another special education teacher. They both have 20 students on their rosters, although only up to 10 are in the classroom at the same time.
“We don’t have room to take a student and let their body do what they need to do because we’re limited on space,” Wilson said.
A $117 million bond referendum headed to voters Nov. 4 in the Cedar Rapids Community School District could address these and other facility challenges if approved by voters, educators say.
The bond would allocate $35 million to renovate Wilson Middle School into an elementary school that would house Grant and Cedar River Academy, which would be removed from the district’s inventory, among other projects.
“The bond would provide students the right environment to help them learn to their best ability,” Wilson said. “I think every student deserves that.”
Educators say combining elementary schools alleviates operational challenges smaller schools present and provides consistency to staff and students — and the cost savings will be funneled back in to educating kids.
In smaller schools, students often work in small groups and one-on-one with teachers in the hallways because there isn’t the classroom space.
Specialist teachers — like for PACT, an enrichment program for academically talented students, art, music and physical education — and media specialists often rotate between the smaller schools. This can create challenges for teachers in getting to know students better and collaborating with staff in a building.
Grant Elementary has about 300 students enrolled and Cedar River Academy has about 275.
“My colleagues and I will continue to show up for students and fight for their needs, but it would help our students more if we were able to get the right resources,” Wilson said.
Renovated schools ‘made for kids’ today
As a special education teacher, Wilson celebrates with students when they meet short and long-term goals that are set with student input. She’s watched students struggling with physical aggression achieve their goals of no more instances of physical aggression.
“Every year when my students make progress on their goals and things start to click with them, you can see it in their eyes how happy they are and the celebrations they have,” Wilson said.
One of her student’s goals was to improve her reading skills. She started in Wilson’s classroom reading 15 words per minute. She exited her Individualized Education Plan — education plans designed to meet each students individual needs — three years later reading at 165 words per minute.
“That was a really sweet moment to see,” Wilson said. “I don’t like to take all the credit. The students put in a lot of work. They know what their goal is, and I ask them, ‘What are things we could do that might help you?’ and allow them to take ownership of their learning.”
Melissa Anderson is a Title 1 teacher at Grant Elementary who provides instructional support to students in reading.
“I get to spend all day, every day teaching kids to read and watching light bulbs go on in their heads,” Anderson said. “Once students learn to read, it opens up a whole new world for them and their imagination and creativity.”
Anderson works with almost 40 students a day in groups of three to six in a portable classroom outside the main school building. She likes the space because it’s quieter than the main building. Students aren’t distracted by people walking through the hallways or by noise from other classrooms.
Shuffling students from the main building to the portable classroom, however, “eats up learning time with students,” Anderson said.
Anderson has experience teaching summer school in some of the newer Cedar Rapids elementary schools that opened in 2021 or later.
“They’re such beautiful buildings made for kids and this generation we live in now,” she said. “Our kids’ needs now are different from when I was a girl growing up.”
Grant Elementary and Cedar River Academy also aren’t up to date on Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements.
Multiple toilets in the building are unusable. Sometimes, there are three students to one locker. There’s no elevator to the basement, where there are three classrooms and the gym.
Today, students who use wheelchairs “have to go outside all the way around the building to access music, gym and special education classrooms,” Anderson said.
“Some of our students with disabilities have toileting needs that they need support for. Right now, we’re using the staff bathroom for that,” she said.
What else is included in the bond plan?
The $117 million school bond referendum includes plans to renovate three other schools in the Cedar Rapids district in addition to Wilson Middle School:
- $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;
- And $12 million for renovations at Kennedy High School to address crowding in the cafeteria and common areas and adapt space for new freshman programming.
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.
Chad Schumacher, director of operations for the Cedar Rapids district, said if the district were able to close Grant and Cedar River Academy, they would save $210,000 annually on operational costs.
An architect to design renovations at Wilson would not be hired unless the bond is approved, Schumacher said.
Features that other newly constructed and renovated elementary schools in the district include classrooms built as a collection of neighborhoods that connect with large common areas where students can gather and do group work where the classroom teacher still can keep an eye on them. This also is a space for multiple classes to collaborate together.
Space needed for student support services
Schools today offer more services than they did when Wilson and Cedar River Academy were built in the 1960s. Multiple teachers share classrooms at Grant and Cedar River Academy, and there isn’t space for extra services such as therapists to come into the schools and counsel students.
Ryan Patterson teaches PACT — Program for Academic and Creative Talent for academically talented students — at Cedar River Academy, Van Buren Elementary School and Grant Wood Elementary School.
The one day a week Patterson spends at Cedar River Academy, he tries to infuse with energy and positivity.
“I am extremely present. We have to make the most of our time, use every minute,” Patterson said.
Patterson teaches between four to 10 students a class. At Cedar River Academy, he shares a classroom with a special education teacher. In previous years, he’s shared a classroom with as many as three other teachers.
“I can absolutely use more space,” he said.
Patterson said the “enthusiasm” of students at Cedar River Academy “stands out compared to my other buildings. ”You feel it The energy is palpable,“ he said.
A dedicated PACT classroom would give Patterson’s students more space to collaborate and work on projects. There also would be fewer distractions.
New elementary schools such as West Willow and Maple Grove and even Viola Gibson, which opened in 2002, have designated classrooms for PACT, Patterson said.
What do school board candidates think of the bond?
Also on the Nov. 4 ballot are seven candidates vying for three seats on the Cedar Rapids school board.
The Gazette asked them if they are supportive of the school bond referendum.
Vying for Director At-Large seat are Marcy Roundtree, an incumbent, and Laura Zimmermann, who both said they are “absolutely” supportive of the bond plan.
“Our students and staff deserve this. We are long over due,” said Roundtree, 50.
“I have been fortunate to be a community member at the table during many conversations to discuss best steps forward,” said Zimmermann, 39. “The plan has been refined to be fiscally responsible, while upholding what makes our district unique — our history … Our district deserves our investment.”
Vying for the District 2 seat are Mimi Daoud, Scott Drzycimski and David Chung.
Daoud and Drzycimski voiced their support of the bond plan, while Chung said he opposes it.
“Bonds are essential to maintaining and modernizing our schools, and I believe this one to be a responsible investment,” said Daoud, 24. ”At the same time, I recognize that our district has not passed a bond in nearly two decades, largely because of a lack of community buy-in and misjudging what Cedar Rapids families actually need. Rather than focusing solely on new facilities, we must prioritize maintaining and restoring the historic schools we already have, while also maximizing walkability and accessibility for students.
“My support for this bond also reflects a broader vision: creating a new culture in Cedar Rapids where bonds are passed regularly to responsibly fund long-term maintenance and improvements,” Daoud continued. “Families deserve transparency and consistent planning, not decades of delay followed by urgent fixes. This bond is an important step toward that healthier, more sustainable approach.”
“I strongly support smart investment in school facilities, and I believe that this bond request meets that standard,” said Drzycimski, 51. “This revised bond proposal focuses resources where they’re needed most. I suspect nearly every taxpayer could argue a piece they would like to see included or changed. But, as it stands, it recognizes several adjustments based on feedback from the community. My commitment is to ensure accountability and transparency, so voters know the bond they approve is invested wisely.”
“The district misread voter sentiment on the 2023 bond and then misled voters about the 2024 levy,” said Chung, 64. “Most recently, the board voted unanimously to extend the contract of the superintendent who was at the helm during both of these failures. In my view, a ‘yes’ vote at this time would send the wrong message. Approving this bond would signal that the community is satisfied with the district’s leadership and the direction it has taken — and I don’t believe that is the case.”
Vying for the Director 3 seat are incumbent Jennifer Borcherding and Ashley Burns, who both said they support the bond referendum.
“Our students and staff deserve modern, safe, welcoming, working and learning facilities with consistent environmental controls, natural light, and universal design for ADA compliance. Our community deserves this too,” said Borcherding, 53.
“Our students deserve facilities that provide safe, modern, and accessible learning spaces,” said Burns, 32. “It has been 25 years since the last school bond in our community, and today the average age of our buildings is 62.5 years. Many are well past their intended use, and the high costs of maintaining them take away resources that could otherwise be directed toward student learning. Updating our facilities is not only the responsible choice, it actually provides a $23 million return on our 20-year investment through savings in maintenance, energy efficiency, and operations.”
“Our kids deserve the best we can offer. I have worked hard to collect signatures, establish satellite polling locations for easy voting access, and made passing this bond a big focus of my campaign,” Burns said. “I can’t think of any way I would rather spend my tax dollars.”
Investing in elementary schools for 21st Century learning
Combining Cedar River Academy and Grant Elementary into one school is the next step in a 2018 facilities master plan to address aging and outdated elementary school facilities and more equitably distribute resources across buildings.
As a part of this plan, the Cedar Rapids district opened West Willow Elementary, Maple Grove Elementary and Trailside Elementary schools between 2021 and 2024. The projects were funded by Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE), a statewide school infrastructure sales and services tax.
While these schools will have between 500 and 600 students, they learn in “pods” organized by grade level, which is a group of classrooms with a common area for students to gather or do group work to make a large school feel more personalized.
Currently under construction is Harrison Elementary, which is being renovated with historic aspects preserved and an addition built. Once completed by fall 2027, Madison Elementary will close and combine attendance with Harrison.
Also planned to open in fall 2027 are new school buildings that will replace Van Buren and Hoover elementary schools.
The three projects also are being funded by SAVE.
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters