Cedar Rapids PPEL vote too close to call

CEDAR RAPIDS - Absentee ballots and a recount in one Cedar Rapids voting precinct Tuesday left the fate of the Cedar Rapids Community School District's Physical Plant and Equipment levy in doubt.

Unofficial results Tuesday showed the measure passing by just 32 votes, but the total is so close that results will depend upon 98 absentee ballots still out, a recount of 1,597 votes cast at Cedar Rapids Washington High School, and a canvass of votes.

'It would have been good to have a number we could be sure of,” said Scott Drzycimski, a Cedar Rapids father who helped lead advocate for passage. 'We'll see if the 32 vote lead changes, but we are excited about the number of people who came out to vote.”

The Cedar Rapids school district was asking for a 10-year physical plant improvement levy, or PPEL, at a rate of $1.34 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Cedar Rapids voters rejected a similar PPEL proposal in fall 2013 when it garnered only 43 percent of the approximately 4,000 people that voted, well short of the simple majority needed to pass.

But this time around, about 6,500 people showed up to vote, a turnout of 7.6 percent of registered voters. The bond received 3,264 ‘yes' votes or 50.25 percent, and 3,232 ‘no' votes, or 49.75 percent.

'We are not going to make any prediction until we canvass it on Monday,” said Tim Box, deputy auditor. 'It's that close.”

The Linn County Auditor's Office will certify the votes through a canvass on Monday. Box said 98 absentee ballots have not yet been returned, and they plan to recount Cedar Rapids Washington's 1,597 votes because officials had to replace the vote scanner midstream on Tuesday.

School Board President Mary Meisterling said she is optimistic the tally will hold.

'It is very close, but I am optimistic,” she said. 'We had good voter turnout, which I am appreciative of. I am glad the district got engaged, especially the parents.”

If the vote stands, for a $100,000 home, the property owner would pay an extra $37.43 per year in addition to what they are paying now. The new rate would double the current rate of 67 cents per $1,000.

This would be the first PPEL rate increase in 40 years, according to the district. The current PPEL expires on June 30, 2015.

The money would be spent on preventive maintenance, equipment purchases, facility repairs, safety and security projects, increased investment in vehicles and buses, and energy conservation efforts, according to the district.

By law, PPEL funds have a limited scope of what they can be used for: maintenance, technology, and equipment.