Linn-Mar takes steps toward next 10-year facility plan

MARION — As the Linn-Mar Community School District reaches the completion of a five-year plan, school leaders continue to look toward the future, taking steps to create a plan for the next decade.

The Linn-Mar school board last month approved contracts with OPN Architects to begin a facilities assessment and RSP & Associates to conduct a district-wide enrollment projection analysis.

The OPN contract costs the district $280,000, and the RSP contract costs $27,000.

Jon Galbraith, the district’s chief financial and operating officer, said he expects findings of the two studies to be presented to the Linn-Mar school board late spring 2026.

Galbraith said the assessment is to determine how the district can use existing funds to meet facility needs. Those funds are:

During the 2025 fiscal year, which ended June 30, the Linn-Mar school district’s PPEL revenue was $4.8 million, SAVE revenue was $20.7 million and PERL revenue was $396,000.

Voters in the Linn-Mar school district in March 2024 approved a 10-year extension to PPEL through June 2035 to address infrastructure and equipment needs. The levy was approved by 74 percent.

‘Zero conversations’ about opening a second high school

While school leaders aren’t yet sure what might be included in a next facility plan, Superintendent Amy Kortemeyer said there have been “zero conversations” about opening a second high school location.

“I have come across some former facilities studies that suggested not until the high school reached about 2,800 students would they have a recommendation to consider a second high school. Enrollment now is around 2,200 students,” Kortemeyer said.

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The district saw a decrease of about 45 students this year, Kortemeyer said. This is a decrease of fewer students than school officials predicted after declining by 73 students in the 2024-25 school year.

“It isn’t surprising to us,” Kortemeyer said. “In fact, our budget projections last year were based on a number slightly larger than that. We’re in pretty good shape.”

Kortemeyer cited declining birth rates in Iowa and families having more options, including open enrollment, taxpayer funded tuition assistance for non-public schools and new charter schools opening as reasons for declining enrollment.

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She said community engagement will be important for school leaders as they consider a future facility plan.

RSP & Associates has worked with two dozen schools in Iowa, including the Cedar Rapids, College Community and Clear Creek Amana school districts. They also previously worked with Linn-Mar.

In conducting their analysis, RSP considers school district enrollment, housing trends, economic indicators and other enrollment influences using data from school districts, cities, counties, the state and census data.

According to the proposal, RSP will meet with school leaders and city and county officials to gather information and tour the district and community to verify data.

They will create an analysis to forecast future enrollment, projecting 10-year enrollment by building and grade and make recommendations to address the impact of future growth for each facility.

In addition to its current facilities, the district owns four properties:

Concluding a five-year facility plan

In 2022, the school district began a five-year facility plan that included construction of a new administration building, a larger performance venue and an indoor activities center added to the high school.

The performance venue is expected to be completed next month.

In August, the Linn-Mar school board approved a $3.6 million contract with OPN Architects to continue the design phase for the activities center and other improvements. The added facility space not only will benefit the hundreds of students in Linn-Mar’s athletics but also physical education classes and community youth programs.

Other projects completed under the facility plan include an eight-court tennis complex and renovations to the former Learning Resource Center to become classroom spaces.

The facility plan was projected to cost the district a total of $60 million at the time. However, a plan for just the indoor activities center is proposed to cost around $55 million.

Galbraith said when the activities center was first proposed, “construction costs were changing drastically” post-pandemic.

“We didn’t go back to pre-COVID construction costs,” Galbraith said. “Inflation stayed higher than what we were used to. With these projects, we were able to meet the needs of staff and students and we had the funding to adapt to rising costs.”

The proposal for the indoor activities center at the time also was much simpler — “the idea presented was a box somewhere on the high school campus,” Kortemeyer said.

But as a group of stakeholders convened this past year to talk specifics, they started dreaming about what was possible and realizing the needs of the existing high school’s athletic facilities.

Under the plan, the indoor activities center will be an addition to the high school with a wrestling space, indoor activities space, sports courts, indoor track, weight room, locker room, seating and auxiliary spaces.

The existing auxiliary gym, locker rooms, weight room, training room and activities entrance will be renovated under the plan. A storm shelter also is included in the design.

The main additions will be located on the northeast and southeast sides of the high school.

The project is being funded with SAVE and PPEL. No additional taxes or funding measures are required.

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