Iowans to vote on more than $1.5 billion in bonds across 45 school districts and local governments

Editor’s note: (Added 2 p.m. 10/27): A prior version of this story misstated the monthly and annual tax impact of the proposed Cedar Rapids school bond. The amount is expected to increase by about $23.50 per month, or $282.02 annually for the owner of a home valued at $200,000.

DES MOINES — Iowa voters in 50 counties will be voting Nov. 7 on whether their school districts or local governments can issue bonds to fund projects.

General obligation bonds are a mechanism schools, cities and counties use to borrow money to fund large-scale, long-term infrastructure projects. Forty-five local government and school entities are asking voters to approve the spending.

School districts make up the vast majority of the bond questions on ballots, requesting approval for a combined $1.27 billion in bond issues across 35 districts, according to data compiled by Iowans for Tax Relief.

Ten cities and counties are asking for a combined $453.7 million in bond issues.

The referendums in school districts across the state largely focus on building new schools, renovating existing schools and expanding athletic facilities.

For example, Lewis Central Community School District in Council Bluffs is asking for $90 million to build a new elementary school and remodel existing schools.

The Durant Community School District, which covers portions of rural Scott, Muscatine and Cedar counties, is seeking approval of an $11 million bond to renovate a gym, classrooms, HVAC and electrical systems.

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Case-by-case basis

Iowans for Tax Relief, which lobbies for tax reductions at the state and local levels, aggregated the bond issues on its website in an effort to educate voters about what will be on their ballot, according to Chris Hagenow, the group’s president and a former Republican legislator.

“Iowans are very frustrated with their property tax burden, and these are the kinds of things that drive their property tax bill, so they need the information and they need to show up,” he said.

While the group acknowledged some projects are necessary in growing districts, it questioned the need for many of the districts in the state to borrow money for new buildings or updated athletic facilities.

Hagenow said voters should look at their local bonds on a case-by-case basis.

“We genuinely just want people to start asking the questions in their local communities, talking to their neighbors, talking to the school board,” he said. “Finding out what this is, and what are we getting for it?”

But schools have limited options to pay for expansions and improvements that will serve them over decades, said Margaret Buckton, a lobbyist for the Rural School Advocates of Iowa and the Urban Education Network.

Without borrowing money, schools can use revenues from a sales tax-funded program called the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education fund. But Buckton said a big portion of that money is already being redirected to lower property taxes in some districts. The SAVE allocation also is based on current enrollment, not future enrollment.

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“That doesn’t work for, especially growing districts or districts that have really old buildings that need to be replaced,” she said. “That’s not sufficient.”

Bonds & taxes

Bonds are repaid through property taxes, so a new bond can result in property tax increases.

For example, the $220 million bond requested by Cedar Rapids School District will result in a tax increase of $2.70 per $1,000 of taxable value, according to the district. For the owner with a home assessed at $200,000, that will mean an increase in property taxes of about $282 a year, or $23.50 a month.

The Waukee School District near Des Moines, however, says it will be able to repay its $180 million bond without raising the property tax rate.

Schools often issue new bonds to replace expiring ones, Buckton said, in an effort to keep property taxes the same. Other times, they could lower one levy to make up for a bond’s increase.

Hagenow argues that replacing one bond issue with another is effectively a tax increase, because without the new bond, property owners would see a decrease in property taxes.

Biggest projects

The biggest bond referendum voters will be deciding this fall is a $350 million bond requested by Polk County to build a new airport terminal for the Des Moines International Airport.

The county says the bond is the cheapest way to finance the new terminal, and it will not result in tax increases for Polk County property owners.

In the most expensive school bond request, Cedar Rapids’ $220 million ask will go to build a new middle school, renovate other schools and build new athletic facilities and technical classrooms.

The Waukee school district will use its $180 million bond to build a new elementary school and update its fine arts and athletic spaces.

The Dubuque Community School District is asking to issue a $150 million bond to buy new land and build a new school, renovate buildings and update athletic facilities. The district says the bond will not increase property taxes.

In Cedar Rapids, the Collge Community School District is seeking approval of $43 million plan to build a swimming pool and wellness center, along with other recreational amenities, that would be open to the public and operated by the YMCA.

Bond calendar

Because of a new property tax reduction law signed by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds this year, bond elections must be held on the same day as city-school or general elections in November, rather than holding a special election on other dates.

The change will result in more civic participation around the bond questions and more voter involvement, Hagenow said.

“We think it’s all good that we’re doing this at one time, and if these measures fail, they’ll have to wait 12 months to come back again, and we think that’s appropriate as well,” he said.

Buckton said holding bond votes outside November elections allowed more attention to be focused on that one specific issue. She worries the choices higher on the ballot -- for school and school officials in odd-numbered years or for federal and state offices in even-numbered years -- could result in “ballot fatigue” for voters.

“I think that that makes it harder to be very specific about what this vote means when there’s so many other things happening at the same time,” she said.

Comments: cmccullough@qctimes.com