116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids school district poll finds less than half support new bond proposal
The survey, conducted this year, showed 41 percent of respondents would support a bond; the measure needs 60 percent approval to pass
Apr. 7, 2025 6:37 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids schools officials will spend the next several weeks speaking with staff, parents and community members to consider ways the district can reduce the cost of a proposed $211 million bond measure that seeks to support future operations, including building a new middle school.
The school board met in a work session Monday to discuss how to proceed after a survey conducted by the district showed less than half of respondents would support the bond.
The district’s survey showed a lower bond approval rating than a poll administered by the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance around the same time the district’s survey was sent out.
The Economic Alliance survey reported 55 percent of the 501 district residents polled by consulting firm Victory Enterprises said they likely would vote for the referendum as written. The school district survey showed that only 41 percent of respondents agreed to support the bond, while 15 percent said they were undecided and 44 percent said they would oppose it.
Ron Corbett, vice president of economic development for the Economic Alliance, spoke to board members Monday and explained that while the district’s survey had just one question — “Would you approve the bond as written?” — the alliance’s survey also included questions that informed respondents about certain details of the bond and asked whether knowing that information improved their opinion of the bond proposal.
Regardless, neither survey showed enough support for the referendum to reach the 60 percent threshold it would need to pass, although both were up from the 38 percent approval the district received the last time it sought a referendum in 2023.
The school district survey received 7,850 responses. Ten percent of respondents identified themselves as district employees and 24 percent are parents with students who attend district schools. Almost half — 42 percent — reported they were age 65 or older.
Among school staff and parents, the approval rating for the bond was higher than the total percentage — 52 percent and 51 percent, respectively — but still not enough to pass the threshold.
The district survey also asked respondents to share their reasoning for supporting or not supporting the referendum. The three most common reasons respondents said they would not support it were the financial burden of raising taxes amid economic uncertainty; a desire that the district focus on maintaining existing buildings rather than building a new one; and concerns about the impact the proposed changes would have on the middle and high schools.
"I do agree with all the updates and needs our schools need, unfortunately residents cannot afford our taxes to go up ... I believe more residents would or could support this if the amount was lower,“ wrote one anonymous survey respondent who was quoted to the board during Monday’s meeting.
"I have talked with a number of people who do not support [a new middle school] and would rather see the existing middle schools renovated and utilized,“ another states.
The district in January purchased a 51-acre plot near Highway 100 and Ushers Ferry Road for construction of a new middle school to replace Harding Middle School. Construction would be contingent on the passage of a school bond.
Revised bond proposal could be ready by April 28
The board Monday discussed the concerns that respondents had and which areas of the plan could be examined to look for more ways to decrease costs. They also focused on ways that they can increase community understanding of the bond and how it will support the needs of the schools.
The bond proposal, which has not been finalized by the board, proposes to spend:
- About $104 million for the new middle school near Iowa Highway 100 and Ushers Ferry Road NE. It would replace Harding Middle School, which would be demolished.
- About $59 million to renovate and expand McKinley STEAM Academy to accommodate students from Franklin Middle School as well. Franklin would be used by Metro High School students.
- About $36 million to renovate and transform Wilson Middle School into an elementary school, which would serve students from Grant Elementary and Cedar River Academy. Wilson students would move to Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy.
- About $12 million for an addition at Kennedy High School for freshman students and an expanded cafeteria.
“We can’t afford to wait. Our buildings need this really bad. Our students deserve it, and so does our staff that work in these buildings. They deserve to have better conditions to work in. Kids deserve to have better conditions to go to school in,” board member Marcy Roundtree said during Monday’s meeting.
The next step in the process of evaluating and adjusting the current plan is to share the results of the survey with school staff, parents, and other community members. Meetings with various community groups will be taking place over the next few weeks.
The board plans to have a revised proposal ready to present by April 28.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters