Cedar Rapids middle schools rejected as satellite voting sites because of ADA accessibility issues

CEDAR RAPIDS — Three Cedar Rapids middle schools were rejected as satellite voting sites — a temporary absentee voting location available before Election Day — because of accessibility issues.

The Linn County Auditor’s Office rejected Wilson, McKinley and Roosevelt middle schools as satellite voting sites this week because they are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Kennedy High School did meet the requirements and will be a satellite voting location.

Satellite voting sites are intended to provide voters with convenient and accessible options for casting their ballots early.

Election Day is Nov. 4.

“It’s ironic that these three middle schools do not meet basic ADA requirements needed to hold a satellite voting location for the citizens, but our kids are required to attend every day,” said Barbra Solberg, chair of Believe in CR Schools, a committee advocating for voters to say “yes” to a $117 million bond referendum in the Cedar Rapids school district.

“One of the major components of the Cedar Rapids Community Schools bond referendum is to improve accessibility for our kids, teachers and staff in these very buildings,” Solberg said.

Believe in CR Schools gathered signatures required by state code to hold satellite voting at the middle schools and Kennedy High. The signatures were accepted and ruled valid by the Linn County Auditor.

“Linn County Auditor Todd Taylor and his team have been very professional, but their hands are simply tied and can’t proceed because of the federal ADA issues at these three middle schools,” Solberg said.

The Believe committee sought early voting locations to ensure as many registered voters in the school district would have ample opportunities and access to vote, according to a press release Thursday.

“If anything should shine a light on the need to pass the referendum, this is it,” said Marty Hoeger, a member of the Cedar Rapids City Council. “As a parent of a child with special needs, ensuring every child has access to accessible and safe schools is a fundamental right and should be a top priority of our community. It’s vital we pass the Cedar Rapids Community Schools bond referendum on Nov. 4, to ensure this problem is fixed.”

The bond referendum, if approved, would modernize three historic schools in the Cedar Rapids district and renovate aspects of Kennedy High School.

The plan also includes allocating $35 million to renovate Wilson Middle School into an elementary school that would house Cedar River Academy and Grant Elementary, which would be removed from the district’s inventory.

Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy — a middle school in northwest Cedar Rapids — would be renovated to accommodate students from Wilson.

A $117 million bond issue would cost the owner of a $200,000 home in the Cedar Rapids school district about $7.47 a month or $89.60 per year — about half the impact of the $211 million bond that was originally proposed. Under either proposal, the Cedar Rapids district would continue to have the lowest school property tax rates in Linn County and one of the lowest rates in the wider region.

The plan — if approved — is estimated to save the school district $140.8 million in operational costs over the bond’s 20-year life cycle, or $6.48 million a year, Chad Schumacher, the district’s operations director, said. This means the district would see a return on investment of almost $24 million if the $117 million bond is approved.

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.

The bond referendum has received wide-ranging support from labor, civic, education partners and local elected officials in the Cedar Rapids community.

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