Cedar Rapids schools fields concerns from neighbors of proposed middle school

CEDAR RAPIDS — Traffic, cost and property tax impacts topped the concerns of residents living near the proposed site of Cedar Rapids Community School District’s new middle school.

The district on Wednesday held a community feedback session at Harding Middle School for neighbors of the 51-acre plot the district purchased in January near Highway 100 and Ushers Ferry Road NE. Approximately 100 people were in attendance.

The district intends to use the land to construct a middle school to replace Harding, although that project is contingent on voters’ approval of a school bond referendum. The estimated cost of construction is $104 million.

District officials state the construction of a new middle school on the property is a key part of their plan to help “ rightsize” the district by eventually reducing the number of middle schools from six to four.

The proposed project site is also more centrally located within Harding’s attendance area, which includes a swath of Linn County northeast of Cedar Rapids.

“We’re really trying to plan for the future and the growth in that area,” said Chad Schumacher, director of operations for the district. “By putting a middle school on this property, we’re able to not only help look at the growth for Cedar Rapids, but for Hiawatha, Robins and Palo as well.”

The Cedar Rapids school board unanimously approved the $7.5 million land purchase in January. The purchase included six parcels of property in Linn County that will be annexed into the City of Cedar Rapids.

Development of the property is contingent, however, on the approval of a school bond referendum the district intends to present to voters as soon as November.

The cost of the proposed bond plan is $210.6 million to cover the construction of the new middle school, as well as improvements to Wilson and McKinley middle schools and Kennedy High School.

The proposed referendum would increase property taxes paid to the district by about 16 percent during the repayment period, but the Cedar Rapids schools tax rate would still be lower than current rates for other area districts such as Linn-Mar and Marion.

Still, several attendees at Wednesday’s gathering raised concerns about the bond’s nearly $211 million price tag, which falls just shy of the $220 million referendum that failed in 2023.

Concerns were particularly high around the cost of the new middle school and whether it was a fair and efficient use of taxpayer funds when compared to making improvements to the existing Harding building.

“It seems like when you have the opportunity to lessen the burden on the taxpayer, you choose not to,” said Brent Bartz, an area resident who raised several questions during Wednesday’s meeting. “... You just want more, more, more.”

In response, Schumacher stated that Harding currently is the third least-efficient building in the district and that its replacement with a school at the proposed site would decrease operating costs in the long run.

  Buy Photo

The current bond proposal is expected to contribute $236.9 million in cost savings over the next 20 years, per district estimates, representing a $26 million return on investment once the bond is repaid.

District says traffic studies would accompany school construction

Also at the meeting, Suzanne Morse was among a handful of attendees who raised questions about how the construction of the new middle school could affect traffic patterns and road safety in the area.

A mother of three, Morse lives nearby and said that while she’s not opposed to the project, she would like to see the district put concerted effort toward understanding potential traffic impacts.

“We’ve already got some people zooming down Ushers Ferry,” she said. “There's the buses, the teenagers driving (to nearby Xavier High School) and there’s not much traffic control, so I’d like to see a good plan for that.”

Should the bond pass, Schumacher said the district intends to conduct traffic studies in the area to understand more about the potential impacts and identify solutions and improvements.

The district intends for all vehicles to access the school from Ushers Ferry Road, although there would likely be road access through the adjacent neighborhood for as-needed use by emergency vehicles.

Kara McCoy also lives near the property and attended the event to hear more about the middle school project. She acknowledged that her neighbors have some questions, but said she hoped people would keep an open mind.

“I think it’s a wonderful plan that goes to a vision for the future,” she said of the project. “It’s a very forward-thinking thing to do for our kids and for our future as a (larger) community.”

Comments: grace.nieland@thegazette.com