College Community to bond issue again on Feb. 2

CEDAR RAPIDS - For the second time in less than a year, voters in the College Community school district will be asked to approve a $49.5 million bond issue to finance improvements in the district's schools.

The school board voted Monday to call a special election Feb. 2 on the bond referendum.

The last vote, in April, fell short by a few percentage points of the 60 percent voter approval required for bond issues.

This time, the financial impact on taxpayers will be less, said Superintendent John Speer. In an effort to gain more support for upgrades to school buildings because of a growing student population, the district spent the past year restructuring its debt.

Voters petitioned for the special election.

State law requires petitions for special elections be signed by 25 percent of those who voted in the last election of school officials. Only 149 voted in the school board election in September, according to the Linn County Auditor's Office, meaning as few as 38 qualified voters needed to ask for the new vote.

If approved, the funding would go toward building, furnishing and equipping an addition to Prairie High School and remodeling other district schools.

The measure failed in April when the district, which covers southern parts of Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas in Linn County, asked to borrow $49.5 million in bonds to finance renovations to its schools. The initiative received 57 percent support, failing to gave the required 60 percent by 58 votes.

Speer said he's confident the measure will get approved this time.

'I feel good. We think there was some voter apathy last time,” Speer said. 'We feel like it's something our public will vote on.”

The board approved a one-time commitment to spend a minimum of $6 million of local-option sales tax money to buy down the tax rate, he said. In the past year, the district also paid off some of its debt.

The owner of a home assessed at $100,000 in taxable value would pay an additional $17.50 a year to finance the bond issue, Speer said.

Without those changes, that taxpayer would have paid an additional $62.50, he said.

Patti Seda, who signed the petition and had a son graduate from Prairie High School last year, also suggested voter apathy killed the measure in April.

'We're a very supportive school district,” she said. 'I think some people just made the assumption that, of course, it's going to pass, and so we maybe got a little complacent. Not everyone went out (to vote). I think the 58 votes that we missed says it's really close. ... We really believe if we get this message out again, we'll get the votes.”

The 5,600-student school district grows by at least 100 students every year.

The improvements at Prairie High would include 20 classrooms, a 500-student cafeteria, new building control systems and an updated library.

Prairie Crest, Prairie Heights and Prairie View schools also would get fire sprinkler systems, upgraded fire alarms, intercoms, intruder access systems, secure offices and interior walls.

'We're just running out of space,” Seda said. 'It's 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5-pound bag. You can only do so much. ... It's just time to spend the money.”