College Community to consider special election for new school

Construction could soon begin on another elementary school building in Eastern Iowa.

A group of parents, educators and community members from the College Community School District is calling for an election.  They make up the Citizen's Advisory Committee, and will present a petition to the school board Monday night.

The board will take the petition and consider setting that election, in which voters would decide on a $15 million bond to build the new school.

Education leaders said they need all of the space they can get, with about 130 kids joining the district each year. Some elementary classes have grown to about 26 students. Teachers would like that number to be in the lower 20s.

"Besides building spaces, you have to also have teaching staff to fill those spaces. We've been through that before and we know how to do that. We will do that, we'll have to save up our resources as a district,” said College Community Superintendent Richard Whitehead.

If the proposal moves forward, this would be the district's fifth elementary building.

Whitehead said if voters pass the bond issue, families shouldn't notice too much of a property tax increase.

"We'll be able to do this with no impact on the levy rate that a person will pay in order to pay off this debt. Some other property taxes will roll off. Our tax base is bigger and we'll use some one cent sales tax money,” Whitehead said.

The board is considering an April 3 election. District leaders hope to have the elementary school built and ready to go by 2014.

The Board of Education's meeting begins at 5 p.m. today (Monday).