Harding eyed as possible location for new 1,200-student middle school under proposed $220 million bond referendum

CEDAR RAPIDS — The land on which Harding Middle School sits is an “opportunity we should keep our eye on” when it comes to considering where a new 1,200-student middle school could be built under a proposed $220 million bond referendum going to voters in the Cedar Rapids Community School District Nov. 7, Superintendent Tawana Grover said.

The district, however, has not identified a site for the middle school that would be built on the north side of Cedar Rapids under a facility master plan, Grover said during a forum Tuesday on the proposed bond. The event was hosted by The Gazette with school district representatives and members of groups that support and oppose the bond.

“The goal is to make sure the school is in proximity to the students,” Grover said.

The two domes at Harding Middle School were closed to students and staff Monday because of the deterioration of several support beams. This displaced students from the school’s gym, cafeteria and performing arts classrooms. Taft Middle School — built in the same style as Harding — is in a similar situation.

“We’re definitely already seeing challenges” with the Harding Middle School building, Grover said.

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Bernie Hayes and Janelle Lund — who spoke at the forum representing a group of residents advocating for people to vote “no” on the school bond referendum — voiced concern that the new middle school would be built in the city of Robins if the bond were approved.

No site for the proposed new middle school has been determined, but it will be in the Cedar Rapids Community School District attendance area, spokesman Justin Schaefer told The Gazette in response.

Building a new middle school is just one part of the $220 million facility plan going to voters next month. It would help the district reach its goal of all buildings being new or renovated by 2037.

The proposed bond would help fund a facility plan that ultimately would reduce the number of middle schools in the district from its existing six. This would create a stronger feeder system for students in K-12, ensuring students stay together with classmates as they move from elementary to middle to high school. School leaders have said they believe this would provide more equitable services to all students while reducing the district’s operational and maintenance costs.

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Projects under the plan include:

While the cost of these projects is more than $220 million, Grover said the additional costs will be paid for “using other sources.”

If the bond is approved by district voters, the Cedar Rapids school district’s property tax levy would increase from $14.67 to $17.37 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value. For an owner of a home assessed at $200,000, the bill based on the taxable value of that home — about 54.7 percent of its assessed value — would increase by about $23.50 a month, or $282 a year.

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In Iowa, school bond issues — basically, loans that schools take out, typically for 10, 15 or 20 years — require a supermajority of 60 percent to pass. In passing bond issues, voters in the district agree to repay the loan, with interest, through their property taxes.

A second $225 million general obligation bond is proposed to be taken to voters in 2029 to complete projects under the district’s facilities master plan.

The bonds would be paid off in 20 years, by 2045.

The plan also requires voters to approve a 10-year extension to the district’s Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, which expires in 2025. The Physical Plant and Equipment Levy — PPEL — is a capital projects funds for the purchase and improvement of grounds, purchase, construction and remodeling of buildings and major equipment purchases, including technology.

Opposition to the bond

Hayes and Lund argued the facilities plan would destroy schools to build “warehouses,” making it difficult for students to navigate and feel a sense of belonging. It also would remove schools from neighborhoods, requiring more students to take the bus to school, which Hayes and Lund said might increase bullying.

They also argued the plan would downsize teaching and support staff. Educators, however, have said new and larger buildings could help retain and recruit much-needed teachers to the district. Smaller schools on the other hand means fewer sections of each grade, which can lead to larger class sizes and more thinly stretched staff.

For example, new elementary schools being built with funds from SAVE — or Secure an Advanced Vision for Education — like Maple Grove and West Willow are double the size of other elementary schools in the district.

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However, these buildings are being built in “neighborhoods” or “pods,” a collection of four or five classrooms that connect with large common areas where students can gather and do group work where the classroom teacher can still keep an eye on them. The neighborhoods each also have lockers and restrooms. This can help schools feel smaller as students don’t have to navigate the whole building.

SAVE is a capital projects fund for the purchase and improvement of grounds, purchase, construction and remodeling of buildings and major equipment purchases, including technology. SAVE is funded by an existing sales tax allocated by the state to school districts based on enrollment.

Hayes, a retired Rockwell Collins engineer, suggested that instead of building a new middle school on the north side of Cedar Rapids, the district should partner with school districts like Linn-Mar or Alburnett where the infrastructure the district desires already exists, he said.

This would decrease the district’s supplemental state aid — per pupil funding that is a critical component in paying teacher salaries. If a student open enrolls into another school, the school district the student resides in loses the funding for that student — about $7,400.

Hayes and Lund also argued the district already brings in enough money to improve facilities through PPEL and SAVE.

In fiscal year 2023 — which began July 1, 2022 — the district, which serves 15,700 students, received $10.9 million from PPEL and $22 million in SAVE, said Karla Hogan, Cedar Rapids schools’ executive director of business services.

Why $220 million?

Grover said the $220 million bond is a large ask because the district has not passed a school bond referendum in 23 years. “That impacts how much we have to ask for right now,” she said.

The last bond taken to voters in the Cedar Rapids district was in 2000 for $46 million to fund the construction of Viola Gibson Elementary, 6101 Gibson Dr. NE.

In comparison, neighboring school districts with fewer students have passed several bonds since 2000, Grover said.

The Iowa City Community School District was successful in passing a $191 million bond in 2017 with 65 percent voter approval.

Voters in the Linn-Mar Community School District have approved $94.5 million in school bond referendums since 2001.

College Community Schools have approved $155 million since 2001, with another $43 million general obligation bond issue that would fund construction of a swimming pool and wellness center heading to district voters Nov. 7.

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The cost of construction continues to rise more than 19 percent year over year, outpacing inflation, according to district officials.

“What we can build today will be cheaper than what we put off for the future,” said Scott Drzycimski, a Jefferson High alum and parent to children in the district who is leading the yes committee. “The lowest-cost, long-term option for taxpayers is to start making the investments into our middle and high schools now. Let’s not wait as the costs and needs grow.”

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