116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
New and renovated schools needed in Cedar Rapids, educators say
They cite isolated teachers, small classrooms and electrical problems
Oct. 19, 2023 5:51 pm, Updated: Dec. 15, 2023 2:07 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS — Arthur Elementary School Principal Jennifer Nurre is ready to say goodbye to some of the more tiresome aspects of the 108-year-old school building, which will close at the end of this school year.
For example, the electrical grid in the school has been “patched together” — even leading to a small fire in one of the outlets last year that was quickly contained by flipping the breaker, Nurre said.
Students and staff also have “learned to dress in layers” since the building is heated with steam and cooled by window air conditioner units in each room, making it difficult to manage the temperature.
The cramped conditions for students and staff also will not be missed, nor will the entrance that is all too easily accessible.
“It all impacts learning,” Nurre said.
Almost 7 miles away at Maple Grove Elementary School — a newly constructed building that opened in August 2022 — Principal Nick Duffy waves to students walking through spacious hallways well-lit by large windows.
It feels welcoming and is fully compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act standards with a centrally-located elevator — unlike many schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District that have multiple levels retrofitted with elevators that are hard to find in the maze of hallways.
“As kids walked into a brand-new building, a bright building, a homey-feeling space, that has an impact on them. I think the design of the building, the color scheme, the way it feels in here kind of helps kids feel welcomed and home,” Duffy said.
The Cedar Rapids district hosted a bus tour for community leaders and the media Thursday — attended by The Gazette — to talk about facility improvements needed in elementary, middle and high schools across the district.
The district is several years into a plan to renovate its elementary schools. Each new elementary school will serve between 500 to 600 students. Right now, elementary schools vary in student population, serving between 200 to 500 students.
Under the plan, both Arthur and Garfield elementary schools will be replaced by Trailside Elementary, 2630 B Ave. NE, and their attendance zones will be combined.
The work is being funded by SAVE — Secure an Advanced Vision for Education — an existing statewide sales tax allocated to school districts based on certified enrollment.
New elementary schools are expected to decrease operational costs for the district and address uneven distribution of resources. One of the operational challenges of smaller schools is being able to offer only one section of each grade because of the small student body. In past years, this has meant combining classrooms for a more even distribution of students across each classroom. This also isolates teachers who don’t have peers to bounce ideas off and help them problem solve.
A $220M plan to improve secondary schools
The problem isn’t limited to elementary schools. Mike Waters — principal of Wilson Middle School, which is the smallest middle school in the district with 400 students — said there aren’t the same opportunities at Wilson that there are at larger schools.
There aren’t enough teachers to volunteer to be coaches or oversee other extracurricular activities, Wilson said, for example.
“You can always make a larger building smaller in the way the building is set up. … It’s very difficult to make a small building larger,” said Waters, who moved from Arizona about five years ago where he was a principal of a 1,600-student K-8 school.
A $220 million bond referendum is going to voters in the district Nov. 7, which would fund improvements to the district’s middle and high schools if approved.
Superintendent Tawana Grover said the ask is as large as it is because the Cedar Rapids district has not had the “rhythm” of proposing and getting passed smaller bonds over the last 20 years like surrounding school districts.
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.
Projects under the plan that would be funded by the $220 million bond referendum include a new 6-8 grade middle school building at an unannounced location to be acquired; new career and technical education additions and new turf fields at three high schools; renovations to Kennedy High School’s cafeteria and kitchen; upgrades to the Metro High School gym; and renovations to Franklin Middle School.
If the bond is approved by district voters, the Cedar Rapids schools property tax rate would increase from $14.67 to $17.33 per $1,000 of taxable value. For an owner with 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 be about $$282.02 a year, or $23.50 a month.
In Iowa, school bond issues — basically, loans that schools take out — require a supermajority of 60 percent voter approval 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 facility master plan.
Although some community members have voiced concern about the district vacating — and in some cases demolishing — older schools, Grover talked about renovations to Franklin Middle School, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
“We are not trying to tear down all of the historic buildings within our district,” she said.
New schools operations director
Joining the tour was the school district’s new operations director, Chad Schumacher, whose first day of work was Thursday.
Schumacher replaces Jon Galbraith, who left the district Sept. 22 for a job as chief financial and operating officer for the Linn-Mar Community School District.
As operations director, Schumacher will oversee facility planning, the transportation of nearly 5,000 students to and from school every day, building and grounds and custodial departments, which handles new construction, ongoing maintenance, daily cleaning and safety and security of each school.
Schumacher — who has experience as an educator — comes to the district from OPN Architects where he was a construction administrator. While at OPN, he worked on West Willow and Maple Grove elementary schools — the first new schools built in the district in almost 20 years. They opened in August 2021 and August 2022.
Cedar Rapids school board President David Tominsky said he is “quiet” when he is asked what happens if the bond isn’t approved by voters.
“All these changes absolutely need to happen in our school district,“ he said. ”Those would be some tough conversations.“
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
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