Volunteers ‘making good progress’ to get Cedar Rapids schools’ $220M bond on ballot

CEDAR RAPIDS — Volunteers collected more than 2,600 signatures last week on a petition that would — if enough eligible voters sign it — enable the Cedar Rapids Community School District to put a $220 million bond referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Scott Drzycimski, chair of a “yes committee” leading the effort to collect signatures, hopes to gather another 2,600 signatures this week. More than 6,000 signatures from district voters need to be collected by Sept. 22 — less than two weeks from now — to get the question placed on the ballot.

“We’re making good progress but also recognize the need to exceed the minimum — so we’d like to repeat last week’s numbers again this week to assure we have plenty of signatures,” Drzycimski said in an email Monday to The Gazette.

Drzycimski did not share how many signatures the committee has collected so far. The school board approved ballot language Aug. 7, opening the door for signatures to be collected to get the bond issue on the ballot.

The 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.

Yes committees can be vital in getting taxpayer approval for general obligation bonds — which are backed by property taxes — for Iowa school districts, since district themselves cannot legally advocate for them. More than 100 volunteers turned out last Wednesday, going door-to-door in neighborhoods to collect signatures.

“In under three hours, we collected nearly half the necessary signatures to ensure this historic investment in Cedar Rapids schools is on the ballot,” Drzycimski said in a statement. “For those of us doing the legwork, this is about more than just building infrastructure. It’s about building a sustainable financial future for our community for decades to come. That’s driving our momentum, and it’s why the response has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Ballot language is due to the county auditor 46 days before city and school elections. At least 25 percent of the number of registered voters in the school district voting in the last election of school officials must sign the petition, according to Iowa Code.

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, voter in the district agree to repay the loan, with interest, through their property taxes.

If the bond is approved, the district’s property tax levy would increase by $2.70 per $1,000 of assessed taxable valuation. The owner of a house in the Cedar Rapids school district assessed at $200,000, for example, would see a property tax increase of about $282 a year for 20 years, according to board documents.

The facilities plan

The $220 million bond referendum would fund the district’s purchase of land for and the construction of a 1,200-student middle school. School officials have not yet disclosed possible locations for this school, although it likely will be on the northeast side.

It also would fund new turf fields and career and technical education classroom additions at Kennedy, Jefferson and Washington high schools.

Kennedy High’s cafeteria and kitchen and Metro High School’s gymnasium would be updated under this plan.

Franklin Middle School would be renovated and turned into an 800-student school for seventh- and eighth-graders. Sixth-graders in the Franklin school boundary would attend McKinley, which would be converted into a school for 400 sixth-graders.

Wilson, Roosevelt and Harding middle schools would be closed under the initial plan. The idea is that developers could repurpose these buildings into some other use.

A second $225 million bond referendum — proposed to be taken to voters in 2029 — would address the remaining middle schools.

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