Voters one step closer to seeing $220M Cedar Rapids school bond referendum in November

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids school board set in motion Monday a process to ask voters in November to pass a $220 million bond referendum to support the Cedar Rapids Community School District’s facility master plan — the first of two requests expected to come before voters over the next several years.

The board in a 5-1 vote approved ballot language to bring the question to district voters in the Nov. 7 general election. But first, a “yes” committee volunteering to lead the charge to rally support will have to quickly organize, collecting almost 6,400 valid signatures from district voters by Sept. 22 to get the question placed on the ballot.

School board member Jen Neumann was absent from the meeting. Board member Dexter Merschbrock was opposed.

The district’s proposed plan calls for a combined $445 million bond referendum to be approved by voters. With the first referendum facing voters in November, the second bond referendum of $225 million could go to voters in November 2029 — ensuring all buildings in the district are new or recently renovated by 2037.

“We believe this is the right plan and the right path forward for our community,” school board President David Tominsky said. District officials have paid attention to criticism of the facility plan and will continue discussions with the community, he said.

This referendum, if approved, will mean a $2.70 increase to the school district’s tax levy rate of $14.66 per $1,000 in taxable value, to about $17.33. The owner of a $200,000 home would see a $23.50 monthly increase in property taxes, Tominsky said.

With this bump, he said the district’s levy rate still would be lower than the rates of four other Linn County school districts — Marion, Center Point, Linn-Mar and Mount Vernon.

Scott Drzycimski, a Jefferson High alum and parent to children in the district, is leading the “yes” committee. He said volunteers will take care to explain to voters the nuances between what would be on the November ballot and the facility master plan as a whole.

Face-to-face conversations with voters will be key, he said. Drzycimski said he has found that when voters are given time to ask questions and dig into the plan, they understand “there are things that need to be done to our schools or our facilities” that have a return on investment for students.

“It’s generational change and the opportunity to set the district on the right financial path that protects taxpayers and teaches our students the best way possible for decades to come,” Drzycimski said.

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.

Under a new state law, the district must individually notify every voter within its jurisdiction of the upcoming vote. If the referendum fails to reach its required 60 percent approval, the board would have to wait a year before returning to voters.

The overall master plan would reduce the number of middle schools in the district from its existing six, and a stronger feeder system would be created for students in K-12. School leaders have said they believe this would provide more equitable services to all students while reducing the district’s operational and maintenance costs.

If voters pass the initial referendum, Kennedy High School, 4545 Wenig Rd. NE, would be renovated and equipped with kitchen and cafe spaces. Kennedy, Jefferson and Washington high schools would also be remodeled with Career and Technical Education additions, have turf installed and see other improvements.

Metro High School, 1212 Seventh St. SE, would be renovated with a gym addition.

A 1,200-student middle school would be built at an undisclosed new site on the north side of Cedar Rapids.

Franklin Middle School, 300 20th St. NE, 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, 620 10th St. SE, 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.

Merschbrock said the facilities discussion has been focused on competing with other districts in the region and state — centering a “keeping up with the Joneses’ attitude.”

“We haven’t even explored opportunities that we might have to partner with the city, to partner with other school districts to find a way to make investments that will address inequality within our district, within our community,” Merschbrock said in explaining his opposition. “ … There’s a lot of things that students deserve.”

With construction costs increasing, board member Jennifer Borcherding said the costs of making facilities improvements or building new schools will only grow.

“Unfortunately, previous boards have not taken action on this item and we are now forced to make a difficult decision,” Borcherding said. “I will make a decision that positively impacts our students.”

Board member Cindy Garlock said the district has been fiscally prudent in not asking voters to pass a bond referendum for 23 years.

“If you’re a homeowner, ask yourself what happens if you’re not investing in your home for 23 years,” Garlock said. “At some point you have to play a little bit of catch up, and I think that’s where we find ourselves now.”

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With input from the Cedar Rapids City Council after a joint session last month, school district officials explored changes to the facility master plan. As city officials look to spur investment to the west side after it was ravaged in the 2008 flood, some council members feared closing middle schools there would “hollow out” the urban core.

Under possible changes to the plan, Roosevelt Middle School could remain as a sixth-grade facility and a new seventh-and-eighth grade school would be built to replace Taft Middle School. But this change would boost the combined $445 million in school bond referendums an additional $56 million.

School board members have said they are unsure about bringing this higher figure to taxpayers. Roosevelt and Taft are not a part of the facilities addressed in the first half of the bond referendum, so the decision may not need to be made for another six years.

Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell declined to comment Monday on the district’s revised plans.

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