C.R. school district moving to new facility amid criticism for size

The Cedar Rapids school district has been under heavy assault from district patrons angry over school closings.

The school board's decision to close Monroe and Polk elementary schools barely precedes district support and administrative staff moving to the new Educational Leadership and Support Center.

'Where was the foresight in the developing of this new education service center when there should have been concerns for the closing of these schools?' Gail Nau asked at the March 12 school board meeting.

'I would have thought that would have been a primary concern.' Nau said. 'Maybe we wouldn't be where we are today if we had thought about that. I realize there was a need for a new building, but did you need something this grand?'

Grand is one word critics have used to describe the new facility. Taj Mahal is another.

The recent criticism is a contrast to the silence that followed school board members' unanimous vote to build the new facility on district-owned property at 2418 Edgewood Road NW.

No one from the public spoke for or against the project at the November 2009 meeting. There were few public complaints about the facility until the idea of closing schools moved from possible to probable.

Superintendent Dave Benson calls the tying of two issues 'an unfortunate circumstance of timing.'

'These are two separate issues that are running concurrently,' Benson said.

The new education center is the culmination of the district's flood recovery projects. The flood that ravaged Cedar Rapids in June 2008 put five of the district's administrative and support service buildings out of commission. The Educational Service Center, the ESC Annex, the carpenter/paint shop, the main warehouse and the food service warehouse all sustained damage.

For nearly four years, the district's administrative and support services have operated out of temporary facilities at Kingston Stadium and rented facilities throughout the city.

In the summer of 2009, the school board presented five flood recovery options to the public: return to the flooded sites and facilities with no renovations; return to the flooded sites and facilities with some renovations; construct new facilities on the same site; renovate facilities at a new site; or construct new facilities at a new site.

The district held three public forums to gather feedback on these options and asked for input on the district website. Attendance at the forums was small. The feedback wasn't much greater. The majority of the responses, though, pointed in favor of a new facility over the old.

Construction on a 170,000-square-foot facility began in the summer of 2010. The project has a $44.5 million price tag, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state funds to cover $12.6 million — if the project is completed by May 17.

The remaining amount will be paid for with the district's 1 percent school infrastructure local-option sales tax money. This is money that, by law, can only be used on school infrastructure projects. .

'That's what's different between city and county budgets,' John Laverty, school board president, said. 'The law only allows us to spend those funds within parameters.'

Linn County voters approved a 10-year school infrastructure local-option tax on Feb. 13, 2007, but legislation approved in May 2008 replaced the original term by providing SILO funding to all Iowa public schools through December, 2029. The extension will result in an additional estimated $204 million SILO dollars for the Cedar Rapids district, funding the new administrative and support center, and other school improvement projects, including those promised to voters in the original campaign.

'SILO dollars are not property tax dollars,' Benson said. 'The SILO was already in place and already appropriately purposed to handle this project.'

When finished, the new facility will house all district support and administrative staff. An estimated 200 employees, not including bus drivers, will work at the Educational Leadership and Support Center. All district offices will be in one place, cutting travel time for staff and giving district patrons a one-stop shop for all district business.

'Time is money, no doubt, and we can certainly say we're saving money by having everyone under one building, but I have no idea how we could quantify that,' said Steve Graham, the district's executive director of business services.