Cedar Rapids School District and city come together

The Cedar Rapids City Council and the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board did something we called for and hope would bear fruit. They met jointly to discuss the school district’s facility plans, which could have a large effect on the city’s development objectives `in core neighborhoods.

It’s a first step in what should be an ongoing cadence in cooperation.

It’s likely difficult to make everyone happy with a plan like this, but vetting it and bringing it in front of other public bodies — which have a mutual interest in the health of neighborhoods — is important to building confidence the plan is the best it can be. It also gives a way that board members and district officials can explain logic and find answers to questions ahead of a public vote, though time isn't on their side this time.

City officials voiced concerns about their plan amid city concerns. Roosevelt Middle School would be a sixth-grade academy and Taft would be replaced by a 1,200-studen middle school.

“You’re basically closing all the middle schools on the west side,” Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said. She contends the city has been “incredibly focused” on westside neighborhoods.

City leaders are worried about a plan that closes middle schools on the city’s west side, and how those closure will affect efforts to revitalize those neighborhoods in the city’s core. The meeting led district officials to do mote “fact finding” and “go back to the drawing board.

The district remains intent on seeking passage from district voters for a $220 million bond issue this November and a $225 million dollar issuance in 2029.

The joint meeting between the city and school district is a long overdue development. We commend both bodies for taking the time to do it, in the spirit in which they shared ideas and concerns. We hope that it will be the first of many and commend Cedar Rapids Superintendent Dr. Tawana Grover for making it happen within her first month as full-time Cedar Rapids Schools chief.

The district faces an especially tight deadline to put finishing touches on a big bond ask that will go in front of voters in November. District leaders hope to approve the bond language during an Aug. 7 meeting, which would then allow for the collection of thousands of signatures needed to put the issue on the November ballot.

The change of district leadership and changes to state election laws put the school board in a tough spot. The timeline to seek a vote sped up considerably. Having not sought a bond vote in more than 20 years, the list of needs is long.

Explaining this complex plan — on a very tight time frame — is going to be difficult. Despite how long these conversations have been going on, there are not a lot of people who have been tuned in and can speak in great detail. The school district faces a tall task addressing city concerns and educating voters.

It’s a complex issue, but dialogue between the city and school districts has yielded results. We hope this becomes the model for local decision making.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com