Vote yes

Voters in the Cedar Rapids Community School District will decide the fate of a $220 million bond issue aimed at reducing the number of middle schools, renovating two existing facilities and building a new middle school, along with improvements at the district’s high schools.

The property tax increase needed to pay back the bonded debt is sizable. It would raise the district’s property tax rate from the current $14.67 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value to $17.37.

It’s been 23 years since the last time voters were presented with a bond issue, which raised $46 million to construct Viola Gibson Elementary. Even with the use of sales tax dollars for infrastructure projects, the district’s list of facilities needs has outpaced available funding.

We believe these needs warrant a yes vote.

Although the process has been hurried because of changes to state law, we believe that waiting will mean the needed improvements will cost more and cause the district and community to lose more ground. Passing a bond measure on a 2024 presidential ballot would be extremely challenging.

Among the most compelling reasons to support the ballot measure is the district’s plans to expand facilities and access for students pursuing career and technical education. Right now, those programs are largely limited to seniors, providing too little, too late for students wanting to find their career passions and hone their skills.

Current CTE classroom space limitations limit class size to around 16 to 20 students per class period.

Expanding these programs will mean more students will leave high school with college credits or industry certification in a trade. Such programs prepare students for the workforce, often steer them to fill local jobs and curtail high education costs for families.

Franklin Middle School would be renovated to become a seventh- and eighth-grade center, with McKinley transformed into a school for six-graders. A new middle school for 1,200 students would be built on 40 acres of land, likely on the north side of the district. School officials have yet to reveal the exact location of the new school.

The goal of these moves is to create a stronger feeder system to district high schools that allows classmates to stay together as they rise through the ranks. It’s a laudable objective.

Although we support the bond issue, we know it will be an uphill climb to gain the 60 percent threshold needed for the measure to pass. Win or lose, the district has some work to do repairing public trust that has been damaged during the process.

Although the bond issue does not directly affect the school board’s decision to demolish Harrison Elementary, the saga spawned mistrust among district residents who want to see the school saved. It's a distraction from the crucial work.

The board appointed a public subcommittee to study options for Harrison. After a consultant told the group that it’s feasible to renovate the historic school, the subcommittee voted in favor of that option. But the school board cast that decision aside and voted to tear down the school.

Declining to say where a new, larger Middle school will be located has forced voter to take a leap of faith. The site should be disclosed before Election Day.

But one of the most disappointing aspects of this process has been the lack of solution-finding dialogue between public bodies, particularly Cedar Rapids. The city’s development plans, and the school board’s facilities plans, should fit together, rather than cause conflict. Standing by apathetically or heckling from the sidelines fails to meet the needs of neighborhoods, taxpayers and students.

Regardless of what happens on Nov. 7, the district and its cities must make a genuine effort to cooperate on collaboration and planning, not just after a plan has been adopted.

We urge the school board to host at least twice annual joint conversations with representatives from all of the cities within the district's boundaries. Issues like population shifts, housing and road projects and reuse of former school sites are all items of mutual interest. Convening these conversations is crucial to helping the public understand who is and isn't working to find collaborations and compromise.

We also encourage the district convene a committee that looks at the future uses of some of the former schools so that creative solutions can be found for some of the former buildings.

When the dust settles, we hope the city and district work together. We hope the school board takes public input more seriously, especially when it appoints a committee to study an issue and make a recommendation. We hope historic preservation plays a larger role in future decisions.

We hope the bond issue passes to the benefit of students and hardworking educators. But that’s just the beginning of the work that needs to be done.

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