Voters in many areas are deciding bond referendums in this year’s election. Iowa Western Community College president Daniel Kinney says his school is presenting voters with a $55 million dollar plan that does not raise taxes, but maintains a current property tax levy.
The plan would expand Iowa Western’s dual enrollment program, so more students could earn college credits while they’re still in high school. It also would double student slots in key transportation-related programs on the Council Bluffs campus and expand other training options.
“The ability to really look and focus on career and technical education programs such as diesel tech, auto tech, welding, our CDL program, H-VAC,” he says, “all those type of needed skills that every one of our rural communities need.”
Expiring bonds would be replaced with new bonds financed under current tax rates in the community college district. “This would allow us to just basically hold our tax levy rate at the current rate we’re at,” Kinney says.
If the plan’s approved, a Transportation Building on Iowa Western’s Council Bluffs campus would be built to house a new transportation logistics program as well as diesel, automotive and CDL training programs. Industrial training labs also would be created and other facilities in Atlantic, Clarinda and Council Bluffs would be renovated. Kinney says the over-arching goal is to respond to gaps in Iowa’s workforce.
“Somebody to come in and fix your car or fix your tractor and stuff like that,” Kinney says. “…CDL — I mean having the drivers out there to get the products into our communities, but also having our product outside what’s being manufactured in our local communities.”
State election officials do not compile information about bond elections. According to an Iowans for Tax Relief analysis, voters in 59 counties are deciding whether to finance a variety of projects, including a new fire station in Fort Madison and a new county jail in Sac County.
Thirty-one public school districts have bond issues on this year’s General Election ballot.
Sarah Curry, research director for the Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation, said a big school bonding issue is in the Okoboji School District. The district’s $69 million plan would finance construction of a new elementary school and expand Okoboji’s high school building.
“Okoboji’s kind of an interesting district because they have all of those very expensive lake homes, but they don’t necessarily have to educate the kids because it’s a lot of vacation homes,” Curry says. “Their property tax growth has been quite high and they have not had a huge influx of children to add to their district.”
Backers of the bond issue say Okoboji’s existing elementary is 113 years old, has major leaks in ceilings and not enough space outside for parents to drop off and pick up students. District officials say there’s been steady growth in enrollment and Okoboji’s elementary and high school buildings are beyond their maximum capacity.
Voters in the Waterloo School District will decide whether to approve building a new high school and merging Waterloo’s two high schools in the fall of 2028. “The Waterloo situation is actually quite interesting,” Curry said. “It’s quite different from the rest of the bonds.”
That’s because the plan calls for using $165 million in sales tax revenue rather than property taxes to pay off the bonds. The Waterloo School Board voted for the plan this summer, but a group of local residents petitioned for the proposal to be on the ballot in November’s election.
Residents in five counties and nine cities will also decide bonding for local projects today.