Several of the bond issues on Iowa ballots this November came close but didn’t quite reach the 60 percent threshold for approval — while the largest school bond issue in state history easily passed. Matt Smith is interim superintendent of Des Moines Independent Community School District, where a $265 million bonding plan passed with 74% support.
The money will finance construction and renovation of school buildings and allow the Des Moines district to expand preschool as well as career-oriented programs.
The vote came just weeks after former Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts was arrested by immigration agents. Voters in the Cedar Rapids school district narrowly rejected a $117-million bond that would have supported upgrades to four schools. The plan fell less than a percentage point short of 60%. Ron Corbett is with Believe in CR Schools campaign.
Voters also rejected a far larger proposal in 2023 and district officials had scaled back updates to the four schools. Tawana Grover is the superintendent of the Cedar Rapids School District.
There were 56 bond issues on this November’s ballots, most of them for school projects. For the second time, voters in the Dubuque Community School District rejected a plan to build a new middle school. A $37 million bond issue for a new primary school building in the Sergeant Bluff-Luton School District narrowly failed — with 59.6% support — just short of the 60 percent threshold required for passage. For the second time in two years, a bonding plan for a new Sac County Jail has failed. It fell a little less than three percent short of that 60% necessary for passage.
