ICCSD Revenue Purpose Statement vote in the news

Today's Press-Citizen includes coverage of the first Revenue Purpose Statement information session at an elementary school.

One article notes that parents at last night's meeting at Shimek Elementary voiced concerns over scheduling the vote before a comprehensive facilities plan is completed and shared with the public and before a demographer completes a projection of enrollment growth.

Regarding growth, a second article notes that the Iowa City Community School District has added more than 1,000 students in the last five years. By comparison, more than 2/3 of all school districts in Iowa have 1,000 or fewer students, which leads Superintendent Steve Murley to comment: “You can almost think of it as we’re adding entire school districts.”

At a meeting on this topic earlier this month at City High, Murley indicated that because the district needs to ensure enough seats for all students, it would have to focus on new buildings over all other priorities, including renovations to older buildings like Lucas, unless the new Revenue Purpose Statement is adopted by voters on Feb. 5.

The vote will determine whether the district may continue to use the 1% local option sales tax revenue for infrastructure improvements after 2017. The tax is set to remain through at least 2029, but, without a new Revenue Purpose Statement, after 2017 the district will be required to follow state guidelines for spending that money, starting with reducing debt levies and reducing physical plant and equipment levies. If the Revenue Purpose Statement is adopted, the district retains control of how the tax revenue is spent through 2029, and thus will be able to borrow money against those future revenues to fund both construction and renovation in the near term.

The district is holding a series of information sessions about this vote including one at Lucas on Wednesday, Dec. 12, from 7-7:30 p.m. 

If you are not a Press-Citizen subscriber, you may still read the above articles as part of the 10 articles per month online the paper offers non-subscribers. The Gazette's coverage is less extensive, but online access is free. The ICCSD has also provided information about the Revenue Purpose Statement and the vote on its website.