Bond for Ankeny’s 10th Elementary School Won’t Top $17 Million

While exact details about a possible bond referendum to construct a tenth elementary school in the still aren’t set in stone, there are a couple things school board members know.

First, the bond that could go before voters in September won’t top $17 million. Also, some Ankeny school board members believe district voters need to be educated about their options and it needs to be done quickly.

“I don’t care how you slice and dice it,” said board member Todd Shafer, “we need to be very quickly telling the public what we have going – what it will cost, what their options will be. We need to get this going.”

Talks about the future of Ankeny’s tenth elementary school and a possible September bond referendum continued at the Ankeny school board’s meeting Monday night.

Discussion originally started at the board’s March 26 meeting at which board members were introduced to the idea of Elementary 10 as well as when a bond referendum to finance construction of the school could go before voters.

At last week’s meeting, Superintendent Matthew Wendt told board members he hopes to put a referendum before voters on Sept. 11.

What The New Elementary School Could Cost the District

As talk began at last night’s meeting, Board President George Tracy said the possible referendum will not exceed $17 million.

This amount is already figured into the district’s tax rate forecast and will not affect .

“Whether this passes or not, that rate is set in stone,” said board member Pat Cahill

There are several factors that could still affect the project’s final price tag, Wendt told board members.

Perhaps one of the largest is the new school’s design. Should board members opt to go with a design identical to Prairie Trail Elementary – a practice utilized in some of the district’s newer elementary schools – it would save the district money in architectural and engineering fees.

Another factor that could affect the final number is whether the district chooses to use a construction management firm.

Let’s Make Sure the Community Has Options, Board Members Say

Board member Brad Huss said he believes the community wants to see other options besides a possible referendum for a tenth elementary school.

“I think it would be useful for the community to see what the numbers would look like going into the future without this school,” Huss said. “We know in our hearts we need this, but I think it’s useful to show both sides so they can make the choice.”

Wendt said if a referendum is not supported or fails, there are several directions the district could go in response. One option, Wendt said, is changing north and south feeder system boundary lines, which would reallocate children in more crowded schools to those with more room.

Another would be to increase elementary class size.

“We would have the option to move class size past 30 students to get more kids in each school,” Wendt said.

Other options included:

• Keeping existing boundary lines and transporting students to schools outside their feeder system, which would cost the district more in transportation costs, Wendt said.
• Moving fifth graders to a new space – possibly in secondary classrooms – to make more room at the elementary level.
• Utilizing modular classrooms once Ankeny Centennial High School opens and secondary students no longer require them.
• Finally, board members could implement a combination of all these practices, Wendt said.

As talks continue, Shafer said the board should clearly communicate its plans with the public.

“What I like about this is the town is going to decide,” he said, “but we have to clearly put this out there.”

The board will meet again at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 16.

Did you enjoy this story? If so, here are some others you might like: