Middle School Referendum Should be Decided by October

The Ankeny school board will decide in the coming weeks whether it wants to pursue a $15.6 million referendum in February 2012 to complete construction of Southview Middle School.

Ankeny Superintendent Matthew Wendt briefly discussed with the board Monday night the possibility of the referendum, as well as the timeline needed to complete phase two of the school’s construction by August 2013.

“We normally wouldn’t present this to a new board so early, but we don’t have the luxury of waiting,” Wendt said.

The board is expected to decide whether it will pursue the referendum at its Oct. 3 meeting. Any adjustments to the referendum will be made at the meeting, and the board also will decide how the question will appear on the ballot.

The completion of Southview is the only project contained in the current language of the possible referendum, Wendt said. It also is included in the district’s tax rate projections through 2016.

If the board decides it wants to pursue the referendum, it must receive a petition signed by the equivalent to 25 percent of the total number of votes cast in the Sept. 13 election.

Almost 7,000 people voted in last week’s election. Jarrett Peterson, district communications director, said officials hope to get at least 2,000 signatures, which will exceed the 25 percent requirement of 1,750.

Petitions should be circulated between Oct. 6 and Nov. 18.

Board member Mike Rooney asked Wendt how these plans and discussions would be communicated to district residents given the short timeline. Wendt said limited information can be found on the district’s website until the board makes a decision whether or not it will pursue the February referendum.

“If that is what the board wants to do, we should begin communication,” Wendt said. “If (the board) decides not to, then we have to figure out where it will be tweaked — we have that option ahead of us.”