Johnston School Board Focuses on Bond Issue for New High School

Are you willing to vote for a $53 million bond referendum in September?

The Johnston school board still needs to consult with a lawyer and collect signatures for a petition before the referendum would go to a public vote in September for a and .

At a work session Wednesday, the board heard recommendations from district staff, as well as building architects from Perkins & Will, who were hired to create plans for the 325,000-square-foot building.

According to the Des Moines Register, board members agreed unanimously to ask district voters to approve a $53 million bond for the $122.3 million project.

Additional money will be raised through sales tax and PPEL funds.

The agreed upon bond amount would keep the tax increase to residents under a dollar, according to the Register.

The project includes the new high school, renovating the current high school for use a middle school for eighth- and ninth-grade classes, renovating the current middle school to house students from Wallace Elementary and remodeling Wallace for other district uses.

The proposed high school has been in the works for months, with teachers, students and community stakeholders having participated in several meetings including one to discuss the layout of the proposed high school.

The proposed plan would have collaborative space for teachers, as well as 21st century learning space.

The board is expected to continue discussion at Monday's regular board meeting.