The Marshalltown Community School District School Board has approved a $57 million bond referendum that will appear on the ballot Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
Petitions asking the board to place the bond question on the ballot circulated in the community over the past several weeks. After it received the required number of signatures from eligible voters, the petition was verified by MCSD staff and formally filed with the School Board for its consideration.
Bond referendums require at least 60% approval from voters to pass. Funds provided by a successful referendum in November would be used in conjunction with revenue that MCSD receives from the statewide one-cent sales tax fund known as Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) to finance the project.
“We want to thank our community members for their effort with the petition,” said Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte. “The board’s decision now means our residents will have the opportunity to consider a bond referendum that, if approved this November, would reimagine Miller Middle School for future generations of students.”
B.R. Miller Middle School will celebrate its centennial in 2025. The school originally opened as Marshalltown High School and has been a source of pride and historic significance in the community in the nearly 100 years since.
However, the school’s age and infrastructure prevent it from providing students and staff with a learning environment conducive to 21st century education. These challenges include outdated mechanical systems, classrooms 20% smaller than current academic standards, and outdated classroom fixtures, furniture and finishes. There are also narrow entryways, corridors and stairwells that do not meet current safety and security measures, student support spaces that are undersized for the current population, and moisture and water issues.
The proposed renewal of Miller Middle Schools calls for construction of an education wing, kitchen, commons, and main entrance. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems throughout the facility would be improved and classrooms would be expanded, among other improvements.
MCSD’s overall tax levy rate has declined by 12.8% since 2021. An approved bond referendum on November 5 would have an estimated tax impact of $1.28 per $1,000 of taxable property value. For a home with a value of $200,000, this would amount to $9.37 per month (or $112.43 per year).
For more information, please visit https://www.marshalltowncsdfuture.com.