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Residents can expect construction to be a regular reality when it comes to the Marshalltown Community School District. Three large construction projects are underway or being actively planned for.
As the construction of the new athletic complex continues, a July 10 public hearing for a $10 million School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bond, has been scheduled. It will give the district the ability to use Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) revenue bonds for upcoming improvements and expansions of the Career and Tech Education (CTE) wing of Marshalltown High School, and to complete the rest of the HVAC project.
Director of Business Operations Randy Denham said combining the two projects, it will cost roughly $9.5 million.
The project was presented during the May 16 Marshalltown Community School Board meeting by Superintendent Theron Schutte. Some of the aspects of the project include renovations for:
• Wood shop;
• Welding shop;
• Small engines and auto mechanics and;
• Science lab.
Also included in the project is construction of a new greenhouse space for agriculture classes, installation of commercial kitchen equipment for culinary arts and a remodeling of the residential kitchen lab.
"The CTE wing hasn't been updated in several years," Denham said. "We're in the early phases of design."
The aspects of the HVAC project which have not been completed include rooftop units for the art room and the media center, and the air conditioning system for the kitchen.
Construction is not slated to begin until May 2024 with bids opening at the end of this year. A design of the project is scheduled to be available Sept. 18.
Zero tax impact
Denham said the Marshalltown Community School District Board set the public hearing at the June 19 meeting because of recent changes to House File 718. The changes force school districts to only place bond measures on general elections -- provided a vote is required.
"When districts are looking to issue revenue bonds for a project, they have to hold a public hearing to allow an opportunity to speak," he said. "After the hearing, the community has 14 days to submit a petition. If the district receives the petition, then it can go to the public for a vote. We had to do this now in the event there is a petition, we would have to do the election this November."
If someone wanted to bring it to a vote, Denham said the petition would require 30 percent, or 744, of registered voter signatures. However, Denham said the $10 million bond will have zero impact on taxes of property owners within the district. Because there will be no impact, Denham said the CTE project was chosen to move forward.
"It's going to cost less and it's a revenue bond, so there is no impact on the tax rate," he said.
Another project which Marshalltown residents are eager to see started is improvements to Miller Middle School. Denham said the scope of the Miller project is why the board decided to move forward with CTE first.
"Since this is a small enough project, the SAVE bond will be used for CTE," he said. "The finance committee and the facility committee are continually meeting and having discussions about Miller. It's a big, big project, but we're still in the very early phases of that in determining how we want to move forward with that."
Denham said the Miller project is large enough it will potentially require a bond vote.
"Until we have fully identified the needs, the best way to go about meeting those needs and coordinating that is why it has not been brought to the forefront," he said. "But it is one of the top priorities."
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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.