Special election on West Marshall PPEL renewal set for next Tuesday
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STATE CENTER -- One day after they celebrate the Labor Day holiday, voters in the West Marshall Community School District will be asked to make an important decision next Tuesday as they will go to the polls to either approve or deny the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL).
On top of the board-approved levy rate of $0.33 per $1,000 of valuation, the voter approved levy rate has been set at $1 per $1,000 of valuation since 2017, so the renewal would not constitute a tax increase for district residents. By Iowa law, the maximum amount of allowed voter-approved PPEL, which is used to pay for infrastructure, equipment and long-term facility improvements, is $1.34 per $1,000.
The vote also comes on the heels of a successful $14 million bond vote last November that, when paired with $7 million in Securing an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) bonds, will finance a new K-5 elementary building, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) wing connecting the middle and high schools and a new drop off and parking area at the elementary school. Unlike the 60 percent supermajority needed to pass a bond referendum, PPEL renewal only requires a simple majority, and Superintendent Jacy Large said it received 73 percent support a decade ago the last time it was on the ballot.
"It's just being able to have patrons get out and vote. We need our parents who are busy working, and we know it'll be tough because it's right after Labor Day," he said. "We'll push out some notifications to Facebook, media and let people know. We'd like to hear from you one way or the other."
Because of the rising costs of almost everything these days, Large noted that if the renewal doesn't pass, they won't even have enough money to buy a new school bus.
"Back in the day, that was the saving grace, if you will, for school districts where they had $0.33 that no matter what, you could fix a sidewalk, patch a hole in your asphalt concrete (or) buy a bus," he said. "Buses, when I first came in 2016, we bought our newest one at $81,000. We just bought one last year for $140,000."
On the bond front, bid plans are set to be released in January, and bids themselves will be due back in February. From there, the school board will assess whether to continue with the current construction manager or move in a different direction.
If bids come in favorably, Large hopes work will begin very quickly, and Large also noted that brick from the old elementary school could potentially be repurposed in other historical buildings across the state.
Early voting for the West Marshall PPEL is currently underway at the Marshall County Election Center, located at 107 S. 1st Ave. in Marshalltown, during regular office hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The hours will be extended until 5 p.m. on Friday, and the Election Center will be closed on Monday for Labor Day.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day at the following locations.
Melbourne Recreation Center
613 Main St, Melbourne- Voters within Eden/Logan/Washington Precincts
Orphan Grain Train (Clemons)
302 Bevins St, Clemons- Voters within Bangor/Liscomb/Taylor & Liberty/Marietta/Minerva Precincts
State Center City Hall
118 E Main St, State Center- Voters within State Center Township Precinct
Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.