WHEATLAND, Iowa — A new football field, renovated classrooms and a brand new weight room; these are just a few of the projects the Calamus-Wheatland Community School District wants to tackle over the next few years. To do it, they need the public's help.
On March 7, the school will present a special election question to in-district voters: should a general obligation bond of up to $7.88 million be passed? If voters say "yes," it will increase local property taxes to help renovate and add on to the district's buildings. It would also be the first general bond obligation enacted in the district in nearly 30 years.
You can read the ballot question, in full, here.
If passed, the bond would increase residential, commercial and agricultural property taxes by a maximum of $2.70 per $1,000 of taxable value. For a Wheatland home with a taxable value of $55,000, property owners would pay up to $148.50 more each year. A home valued at $102,500 would see an increase of up to $276.75 per year.
To find out how this would impact your property, you can check out the district's tax increase calculator, here.
So what would all that money go toward?
A new addition would be built to connect the high school to the industrial tech and agriculture building as well as the district's activity center and gym. It would eliminate the need for students and staff to walk outside between each space as well as provide room for additional classrooms and a weight room.
The district also wants to remodel high school classrooms, including new windows, doors, storage and furniture. There would also be new heating and cooling systems, which administration officials say will be more efficient, thus saving money in the long run. Plus, security renovations at the high school would provide a "secure entry vestibule space."
Over at the elementary school, renovations to the cafeteria would bring in new flooring and finishes, updated equipment and a new servicing line.
And officials also want to spend $2.4 million - over a third of the money - on building a new track and football complex. The money would buy the land, construct a synthetic turf and 8-lane track, build bleacher seating for 800 people and create bathrooms, concession stands, parking and equipment storage.
It would be the first time ever that the district would have its own football field. For years, Calamus-Wheatland athletes played at DeWitt. But now, the school has its own 8-man team without a place to practice.
"March 7 will be here before we know it," said Lonnie Luepker, district superintendent. "We've been working on this for quite a while so just to see it get to a vote is important. Then we'll let the voters decide and we'll work on things from there."
According to the district, there are just under 1,200 households in the district. Of those, roughly 85 are in Scott County, with the rest residing in Clinton County.
District residents in Scott County may vote at the New Liberty Fire Station at 765 Pike St., New Liberty. In Clinton County, residents may vote at the Cal-Wheat Activity Center at 110 E. Park Rd., Wheatland.
The last time Calamus-Wheatland passed a general obligation bond was back in September 1995. That project helped update both district buildings, construct larger classrooms and make the district ADA-compliant.
Today, Luepker says a similar renovation can't be accomplished any other way.
"We've saved enough to make sure we can purchase buses and computers and other technological needs. But in order to get a project of this magnitude, we need to go bond vote."
He says the upgrades will improve the district's security and efficiency, saving money down the road. Luepker also noted that change is normal for school districts, and he hopes to keep pace with neighboring towns.
"The school's a big part of our communities. And in order to keep our communities vibrant and attracting people into it, we gotta show that we're growing," Luepker said. "We're trying to keep up with our neighbors and make sure we're doing what's best for our students."
If the bond is passed, the district wants to begin gathering bids by spring 2023, with hopes of starting construction by that summer.
"A lot of people say you're getting the cart before the horse - we need housing to bring people into our community before we can look at building and increasing our enrollment that way," Luepker said. "But I guess you can look at it the other way too and say we need to be making improvements to show people who wanna move to our town that our school is looking to improve and grow."
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