Cedar Rapids, IA – The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) is committed to listening to the voices of our community. As promised, we collaborated with a community-led task force to develop a new bond plan—one shaped by community input to keep Cedar Rapids schools strong for generations. Your feedback remains essential as we work together to build a sustainable future for our students and families.

Optimizing Resources for a Sustainable Future

CRCSD must optimize the resources our community provides. Like many school districts nationwide, we have seen shifts in enrollment. Though our student population has shifted, our unwavering commitment remains: ensuring safe, modern, and high-quality learning environments. We currently operate 19 elementary schools, six middle schools, and five high schools, with an average building age of 62.5 years. Four of the district’s school buildings are over 100 years old. Many of our buildings require significant upgrades, and we have more facilities than necessary to serve our current student population. To better align our buildings and operations with current needs while managing financial resources efficiently, the new bond plan includes a strategic combination of renovation, new construction, and historic preservation. 

Community-Led Task Force and Survey Results

After the last bond vote failed in 2023, the community encouraged us to go back to the drawing board and come back with a revised plan. We listened to the community and in 2024, CRCSD formed a Bond Task Force to give community representatives an extensive role in shaping a new proposal. The task force, which includes parents, educators, elected officials, business leaders, and community members, carefully reviewed the district’s facility needs and worked to prioritize projects that enhance student learning while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

“Thank you to our task force members and the entire Cedar Rapids community for their incredible engagement—your feedback guided the process and was vital in the development of this new bond plan,” said Dr. Tawana Grover, CRCSD Superintendent. “We have taken to heart their input and have prioritized projects to focus on the essentials while honoring our historically significant buildings.”

Key Projects Identified

Based on the task force’s work, the district has identified four key projects:

  • Renovate Wilson Middle School into an elementary school to serve students currently attending Grant and Cedar River Academy (CRA). Wilson students will transition to Roosevelt Middle School.
  • Renovate and expand McKinley Middle School to serve students from both McKinley and Franklin middle schools. The Franklin building would then be repurposed for Metro High School students and additional district programming.
  • Construct a new middle school on the northeast side of Cedar Rapids to replace Harding Middle School, which would be removed from the district’s inventory and converted into green space.
  • Expand Kennedy High School to include a dedicated space for freshman students, similar to programming at Washington and Jefferson high schools, and expand Kennedy’s cafeteria.

Impact and Financial Considerations

 “The bond proposal consists of four projects. However, with this plan, we can positively impact over 5,000 students in nine buildings across the district, addressing needs in all quadrants of the city and at all three levels of education,” said Chad Schumacher, CRCSD Director of Operations. “This includes upgrades to Roosevelt Middle School to accommodate the additional students from Wilson Middle School. Those upgrades are part of the district’s larger facilities master plan and will be paid for with PPEL and SAVE funds. Starting with the opening of West Willow through the completion of the bond projects, the district will address facility needs at 18 buildings, impacting over 10,000 students—69% of our total student population.”

The cost of the proposed bond plan is $210.6 million. CRCSD currently has the lowest school tax rate in Linn County. If approved, the Cedar Rapids tax rate would still be less than the tax rates of Marion, Linn-Mar, College Community, Mt. Vernon, Lisbon, and Center Point Urbana. For the owner of a home with an assessed value of  $200,000, the bond will result in an estimated monthly tax increase of $15.45.

Next Steps and Community Participation

Community participation is essential in shaping the future of CRCSD schools. Residents are encouraged to complete the mailed survey and provide feedback on the proposed projects by March 5th.

Following the survey feedback window, the district aims to finalize the bond language at the April school board meeting, with plans to bring the measure to voters in November.

“For Cedar Rapids to thrive, we need strong schools that provide high-quality learning environments for all students,” said Dr. Grover. “ This proposed bond is vital to the prosperity of our community—strong schools make a strong community.”

For more information on the bond initiative, visit build.crschools.us.