by Mary Loden
Clear Lake District School Superintendent Doug Gee posed the question of calling for a Special School Election for the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL), at the Aug. 8 School Board meeting. The PPEL will expire in FY 2026. He presented different options to the Board of Education members and a discussion of the matter ensued.
PPEL is one of the most important sources of revenue for public school systems. For Clear Lake it is a voter-approved tax of $0.67 per /$1000 on property valuation of home and commercial property. When combined with the School Board approved option of $0.33/$1,000 it creates about $1 million annually. Gee would like to see that PPEL levy increased to $1.34/$1,000.
Without PPEL funds many things that keep the District running would need to be paid for out of the District’s general fund, which covers education essentials such as teacher salaries and programs for kids.
Gee reminded the Board that PPEL funds are used to purchase buses, vans, and vehicles; bus repairs; technology such as security cameras, safety equipment and equipment over $500. It can also be used for construction or repairs; any kind of lease payments; or to purchase non- instructional software, such as the accounting software they use.
He said the reason he would like the school district to look at the increase in PPEL is due to the new Iowa state legislation. “With the new legislation there's only one time a year that you can do a bond referendum, and that's at the regular November general election,” Gee said. “Also remember, the one thing that legislators tried to get passed [last year] is that you had to have 10% aside or 10% down before you could even ask the voters to vote for a general obligation bond. I think they're going to come back to that or something even more, because they are really adamant about getting that passed. So by making our PPEL up to $1.34 that gives us more options to be able to bond. You do not have to have any kind of vote to use PPEL funds to bond.”
He hastened to say that there was no reason to bond for anything. “This just gives us some flexibility, and I'm looking in the future here as we go. And as the school district continues to grow, obviously this isn't going to build some new school. But it is going to do any kind of expansion or any kind of addition. We would be able to do that,” Gee said..
After much discussion the Board agreed and chose an option where they would have voters vote to increase the $0.67 to $1.34 per $1,000 of valuation for the remainder of the two years left on the current levy and then in a separate vote, extend it for 10 years.
The vote may be on the ballot as soon as November 2023. Gee said he would like to have some public meetings for the people in the district to come in, ask questions, and for him to show them the numbers discussed at the Board meeting.
The majority of the agenda for July and August focused on school policies set down by the state legislature. These policies need to be reviewed every five years and if changes have been made they need to be re-approved by the Clear Lake School Board.
In July, the Board heard the first reading of 17 policies where language was changed. The second reading of these same policies was heard in August and unanimously approved. Some of the new changes to these policies focused on the use of social media by Board members; and fiscal management and fiscal metrics.
Board members were presented with 27 more policies to review during the August 8 meeting. Gee warned the Board members that they didn’t have clear guidance on some of the policies since they are still being worked through by IASB and attorneys. Also, changes made to the student handbooks by the High School, Middle School and Elementary principals may need to be added to or changed after they receive guidance from the Department of Education.
Due to the timing of the start of the school year, School Board members voted to waive the first reading of the policies and approved the second reading. New policy changes included required professional development for employees; student disclosure of identity and the reporting of that disclosure; the request to prohibit a student from accessing specific instructional and library materials; and parental authorization and release form for the administration of a voluntary school supply of stock medication for Life Threatening incidents.
