Every ten years, Iowa school districts with a voter approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and Instructional Support Levy (ISL) are required to renew those levies (with either a new five year levy approved by the School Board, or a new ten year levy approved by the voters). Here in Eagle Grove, it is time to renew those levies.
ISL
Most school districts in Iowa – in fact all but four, including Eagle Grove – have routinely maxed out their ISL levies at 10% (the most which is allowed). Here in Eagle Grove, the current (expiring) ISL levy is at 7%.
In fiscal year 2024, 321 out of 325 districts have their ISL maxed out at 10%, while one (Cherokee) has an 8% ISL levy, two (Eagle Grove and Oelwein) have a 7% levy, and only one has no ISL levy at all (Allamakee).
However, the time has come for Eagle Grove to increase these levies on par with the vast majority of other schools in order to remain competitive, said Eagle Grove Superintendent of Schools Jess Toliver. "In an increasingly competitive job market, we can not continue to utilize less resources than our neighboring districts if we want to offer competitive pay and benefits," Toliver told the Eagle. "In the past we have been able to make the 7% work," Tolliver added, "but with inflation and the competitiveness of the job market, we need to be on equal ground."
There is a "new reality" today, Tolliver explained, and "quality employees are in demand, and can leave to another school at any time." Given the difficulty of finding great teachers and staff in a highly competitive field, it is essential to be able to offer competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain quality employees, Tolliver said.
"If we want to be able to hire and maintain employees, we need to be able to have the same resources as the schools around us," Tolliver explained. "Salaries are rising faster than the support that we get from the state," Tolliver added, noting as well that the State doesn't always meet their promised obligations. "This already puts us in a fragile financial situation, so we need to be on a level playing field with other districts," Tolliver concluded.
PPEL
The Eagle Grove district has also kept the PPEL levy low over the past decade, at just 67 cents (per thousand dollars of property value).
"Traditionally, our district has always been student rich and taxable valuation poor," Tolliver explained, "What I mean by this is we have a good number of students coming from a small tax base. The state gives us so much per student to fund general educational expenditures. This helps maintain equitability. When it comes to facilities and the PPEL levy, districts are funded based on taxable valuation."
For instance, the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows (CGD) School District is close to the Eagle Grove Community School District in location, size, and number of kids served, Tolliver explained. But while Eagle Grove's assessed taxable property valuation is just under $450 million, CGD's is just under $600 million. And that means that CGD has about $150 million dollars more in taxable land valuation, and with a 10% PPEL levy, that equates to close to $150,000.00 more budget for CGD's schools.
A few years ago, Tolliver explained, CGD voters approved a PPEL levy of $1.34 per thousand, which is expected to generate just under $800,000 for the CGD district in the 2023-2024 school year. But with Eagle Grove's PPEL levy set at just 67 cents per thousand, Eagle Grove will only generate just under $300,000. Meaning CGD will have about half a million dollars more budget than Eagle Grove. And "this repeats itself each year, year after year," Tolliver said gravely.
And there are a lot of costs coming up in the next three to five years, Tolliver anticipates. Including:
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Two boilers at the middle school will need replacement, at an estimated cost of $250,000-$30,000.
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Replacing 4 – 5 Buses, which cost between $500,000 to $750,000 each.
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Repairing the roof of the Administration building, at an estimated cost of $350,00
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Installing a sprinkler system for the Administration building, at an estimated cost of $50,000.
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Skylights at the Middle School, costing about $25,000.
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Concrete around the High School and loading docks, estimated at $50,000.
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Remaining tuckpointing at the High School, to cost about $150,000.
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Visitor's Bleachers at the football stadium costing about $80,000.
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Concrete in front of the Elementary School estimated at $50,000.
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Securing the entrance at the Middle School office, to cost roughly $100,000.
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Continued Asbestos Abatement at the Middle School, expected to cost about $200,000.
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Baseball Field bleachers and backstop, estimated at $30,000.
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Facility Fencing, to cost about $25,000.
But, "with the cost of goods and services going up due to inflation, meeting the needs of the district becomes more and more difficult each year," Tolliver lamented. Going forward, Tolliver warned, the district "will struggle to maintain our facilities and transportation fleet under the current levy."
Which is why Tolliver hopes voters will approve a PPEL levy matching CGD's, at $1.34 per thousand dollars. For instance, Tolliver said, "it's no secret that we have old buses. Our buses are safe and run well, but if you want new vehicles, you have to have the mechanisms in place to afford the amenities."
The proposed levy increases requested by the school board will go before the voters on November 7th.
