The Aplington-Parkersburg School Board is preparing for a special election on Tuesday, November 4th, when voters will decide on a $16.3 million dollar bond proposal.
Last November, voters in the district rejected a similar measure that would have issued up to $16.5 million dollars in general obligation bonds for building renovations and upgrades. That proposal failed with just over forty-four percent approval.
Superintendent Travis Fleshner tells RadioOnTheGo news the district spent the past year gathering input from the community.
“We really went back and surveyed the community and really listened to the community as far as things that they liked in the last referendum, some things maybe they didn’t like in the last referendum. Had a 13-person community group meet several several hours on several different nights to kind of put it together.”
Fleshner says the updated plan focuses on security improvements and building system upgrades.
“We got a plan set in place for basically HVAC, electrical upgrades, secure entrances at Parkersburg Elementary. Very similar in Aplington, secured entry, heating, cooling upgrades. The difference there is we need to do a little bit more roof work in Aplington than we do at Parkersburg Elementary.”
Fleshner encourages residents to learn about the proposal before heading to the polls.
“What I really encourage people to do is, if you’ve got questions, check the website out. Give me a call, shoot me an email, love to visit with you about it, because we want people to go to the ballot box informed. Whether you support it or you don’t support it, I’d ask you just to be informed about it. Understand what you’re voting for, maybe voting against, before you go in.”
The district will host two community open houses — the first on Thursday, October 16th at the Parkersburg Elementary Library, and the second on Tuesday, October 21st at the Aplington Elementary/Middle School Library. Both events run from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
