Waterloo community to vote on high school merger plan after petition gathers enough support

Waterloo residents will decide the fate of a $165 million high school merger plan during the election this November.

Voters will be asked to either approve or reject the sale of revenue bonds to fund the plan that was approved by the Waterloo Schools Board of Education on July 29. It originally didn’t require voter approval since the plan does not raise taxes because it is not funded through a bond referendum. Rather, the project is being funded through SAVE bonds, formerly known as school infrastructure sales, services and use tax revenue bonds — an existing 1% statewide sales tax.

However, voters had the option to gather over 2,000 signatures to petition the school board to put the bond issue on the November ballot. A petition effort was led by community member and opponent of the plan, Shelly Smith, who has no relation to the superintendent. She started a Facebook group for the petition, and it was verified on Aug. 15.

What is the high school merger plan?

The plan would have all Waterloo 10 ^th -12 ^th graders, including alternative high schoolers, attend class in one building — currently Central Middle School. The building would be renovated and expanded. Students in 8 ^th and 9 ^th grade would be split between the West and East high buildings, and the alternative high school building would be closed. If at least 50% of voters approve the plan, the new high school should be ready to open by fall of 2028.

Waterloo Community School District Superintendent Jared Smith said the plan is necessary to address aging buildings. East High School is over 100 years old, and West High School is nearly 80 years old.

Smith said Central Middle School, which is on the western side of town, was picked to be the new high school because of the land availability and because it's already the location of the Waterloo Career Center.

The career center opened in 2018 and offers classes for juniors and seniors in different trades and career fields. Smith said graduation and attendance rates are higher for students who take at least one class at the career center. He said putting 10 ^th -12 ^th graders on the same campus as the career center would eliminate two barriers for students to access it: interest and transportation.

Smith said currently about half of juniors and seniors take a class at the center.

"We’ve heard the concern about transportation,” he said. "But understand that hundreds of our students are driving more each day, simply to access the career center.”

As far as student interest, Smith said students might be hesitant right now to enroll in a career center class because they don’t want to leave their home high school with their peers.

Another goal of the plan is to close the achievement gaps between students of color and white students, Smith told IPR.

"We are a minority-majority district. So, we got 60 plus percent of our students who are of color. And we do feel like this high school project would meet the needs of all students and we would see academic success in closing that achievement gap with all of our students,” he said.

According to the Iowa Department of Education, the graduation rate for Waterloo Community Schools students for the class of 2023 was 71.7%. All graduation rates for students of color were at least 10% less than their white peers, which was 77%. The graduation rate for Asian students was nearly 85%.

At the last public hearing on July 29 — the same meeting in which board members approved the plan — Waterloo community members brought up concerns about transportation, the cost of the project and whether the merger would help graduation and attendance rates.

Smith said the district does not plan to fund the project through a bond referendum, and plans to stick to using only SAVE funds, totaling around $14 million a year. He said the physical plant and equipment levy will continue funding building maintenance repairs.

Voicing concerns about culture

Two school board members voted against the plan, Jonathan Cox and Astor Williams. At a July 8 meeting where the board approved a public hearing date for the plan, each board member had a chance to share any final thoughts on the merger.

Williams said he isn’t opposed to the one high school system, but said there were too many unanswered questions to vote ‘yes’ and that the district rushed the plans. One concern he brought up was the culture of bringing two sides of town together into one high school.

"I don’t know if there has been a lot of effort that has taken place to make sure the two entities can come together. I am not saying they can’t,” Williams said. "I don’t know if I can vote as I have in the past — on a hope — if I haven’t seen those things transpire up until this point.”

Williams said the north and northeast areas of Waterloo are usually "the last to be considered, when we are making decisions like this.” Another concern he mentioned was transportation.

At the end of his time to share, Williams left each member with this: “If we are going to this one school model [...] look beyond yourself and go into the depths of people who may not look like you, who may not have your same opportunities that you see, or say you are providing opportunities for. And work to make this a better place — and if it’s one Waterloo, then it needs to be one Waterloo.”

Smith considered the concerns about culture having more to do with adults than the students.

"Our students are pretty well-mixed as is,” he said, referring to the athletics department and students socializing with peers from other high schools.

Smith agreed there needs to be work done to prepare the community for the merger and acknowledged there is a difference in culture between West and East high schools.

He said the leadership of the new building would "make or break” the transition. Smith added that it’s disappointing the plan is going to a vote, but overall, it’s a positive thing because if it passes, then the district can say "we gave everyone a voice.”

Williams agreed to an interview with IPR News, but wasn’t available for before publication.