With 77.5% of the vote, Clear Creek Amana Community School District voters opted to pass a bond referendum Tuesday that will fund construction of a new elementary school in Coralville.
Turnout was low with just 790 out of a possible 8,905 registered voters choosing to cast their ballot. The referendum required a 60% threshold of “yes” votes to approve the $65 million bond in the special election.
The plan details building a two-story school for approximately 600 students in preschool through grade five with $42.5 million in funds. A new elementary school would sit on a 30-acre lot north of Costco, near the site of future housing developments.
During a Joint Entities meeting last month, the school district’s interim superintendent Joseph Brown emphasized the importance of the vote passing.
“The idea is that this would be built in Coralville because that’s where we’re seeing a lot of the growth of new housing,” said Mr. Brown. “Right now, Clear Creek Amana is observing growth of 150 to 200 additional students every year. The growth is really coming from three towns: Tiffin, North Liberty and Coralville.”
A 10-year projection showed that the school district expects to serve an additional 1,674 students by 2031 and each grade level will have an estimated 300 to 350 students.
It is expected $21.1 million will be spent on creating the vocational center that will expand the fine arts facilities for band and choir. It will also host an expanded woodshop and welding academy.
According to the details of the measure, the funds will also be used to build playground spaces and improve existing playground spaces at the district’s elementary facilities.
