Community members in the Knoxville Community School District are collecting signatures in an effort to place a general obligation bond referendum on the ballot for November 4th.

.The petition requires 108 signatures from eligible voters who reside in the district, equal to 25% of those who participated in the last school board election. Once a valid petition is submitted, the Knoxville School Board will consider placing the measure on the ballot.

The petition language reads as follows:

TO THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE KNOXVILLE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, IN THE COUNTY OF MARION, STATE OF IOWA:

We, the undersigned, are eligible electors, reside within the School District and petition the Board of Directors of the School District to call a special election to submit to the voters of the School District the following proposition the purpose of which cannot be accomplished within the limit of one and one-quarter percent of the assessed value of the taxable property within the 

School District:

Shall the Board of Directors of the Knoxville Community School District, in the County of Marion, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $12,400,000 to provide funds to build, furnish, and equip a new elementary building on the Veterans District site and improve the site.

In recent years, Knoxville CSD has completed several capital projects outlined in its strategic plan. These include the construction of the new Knoxville Middle School, a renovation and expansion at West Elementary School, infrastructure and security upgrades at Knoxville High School, and improvements to athletic facilities. The next major project under consideration is addressing facility challenges at Northstar Elementary School. Originally built in 1960, the building is unable to meet the needs of 21st-century learning. A comprehensive assessment completed in 2024 identified more than $22 million worth of building deficiencies and infrastructure needs at Northstar. In response, the district organized an advisory task force of community members and staff to evaluate potential solutions.

In May, the task force recommended that the school board pursue selling the Northstar building and constructing a new elementary school in the city’s Veterans District, an area targeted for development. The proposed project has an estimated cost of $34 million. The maximum expected tax impact of an approved bond referendum would be $0.43 per $1,000 of taxable property value. Knoxville CSD officials expect to lower other funding levies to offset an increase to the district’s debt service levy. Knoxville Superintendent Cassi Pearson says now it is up to the community to weigh in on the project.

“One of the things that I think is really powerful in the process is the task force recommended to the board but now in order to put it on the ballot the rest of the community has to kind of weigh in as well. The current step we’re on is getting signatures on a petition to see if the rest of the community, not just the task force but the rest of the community wants to have that question on a ballot.”

According to state law, bond referendums require at least 60% voter approval to pass.