Special $10.4 million high school bond referendum set for September 14

At a special board meeting Thursday afternoon the Decorah Community School Board set September 14 as a special date for a referendum to allow the school district to issue bonds in the amount of $10,405,000. Voting will occur at the high school from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

School officials have detailed a $19.5 million plan to renovate and expand Decorah High School and renovate John Cline School.  $10.4 million of the cost would be raised through the bonding, with all of the proceeds designated for projects at Decorah High School.  Another $9.1 million would come from a renewal of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) and from the school local option tax.  Those funds could be spent on either high school or John Cline projects.

In the September 14th election, there will be separate votes on the bond issue and on the PPEL extension. The bond referendum would required a super majority (greater than 60 percent) and the extension of the much broader use PPEL would require a simple majority (greater than 50 percent).  The current PPEL authorization, last approved in 2003, continues through June, 2014.

The district will later post the exact language of the ballot  for both Proposition A and Proposition B on the district website, with some additional "plain language" descriptions of what voters will be voting on.