Gilbert School District Residents Asked to Support Expansion of New High School in Special Election Tuesday

Voters within the Gilbert School District will be asked Tuesday if they would support an expansion to the new Gilbert High School already under construction.

See Election Results.

Approval of the referendum for the $4.95 million general obligation bond would help the district add an addition that would include locker rooms, a weight room and classrooms.

Though the bond is backed by property taxes, an approval would not increase the district's debt service levy rate, said Gilbert School District Superintendent Lindsey Beecher.

That's because the district's debt service levy is already set at $4.05 per $1,000 assessed valuation, the maximum amount allowed by law.

The district would be able to pay for the project because the district's property tax values have increase allowing them to collect increased revenues, Beecher said. Board members have already decided to keep the rate at $4.05 per $1,000 assessed valuation to pay down the district's indebtedness faster should the new bond fail. 

The school district includes Gilbert and portions of Ames as well as portions of Boone County.

There is just one polling place: Gilbert Lutheran Church at 135 School St. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The district is currently building a new high school that is expected to open in the fall of 2013 and this bond would pay for an expansion. About 400 students are currently enrolled in the high school, but Gilbert schools have seen increased enrollment in its district, which includes the growing north Ames area.

And the high school currently under construction could be too small by 2018, according to a report from the district's architect as reported by the Ames Tribune.