Waukee Bond Vote: District Seeks $117M For Second High School

WAUKEE, IA — Rapid growth that is bringing about 500 new students to the Waukee school district each year has created a space problem that district officials say can be remedied with a $117 million bond referendum to build a second high school. The money also would be used to make $1 million in improvements at the existing Waukee High School.

Voters will go to the polls Feb. 6 to decide whether to support the plan for a new 1,800-capacity high school in Waukee, the state's fastest growing and ninth largest school district. Current enrollment in grades 10-12 is 1,900; that's expected to top 2,000 next year and 2,285 in the final school year before a new school could open in fall 2021.

"Our projections indicate that without an additional high school there will not be enough classroom space in 2021 for the 2,400 students in grades 10-12," Superintendent Cindi McDonald said in her blog on the district website.

The district has planned for the past two years to move toward a second high school and has purchased land a half mile north of Hickman Road on County Road R-22. The 160-acre site is bounded to the north by Douglas Parkway, which will be extended from the east; U Avenue on the west; and Northeast Sunrise Drive on the south, which also will be extended. Bus access will come via Sunrise Drive; the main drive will be located on U Avenue.

The design of the three-story high school building includes a 2,500-seat main gym and an auxiliary gym, surrounded by a three-lane running track. It will feature two-story commons space and a two-story media center, a 1,000-seat theater with a balcony and areas for collaborative learning. A separate single-story greenhouse, concessions area and team rooms for the stadium are included in the plans, along with a bowl-style football stadium that would be set into the ground, a track, four practice football fields, 12 tennis courts, and competitive and practice fields for baseball and softball.

The school facilities will use about 100 acres of the property, with the remaining space used for a recreational sports complex with 12 baseball and softball fields, constructed and operated by the city under a sharing agreement with the district.

Attendance boundaries have not yet been set. Committees will study the issue and help district officials redraw elementary boundaries and set up a secondary feeder system. That process is expected to go to the school board for approval late this year.

All of this is planned without increasing property taxes, district officials said. "The board's continued focus on finance has provided the district with the debt capacity needed to bond for a second high school without having to raise the district’s portion of your property tax rate," according to information on the district's website.

The online financial information also says the sports fields and improvements would be paid for with money from the current Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) fund. The complete project cost, estimates to be $116,395,875, includes the following breakdown:

• High school building: $77,815,000
• Site development: $12,679,730
• Furniture, fixtures and equipment: $9 million
• Off-site street improvements (10th Street): $3 million
• Existing high school improvements: $1,098,500
• Project soft costs: $12,442,645

A final community meeting on the bond referendum will be held at 9 a.m. Feb. 3 in the district administration office, 560 S.E. University Ave.

District officials say the current Waukee High School will exceed its capacity in the 2018-19 school year and if the bond referendum does not pass, space concerns could lead to program changes, the need for temporary portable classrooms, larger class sizes, or capped enrollment in some classes.

The bond referendum requires approval of 60 percent of the voters. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 6. Find more information about the construction plans and referendum on the district website.

Graphics by FRK Architects and Engineers via Waukee Schools