Second Physical Plant Levy Meeting Held

The Keokuk Community School District held its second of three meetings for the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) on Thursday morning.

Superintendent Christine Barnes gave a presentation about how the levy will work and how it will impact everyone.

“I like to think of school funding in Iowa as different buckets of money that comes into make up the school district’s finances,” Barnes said. “We are going to talk about a particular funding stream that has really taken on some different level of importance the last few years.”

The district already takes $0.33 out of every $1,000 to put towards specific projects.

This levy would increase that amount by $1.34, which increases the annual fund by approximately $568,000.

Projects that can be done with PPEL funds include security updates, technology and new construction.

It would not go towards things such as salary or school programs.

PPEL type funds have already had a big impact in Keokuk, helping fund new buses and repairs to the track in the past, among more than a handful of other projects.

Barnes also wanted to answer one very important question many residents have.

“This will not raise our property tax,” Barnes said.

Currently, the bond on the middle school will be paid off in June and the voted PPEL would replace the expiring bond payments.

This is also a very important time for the district to enact the levy due to fewer funds coming in from the state.

“The amount of money the state has given each year has decreased to the point that it’s pretty flat,” Barnes said.

The 2018 percentage growth is the lowest since before 1973.

Keokuk has an older infrastructure and facilities and while the funding to replace and update these items could come from the general fund, it could mean having to reduce staff size and student programs by $568,000 each year.

With the new funds, the district has plans to address many different issues.

These include replacing roofs at Hawthorne Elementary and Keokuk Middle School, making improvements at Calvert Stadium and fixing space issues in the fine arts area of the high school.

There are 265 school districts in the State of Iowa that have a voted PPEL, Keokuk is one of 65 districts without one.

“More districts are turning to PPEL to help with facility updates and upgrades,” Barnes said.

The vote on the PPEL, which will run for 10 years and can be extended for another 10 on another vote, will take place Feb. 5, but residents can vote early at the South Lee County Courthouse.

Unlike a bond vote, the levy vote only needs a 50%+1 vote to pass. Another meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at Torrence Preschool at 6 PM.

Anyone with questions can also reach out to the central office at any time by calling 319-524-1402 ext. 1616.