(Harlan, Iowa) – Shelby County Auditor/Commissioner of Elections reports “Absentee ballot REQUESTS for the September 13th Special Election for the Harlan Community Schools Bond Measure, are now available.”  He said also, “Methods to obtain a request and other information include:

1.       Call 712-755-3831 ext.6 only one request per person is allowed from the Auditors office.

2.       Producing copies of the blank request is allowed.

3.       Vote absentee in person starting August 24th

4.       Absentee in person voting in the Auditors office is available through September 12th.

5.       The Auditor’s office is open from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm.

6.       Email mmaxwell@shco.org to receive an absentee ballot request that you may print at home.

7.       The Auditor’s office is not allowed to place an un-voted ballot in the mail system after August 29th.

8.       Absentee ballots MUST be received in the Auditor’s office by 8:00 pm September 13th, 2022.”

The proposed $22.9 million bond issue covers two-thirds of the cost of renovations to all four facilities within the Harlan School District. School officials say the other third of the cost, or roughly $9.1 million, would come from the district’s Secure and Advanced Vision for Education, or SAVE, funds. One of the primary goals of the bond is to replace – with a new, modern facility – the current intermediate building. Constructed in 1965, the oldest building in the Harlan School District serves three through five. The plan is to construct the new building, which is nearly the size of the current facility, on the current playground, and then to tear down the old facility to build a new playground.

The District plans to invest $14-million into the High School, to update the classrooms which are surrounded by metal walls and limited electrical outlets. If approved, the bond would include a $2.33 increase to the district’s property tax levy, which is nearly $1.75 less than the last time school officials asked for a bond, in 2018. That effort failed. The increase is roughly an additional $9.57 a month on a household valued at $100,000 or $0.27 per acre.

Auditor Mark Maxwell reminds voters who intend vote absentee, to get their voted ballots to the Auditors office as soon as possible after receiving a ballot in the mail.  Also, if you have changed residence since the last time you voted, get your new address updated now to make your voting process more efficient on election day, by eliminating added paperwork the day of voting.