Students in tenth through 12th grade would go to the new high school and eighth and ninth graders would go to the current West and East High buildings. KCRG TV reports many people spoke against the plan, citing the timing of the project and the economic impact they believe it will have. One man says recent layoffs at John Deere is one issue.“It’s too much at this time. You’ve got people here in Waterloo losing their jobs every day….a lot of those jobs are high end jobs the engineers at Deere….and this is just another burden on those folks and myself.”

Waterloo Superintendent Jared Smith, tells KCRG TV this new high school will help students better access the district’s career focused classes and draw new students to the district. “There’s a barrier right now let’s be honest, that kids don’t want to leave their home high school.. so having a school where all high school were all students 10 thru 12 have direct access to the career center removes all the barriers,” Smith says.

Waterloo Superintendent Jared Smith. (KCRG TV photo)

When asked if he had any comments on the objections to the plan raised at the meeting Smith said “The community who showed up and shared some concerns those are fair comments, those are fair concerns, those are concerns we have been talking through for the last year, the last several years.” Smith says they know Waterloo has been hit hard recently with the developments at John Deere and some other businesses closing, but he says the timing is never gonna be right.

The proposal would use a one-cent sales tax to allow the district to raise the revenue without having a bond issue vote. Voters living in the Waterloo Community School District who are opposed to the plan have until August 12th to present a petition to the school board with signatures from more than 30 percent of active voters to force a vote on this decision. Construction is expected to be started in the Spring of 2025, and the school is expected to be open in time for the 2028-2029 school year.