Voters in Pottawattamie, Harrison and Mills Counties will head to the polls Tuesday to participate in special school elections. The Daily NonPareil reports the Lewis Central Community School District is asking voters to renew an existing instructional support levy, while the Missouri Valley and East Mills school districts will hold votes on voter-approved physical plant and equipment levies.
Lewis Central voters will choose whether to reauthorize a levy that is a mix of property taxes and an income tax surcharge that is used for textbooks, curriculum materials, Chromebooks, musical instruments and software licenses. Last year, the levy generated about $1.27 million, with $710,000 from income surtaxes and $560,000 from property taxes. The property tax portion of the levy was the equivalent of 54 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation.
The income tax surcharge portion is 6 percent, which is levied against a taxpayer’s state tax liability, not income. For example, someone who owes $1,000 in state taxes would be charged $60 – that is, 6 percent of $1,000. Lewis Central voters can go to the polls Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Lewis Central Middle School.
Missouri Valley voters are being asked to double its existing physical plant and equipment levy, which pays for infrastructure needs, to a combined $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. The expanded levy would be offset by expiring bond payments. Even if voters approve the proposal, they would still see a decrease of 86 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation in property taxes next year.
With voter approval, the levy would generate $2.9 million to help pay for a $7.5 million investment in the district’s campus, connecting all the schools together and making safety and wellness improvements. The remaining $4.6 in funding would come through state sales tax revenue. Missouri Valley voters can head to the polls Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Rand Center.
East Mills voters are being asked for a similar levy of $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation for infrastructure projects. The district has faced a financial crisis, which resulted in the closing of Chantry Elementary School in Malvern this year to control costs. A school bond is on the horizon for next year following the levy vote next week. With voter approval, the levy would generate nearly $4 million over the next decade. How the money would be spent would depend on the fate of the school bond, based on several scenarios developed by Iowa Schoolhouse Construction & Planning Services.
If the bond issue would fall significantly short of passing, the consultant recommended the district consolidate its schools to Nishna Valley, which could be renovated using the levy funds. If the bond vote is close but unsuccessful, the district could try again. A successful bond vote could see all grades consolidated into the existing high school in Malvern.
East Mills voters living in the former Nishna Valley district can vote at Indian Creek Museum, 59256 380th St. in Hastings, from noon to 8 p.m. Those voters living in the former Malvern district vote at Malvern Public Library, 502 Main St. in Malvern, from noon to 8 p.m.
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