GILMAN, Iowa — Voters in the East Marshall Community School District will consider a $13.5 million bond referendum this November that would reduce the number of schools in the district.
If the referendum is approved, the district would close its middle school in Gilman and move to a two-school system.
The change would allow the district to focus its money and energy on the remaining elementary school and high school. In addition, the district believes eliminating the middle school would make the district a better size for its corresponding financial and enrollment trends over the past two decades.
The proposed change comes as the middle school presents the largest amount of facility challenges and repairs. If the referendum passes, the middle school could close as soon as fall of 2026.
"As a school board, we understand that potentially closing one of our schools is difficult, especially for residents of Gilman," the East Marshall school board said in a release. "This is not a decision that was made lightly or without thorough planning and careful consideration of alternative solutions."
If the referendum succeeds, the community's property tax, which the district says is the second lowest in the North Iowa Cedar League at $10.88 per $1,000 of taxable property value, would increase to $13.58. Notably, that price tag is still lower than seven other school districts in the league.
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The school board acknowledged the difficulty of the decision to put the referendum on the ballot, saying that it is ultimately "the best option."
"Everyone who resides in our communities has the same goal at heart: Finding solutions that provide our children with more resources and opportunities for success, and ensuring East Marshall CSD is on stable footing so that it can serve future generations," the school board said. "Although the November referendum is not perfect, we believe it is the best option when it comes to meeting those goals."
On Wednesday, the school board met to discuss potential design options for renovations. A local architect presented the board with three options to begin initial drawings.
The school board determined they would meet in the middle on a design plan. The option would give voters enough of a sense of what they will be voting for, versus over committing to a design option that has a lot of detail.
"My personal opinion is that's too much detail we're not there, I don't even know if we could come up with a drawing like that," said Lisa Meling, an East Marshall School Board Member, when deciding which design option the board should choose.
School board members expressed concerns over not having a design when the plan was first proposed.
"I think reasonably speaking, I do think people are uncertain, you know, essentially do we have our ducks in a row," said Elizabeth Crandon the Vice President of the East Marshall School Board.
The next opportunity for the community to give its input and ask questions is Wednesday, September 18th. The school board is hoping to have more images to present on the potential changes.