Currently, South Tama County is one of just 49 school districts in the state of Iowa that does not have a voter-approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) after its reauthorization was defeated back in 2013. That could change on March 5 as the matter will once again be put on the ballot with a chance to generate upwards of $400,000 in annual revenue for technology, transportation and facilities maintenance through a levy of $1 per $1,000 of valuation for the next 10 years.

Currently, all districts in Iowa have a board-approved PPEL of $0.33 per $1,000 of valuation, and those with a voter-approved PPEL can ask for up to $1.34 per $1,000 — as previously noted, STC will only be asking for $1 per $1,000.

Superintendent John Cain recently sat down with the News Chronicle to discuss how an affirmative vote could benefit STC in the future. Unlike the middle school bond issue approved in 2022, this ballot measure only requires a simple majority to pass.

“Those monies, if the community votes in favor of the voted PPEL, will go towards some technology, infrastructure and equipment purchases that are gonna need to be made over the next 10 years, roof repairs to existing buildings, (and) updating other buildings — specifically the high school — on school security,” he said.

Cain cited a state safety audit completed for school districts last year and said there are small things to do at each site, but the high school in particular is in need of substantial improvements. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades could also be addressed through the levy as the systems at both the elementary and the high school buildings are showing their age.

Superintendent John Cain.

“The voted PPEL is critical for us to continue to maintain larger expenses relating to maintenance, essentially,” he said.

Of course, the district’s biggest current facilities project is the ongoing $28 million renovation of the former Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo to become the future middle school by next fall, and over the last year, a committee has been working to identify the most pressing priorities if the voter-approved PPEL were to be reinstated.

A long-term goal for the relatively new superintendent is to expand the vocational agriculture programs at STC and grow and develop them into one of the best in the state, and Cain sees using the PPEL dollars to improve facilities like the current greenhouse would go a long way toward achieving it.

“We want to develop that. We want to really kind of expand that. We also want to expand into a Voc Ag middle school program, and so one of our outbuildings over there (on the new campus) could serve that purpose. It’s gonna need a little bit of TLC to make that happen, so when it comes to PPEL and it comes to learning, that’s one piece that’s on the docket of wanting to accomplish,” he said.

According to Cain, he and other district leaders are currently exploring the best ways to get the word out ahead of the upcoming vote, and they plan to hold four public meetings in February — Feb. 15, Feb. 18, Feb. 25 and Feb. 28, with times and locations to be determined — to answer questions and make their case along with three board work sessions scheduled for staff. At its most recent meeting, the STC board of education approved a contract with the Donovan Group — the same firm that worked with the district on the middle school bond campaigns — for marketing services at a presented cost of $2,500 per month.

“We’re working on getting the whole marketing package together so we can communicate that, and that includes the flyers, getting it on social media and getting our message out there so it’s streamlined,” he said.

With the possibility of generating between $4 and $5 million in revenue over 10 years on top of the potential for a leftover amount of about $4 million from the bond issue if the middle school project stays on budget, Cain believes those dollars could make a huge impact on the future of STC’s facilities and transportation while supplementing the renovations at the new middle school campus.

“We’ve got to get our kids to school, and on our list of priorities, some of it does relate to transportation. When they’re at school, keeping them safe is important, and keeping our facilities updated with the standards for safety is critical. And that is included in part of this,” he said. “And beyond that, maintaining our facilities is just like maintaining our home. We’ve got to keep our roofs in good shape, especially with Iowa winters and things like that. As well as when you walk into a building, you want to feel a sense of pride, and I believe that our PPEL vote can bring all of those things to our community and maintain what we have.”

In sharing his final thoughts, he broke it down to simpler terms.

“We were told (that) without the PPEL vote, we would be able to keep our lights on. With the PPEL vote, we’re gonna be able to keep the lights on, maintain and grow a few of our programs and maintain the facilities that we have,” Cain said. “We have great people, and we have a lot of great people in the right places. We feel fortunate that our facilities are in as good of shape as they’re in, but they can always get better.”