Benton Community School District hosts meeting discussing bond vote

BENTON COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) - An area school district was discussing its own school bond proposal Monday. Benton Community Schools plans to put that bond issue to a vote next spring.

The district held the first of five informational meetings Monday night.

This nearly 50-million dollar bond would help fund renovation projects at the elementary, middle and high school levels. It would also include building a new pre-k to sixth-grade elementary school in Van Horne.

Improvements to the already existing Atkins elementary school would include an addition for a new cafeteria and commons area along with renovations for additional classroom space.

For the middle and high school, updated heated, cooling and electrical with upgraded security.

Students who currently attend Keystone Elementary and Norway Intermediate would go to that new elementary if the bond passes. District officials say it would open in the fall of 2026.

Over a hundred people joined the virtual meeting tonight.

Residents in the Benton School district tonight had questions like transportation to the new school, how long updated improvements would last, and location of the new school.

“We have students spread across 300 plus square miles that we have to be concerned about and the distance and the piece. And I really clearly remember our facilities committee saying. We really would like to see that as centrally located as possible,” said Dr. Pamela Ewell, Superintendent.

The added cost to taxpayers would be nearly 17 dollars and 50 cents a month on a home worth 100 thousand dollars... or about 6 dollars an acre a year on agricultural land.

The bond vote is set to take place on March 7th of next year.

The next meeting will take place next Monday, the 19th, at Norway Intermediate.

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