Union High School in La Porte City where the district's offices are located. TELEGRAPH FILE PHOTO

LA PORTE CITY, IA — Residents of the Union Community School District recently provided feedback on the general obligation bond that was on the ballot in November 2024 and sought voter approval for a series of facility improvement projects.

The anonymous survey was available March 17-30 and asked multiple questions related to the referendum, which finished six votes short of reaching the 60% supermajority approval required by state law. A total of 547 respondents completed the survey.

“We appreciate everyone from our communities who took time to complete the survey and make their voices heard,” said Superintendent John Howard. “The valuable feedback we received will help guide the School Board and administration as we consider solutions to address the facility challenges our students and staff face every day.”

In November, Union CSD residents were asked to consider approving a $20.5 million referendum that would have funded improvements at all the district’s campuses, ranging from upgrades to mechanical and security systems to a new auxiliary gymnasium at the high school. The proposed tax impact of the referendum was $2.70 per $1,000 of taxable property value.

The decision to seek a bond referendum was the result of more than two years of facility planning by Union CSD officials. The district also partnered with architects and engineers to complete comprehensive assessments of its schools.

Nearly 94% of all respondents said they were familiar with Union CSD’s facility needs. When asked if the district’s needs must be addressed now, 79.7% strongly agreed or agreed.

Survey participants were asked to note the reasons why they believe the November 2024 referendum was not approved. Over half (56.3%) indicated the tax impact was too high, and just under half (49.7%) said the dollar amount requested was too high.

When asked if they would support a $20.5 million bond referendum with a debt levy of $2.70 in November 2025, approximately 56.9% of respondents said they would, while 43.1% opposed.

Of the group that said it would not support a bond referendum next fall, 42.8% said the district had not reduced expenses enough, while 23.3% indicated the district has not shared enough information about its budget. In addition, there were comments related to specific projects that were on the ballot previously or possibly a future referendum.

A complete report of the survey’s results is available at https://tinyurl.com/UnionCSDsurvey.