Kirkwood will seek bond issue renewal in September
The future belongs to those prepared to adapt and work in it. Leaders at Kirkwood Community College recognize their role in preparing a generation of citizen workers to be ready for current jobs—and those that haven’t been created yet.
To do that will require classrooms, labs, tools—and the funds to make it happen.
Kirkwood will ask voters in east central Iowa to continue their support of the college through a $46.5 million bond issue for current and future infrastructure needs. The college board of trustees voted to set a continuation measure on the September 13 regular school election ballots in its multi-county district.
“I am so proud of the faculty and staff at Kirkwood for their constant efforts to educate people of all ages,” said Board Chair Lois Bartelme. “I see the positive results in every corner of our counties and believe wholeheartedly in our mission and the commitment of this college to get the job done. We trust that our community has felt that hard work and support first-hand and will reflect that in continuing this vital mission in September.”
In 2005 voters in the Kirkwood district approved the college’s first bond issue support in three decades. Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich said that 10-year boost made key initiatives and improvements possible in every county Kirkwood serves.
“There are so many ways this funding has come back to the area. Nurses, emergency responders and others are better trained thanks to our Healthcare Simulation Center. There are hundreds of high school students who had more choices for career training and advanced classes at the Jones Regional Education Center in Monticello. We greatly appreciate the vote of confidence our citizens made back in 2005. We know the work has to continue for years to come, and we will carefully plan what is needed next with this continuation,” Starcevich said.
Other college facilities created with the initial measure included a 90,000 square foot addition to the Cedar Hall academic building, Horticulture/Floral Careers center, new industrial career labs in Jones Hall, and renovation of the main library, all in Cedar Rapids. The bond revenues also supported a new digital upgrade for communications and two-way distance learning in 11 learning centers throughout the Kirkwood service area.
“Kirkwood’s credit enrollment grew by more than 3,000 students in the past five years. There is no way we would have been able to accommodate all those new people and their learning needs without those facilities,” Starcevich added.
College officials stressed the bond measure would be a continuation of a current issue and not a new tax. The measure would generate 20 cents per $1000 in assessed valuation, meaning the owner of a $100,000 home would pay 20 or fewer cents per week.
Key goals for Kirkwood in continuing the bond issue funding are in two key areas:
- First is the renovation of Linn Hall on the main Cedar Rapids campus. Completed in 1969, the first permanent Kirkwood building holds 200,000 square feet of classrooms, labs and offices. Recent studies and college records indicate needs for energy efficiency and structural upgrades to its entire infrastructure to meet 21st century educational standards. Kirkwood facilities staff call many Linn Hall systems “nearly impossible” to maintain.
- A second key initiative would be expansion of Kirkwood’s regional education centers in the seven county area. Discussions have already begun in several communities, reflecting the success of the Jones Regional Education Center as a model for flexible, cooperative solutions to learning needs. The Monticello facility provides affordable access to college courses, dual-credit classes for eight area school districts, plus meeting other community needs in a central location.
Starcevich emphasized the importance of Kirkwood’s mission in economic development through education at the April 14 college trustees meeting.
“Since we opened in 1966, we have been all about access, opportunity and meeting community needs. A key part of that mission is teaching and training our own people. Continually, records show that three out of four Kirkwood graduates stay, work and grow in Iowa. They work and shop here, they raise their families here. I’ve had the opportunity to meet three generations of families who all got training and built their futures at Kirkwood. We want to keep those promises to new generations coming along, keeping our state and nation moving forward,” he added.