Residents of the Bettendorf School District can help decide how much money is spent on building improvements in the coming years. On Friday the district held the first of eight community meetings to find out what people think about a wide range of proposed projects.
Director of Finance, Dallon Christensen, says the list includes a lot of additions and renovations, but also deferred maintenance.
"Those are maintenance plans that impact the structure of the building. That's the guts of the building. A lot of the things you might not necessarily see or have direct impact with, such as roofs and entrances."
The district is tenatively planning to hold a referendum in December, asking voters' permission to use general obligation bonds to pay for the projects.
"By going to a general obligation bond to help with the sales tax bonding that we have, it will allow us to complete these projects more quickly. We'll be able to have the money we need in order to do these projects on a more accelerated basis. "
Christensen says revenue from the local option sales tax for schools is helpful, but comes in very slowly, and currently is scheduled to expire in 11 years.
The Bettendorf School District will host a total of eight community meetings through July 2nd, including Monday night at Armstrong Elementary.
