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Abby Simons, Local-Option Sales Tax Now Backed Statewide, Des Moines Register

Editorial, Greater Expectations, The Gazette

Lyle Muller, Corridor Approves School Tax, The Gazette

Editorial, Eyes Are Now on Districts to Spend Funds Wisely, Iowa City Press-Citizen

Rob Daniel, Voters Approve SILO SalesTax, Iowa City Press-Citizen

[Note: This material is copyright by The Daily Iowan, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of The Daily Iowan.]

The tax increase - which passed with 67.3 percent of the vote - will go into effect on July 1, raising sales taxes from 5 to 6 cents per dollar until 2017. Linn County - which proposed a similar tax - approved its new levy with 58 percent of the vote on Tuesday as well. Linn County's results include 98 percent of precincts reporting.

Starting in July, all of Iowa's counties will have some sort of school infrastructure sales tax.

The increased tax is expected to raise more than $104 million for the district over 10 years - a figure that includes a $40 million boost for Iowa City schools, which has been a major incentive for tax supporters.

"I'm extremely happy with the election results," Superintendent Lane Plugge said. "Once again, it shows this community's commitment to education and to its children."

Opponents of the tax did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

School officials have outlined areas such as new technology, family-resource centers, new schools, and general repairs and additions as being most in need. Renovations will total more than $147 million.

Iowa City School Board President Toni Cilek said revamping science rooms and a new gymnasium will be among the first projects the district will likely tackle.

Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett said the election "definitely had a low turnout."

"The weather is really the primary reason," he said.

Still, because the proposal involved money, he said, that slightly increased voter turnout.

"School turnouts that don't have money issues on the ballot have been much lower than this," he said.

While the weather on Tuesday contributed to subpar turnout, Slockett said, it likely didn't affect the outcome of the vote.

Claire Boyd, an election worker, worked the UI Main Library precinct for the special vote. With a little more than an hour before the polls were to close, she said eight people had voted there.

She turned away around 20 people because they weren't at their correct precinct, she said. Many mentioned they likely wouldn't battle the storm to travel to the correct - and farther - location, Boyd said.

The new levy will not apply to unprepared food, vehicles, gasoline, or farm machinery.

Voters had previously denied similar tax increases for city benefits in 1999 and 1987. In Tuesday's decision, 12,402 of a total 80,078 registered voters cast their ballots - roughly 15.49 percent.

Cilek said the next step for the board will be to hire a consultant to determine the needs of the district and help responsibly allocate funds.

[Note: This material is copyright by the Des Moines Register, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Des Moines Register.]

A majority of those who headed to the polls voted to pay an extra penny per dollar for school construction and repair. The two counties were the last in Iowa to approve the tax. In Johnson County, 67 percent voted yes, while 33 percent voted against it. Among Linn County voters, 58 percent supported the tax, while 42 percent voted no.

The election will result in an increase in the sales tax of 1 percentage point from July 1, 2007, through June 20, 2017, and means the local-option tax for schools will be in effect statewide. It is expected to spur legislation that would make the tax permanent for all 99 counties, thus eliminating the need for voters in each county to renew it every 10 years.

The tax has generated more than $1.2 billion since its inception in 1998. School officials statewide say they are hopeful the tax will be made statewide this year.

The tax was previously rejected in Linn County in 1999. Voters in Johnson County had never voted on the tax.

Sarah Swisher, political director of the Service Employees International Union, which represents custodians, secretaries and other school employees and service workers, supported the tax and said she was grateful for the victory - though the margin may have been larger had the weather been more accommodating.

[Note: This material is copyright by The Gazette, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of The Gazette.]

  Voters last night in both counties soundly approved the collection of a 1 percent local-option sales tax that will fund a long list of school infrastructure projects and technology needs, and give the districts enough extra cash to begin paying off some of the debt that has been serviced by ever-increasing property taxes.

  This influx of new money will undoubtedly make budgeting easier, but it also may set the stage for prolonging difficult but necessary decisions to make meaningful reforms in public education at the local level.

  Furthermore, the additional public money has the potential to promulgate inefficiencies in large districts where huge budgets make it easy to lose track of the actual costs of school maintenance and building projects that can be stretched out over several years.

  School boards must aggressively review the need and purpose of each project before one dollar is spent, and districts must be transparent in administering the new funds.

  Johnson and Linn are the last of Iowa’s 99 counties to implement a school infrastructure local-option tax.

  Proponents of the tax tugged at the heartstrings of voters by promoting the issue as an investment in the future of children. Who can argue with that?

  Now, of course, the question is whether the districts can deliver on this investment. Ten years from now, when students who completed kindergarten in 2007 are completing their 10th grade, will they have a better grasp on fundamental skills than today’s 10th graders because of this infusion of taxpayer money into an outdated education system? Only time will tell.

  One thing is certain: The expectations already are higher.

[Note: This material is copyright by The Gazette, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of The Gazette.]

  Linn and Johnson counties, the only two in Iowa charging 5 percent sales tax on taxable goods, adopted a 10-year localoption sales tax for schools Tuesday.

  The unofficial votes were:

• 17,270 to 12,326, or 58.35 percent to 41.65 percent, in favor in Linn County.
• 8,329 to 4,036, or 67.36 percent to 32.64 percent, in favor in Johnson County.

  Judy Jeffrey, director of the Iowa Department of Education, said schools in Linn and Johnson counties will benefit. Additionally, money from the taxes eventually will be pooled with tax revenue from the other 97 counties for distribution statewide on a perstudent basis. ‘‘The fact that they’re both high-retail counties will have an impact on the state pool,’’ Jeffrey said last night.

  The Corridor won’t contribute to the pool, though, for five years. An incentive the Legislature passed last year to provoke Tuesday’s vote allows Linn and Johnson county schools to keep all the tax revenue during the first half of its 10-year run.

  That deal will give local schools an estimated $123 million they otherwise would have to turn over to the pool. The money will be used for repairs and other building needs, including new schools in some districts, and tax relief.

  ‘‘Our children need the opportunities I had as a student: a safe, good learning environment, proper equipment,’’ Denny Schreckengast, 37, of Cedar Rapids, director of LIFTS transit service for Linn County, said after voting for the tax Tuesday. ‘‘None of us would let our homes get to the point some of our school buildings are in counties that lack a lot of retail sales, she said. ‘‘It sets up a long-term funding stream, and it doesn’t matter what your ZIP code is,’’ Buckton said. ‘‘It doesn’t work unless we have everybody at.’’ Marvin Orte wasn’t convinced. ‘‘I think we’ve got taxed enough,’’ said Orte, a 72-year-old retiree from Iowa City who voted ‘‘no.’’ ‘‘Everything you have is taxed.’’

  Weather was bad Tuesday; only 29,777, or 21.3 percent, of Linn County’s 139,739 eligible voters and 12,402, or 15.5 percent, of Johnson County’s 80,078 eligible voters cast ballots.

  The tax is expected to raise, altogether, $258 million to $264 million in Linn County and $137 million in Johnson County over 10 years, based on Iowa Department of Revenue projections.

  Margaret Buckton, government relations director for the Iowa Association of School Boards, said she expected Tuesday’s votes to set the stage for a state law approving the tax. That could give long-term stability to in it.’’ Gov. Chet Culver favors allowing local communities to decide the tax but would look at a bill calling for a statewide SILO if legislators send him one, Culver communications director Brad Anderson said.

  ‘‘He hasn’t ruled it out. His position on this is that he favors local control, (but) he’s absolutely willing to listen to people and arguments in favor of a statewide SILO,’’ Anderson said.
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Gazette staff writers Kristina Gleeson, Gregg Hennigan, Lee Hermiston and Ben Fornell contributed to this story.

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.]

Although Johnson County voters have been skeptical of local option sales tax proposals in the past, three things seem to have changed their mind this time. First, the money was set aside for the schools alone. As such, the question was unclouded with any other municipal or county projects. Second, smaller districts in Johnson County had all but exhausted their bonding capacity and were looking to this tax as a way to respond to rapid population growth. Third, Johnson County's legislative delegation helped create an incentive by which Johnson and Linn counties -- the only Iowa counties that hadn't implemented such taxes -- would keep all the revenue from the taxes for the first five years and then pool the money with other counties for the remaining five years. That means an extra $54 million in revenue for Johnson County schools, with $40 million for Iowa City schools.

At 15.49 percent, voter turnout Tuesday was less than in similar elections in the past. About 16 percent of voters came out in 1987 and 23.39 percent came out in 1999 to turn down local option sales tax proposals by wide margins. With a 2-1 margin Tuesday, however, it's unlikely that better weather would have changed the outcome.

As in past local option sales tax elections, the SILO had its critics from both the right and the left -- from those with concerns about the regressive nature of a sales tax and from those ideologically opposed to any new tax. Many suggested that Iowa City's statement of revenue reads more like a long wish list than a well-considered, well-winnowed statement of specific goals and purposes. Those critics will now have to keep up the pressure to ensure that the districts make the best use of funds they've been granted.

District officials for Iowa City schools say their next step will be to conduct an analysis of the district's buildings and to set up a renovation schedule that will get the best bang for the district's buck. In addition to addressing longstanding facility needs, the money is expected to help the district's long-range plans of adding two new elementary schools and a new high school. Voters will be far less likely to approve any additional bond requests during the next 10 years unless they are convinced that the money approved Tuesday is spent wisely.

As Bob Patton points out in today's editorial cartoon, the tricky part -- holding the districts accountable -- has just begun.

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.]

According to the Johnson County Auditor's Office, 8,321 votes, or about 67.3 percent of the total votes, approved of the School Infrastructure Local Option sales tax. About 32.7 percent of the voters, or 4,036 voters, voted against the tax. A simple majority of the votes, or 50 percent, was needed for the sales tax to pass.

Iowa City School District Superintendent Lane Plugge said the extra revenue will allow the district to address longstanding facility needs such as science rooms at South East Junior High and West High, and building a new South East gymnasium. Two new elementary schools and a new high school also are on the long-term plan, he said.

"Once again, the community has demonstrated its support of the children of the community," he said. "The revenues generated by the SILO will provide educational benefits for all students."

Beth Cody, a founding member of VoteNoSILO, said she was disappointed with the result, but she accepted the result.

"We still think it's a mistake for Johnson County," she said. "We think it will be the lowest income (earners) that will be hurt most. But it's a democracy and the people have voted."

The election was marked by low turnout, with about 15.5 percent of the more than 80,000 registered voters in Johnson County going to the polls, the Johnson County Auditor's Office said. Of those votes, 3,766, or about 30 percent, were turned in early, with about 70 percent voting "yes." Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett said the early vote totals reflected a growing trend in voting early and that people were aware of the snowstorm that was expected to hit Eastern Iowa on Tuesday.

"Considering the snowstorm and the time of the year and that there's one issue on the ballot, I would say it's a good turnout," he said. "Weather definitely has an impact. But it has less of an impact because more and more are voting early."

School officials said the 1-cent sales tax will generate more than $138 million in 10 years for nine schools in Johnson County, including $104 million for the Iowa City School District. Johnson and Linn counties were the only two counties in the state without the special tax. Linn County voters approved the measure as well, with about 58 percent saying "yes."

An incentive created by the Iowa Legislature last May that is expected to generate an extra $40 million for Iowa City schools was one reason Deb Petersen-Protaskey of Iowa City said she voted "yes" for the tax. She said Mann Elementary, where her 7-year-old son, Parker, is a second-grader, is in need of renovation and the extra revenue will help with that. She said critics' assertion that the sales tax is a "Band-Aid solution" was unfounded because the state likely will impose a statewide school infrastructure sales tax in the future.

"You're going to get the Band-Aid whether you want it or not," she said.

Gary Pacha of Iowa City said he voted for the tax because he liked the concept that it will help schools.

"I think it's the correct thing to do," he said. "We might as well do it. You can't go wrong supporting education."

Mike Dennis of Iowa City disagreed. He said that while he liked the idea of outsiders such as students and out-of-town University of Iowa football fans paying the tax, he thought the Iowa City School District could have better used their resources such as converting Twain Elementary into an alternative high school rather than building Tate High in 2005.

"I think there are some other schools that need to be filled up," he said.

Plugge said the next step will be for district officials to do an analysis of the district's buildings to determine what renovations will be needed. In the Clear Creek Amana School District, the School Board likely will focus on starting construction on the new high school and elementary school from the $25.5 million Feb. 2006 bond referendum before looking at other facility needs, superintendent Paula Vincent said.

The results are considered unofficial until the Johnson County Board of Supervisors canvasses them at its Tuesday meeting. The sales tax will go into effect July 1, school district officials said.