FAIRBANK - The Wapsie Valley School Board intends to send half of a bond referendum back to voters to see if they will reconsider and accept it.

The question asks residents in the school district to raise the maximum tax levy to $4.05 per $1,000 of assessed taxable property valuation. The revenue would help pay for two elementaries in Readlyn and Fairbank.

The measure failed by a handful of votes Sept. 11, receiving 59.41 percent. It needed 60 percent approval to pass.

The first portion of the referendum - which asked for $8 million in bonds authorized for the schools - passed by a slim margin.

"We just didn't think we could walk away from that plan since we could get that approved," Board President Randy Woods said.

At its meeting Oct. 20, the board is expected to vote on a resolution setting the next election date for Dec. 9.

"We had a lot of discussion on this," Woods said. "We felt there was a lot of people that were very passionate about getting this done."

Woods said under state law the district does not have to wait six months before putting the issue out for a second vote because half the ballot question passed. He said the board felt getting the tax question passed as well was a priority.

Woods said the board never really discussed what would happen if one of the two questions failed.

A subsequent recount found some ballots weren't filled out completely. Some had yes votes on the first question and no on the second.

Some residents, like Herb Albrecht of Fairbank, said they are still skeptical of the plans. Albrecht said he is concerned about various costs related with construction, like demolition. He said he didn't want inflation or other factors limiting the school plans.

"If we vote yes, we would build according to how far our money would go rather than what we want," Albrecht said.

The issue has polarized portions of the community and is still a sore issue for many. Woods said he also realizes economic conditions have changed, especially in the last few weeks, but he added board members thought moving forward is necessary.

Another factor that may have shifted momentum was a series of automated calls critical of the school plan. The calls were placed the night before and day of the election.

The calls initially appeared to come from the Oran Community Sanitation District, but members of the board said their phones were not used and asked the Fayette County Sheriff's Department and County Attorneys' Office to investigate.

Woods said he has not heard any updates on the investigation.

"It'd be nice to know who did it so they can be exposed," he said.

Contact Josh Nelson

at (319) 291-1565 or

josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.