Question 1

What is the repurposing strategy for the current elementary school?

Accepted Answer

The elementary school could be repurposed as a multi-purpose community center, recreational hub, entrepreneurial center, or for sustainable development. Also, it encourages community members, local organizations, and policymakers to collaborate and explore creative solutions for repurposing the school to meet the community’s evolving needs.
Lastly, community involvement and input are needed to shape the vision and utilize the repurposed spaces for the community’s long-term benefit.

Question 2

Why is there the need to add classroom additions to the high school?

Accepted Answer

OHS enrollment has steadily increased for over a decade, and no additional classroom space has been created. In the last ten years, enrollment at Okoboji High School has risen from 256 in the 2014-2015 school year to 375. That represents a 47% rate of growth in the last ten years. This vastly outpaces the state average of 6% over the same time frame. Between 2014-2023, all other Dickinson County high schools reported an enrollment decline of a little more than 8%. Currently, no classroom space has been added to the high school facility. The last classroom addition to the high school came thirty years ago with the 1994 addition.

The bottom line is that enrollment at OHS has grown to the point where our space limits the educational opportunities we can offer our students. A lack of classroom space makes it impossible to add staff members and programs to accommodate such a significant increase in enrollment. Additionally, the age of spaces such as science rooms and labs creates obstacles to updating and staying current with technologies and teaching tools.

Question 3

What is the reason for expanding the commons, kitchen, and concession stand areas of the high school?

Accepted Answer

As described above, enrollment at OHS has grown by 47% over the past ten years.  In addition to the need for more classrooms, this growth strains common areas and support systems like the commons/cafeteria, food service and preparation areas, concession stands, and more.  The current OHS commons/cafeteria can only accommodate one serving line. As a result, we have had to create a third lunch shift to accommodate all students and ensure they have enough time to eat once they have been served.  An expanded commons/cafeteria would allow us to return to two lunch shifts and eliminate the need for a “split shift” where some students have their fifth-period class interrupted by lunch.

Increased enrollment has also led to increased attendance at events and contests, making our current concession stand and surrounding area too small to adequately accommodate the number of students, parents, and others routinely here for events.

Question 4

What is the purpose of adding a multi-purpose activities facility?

Accepted Answer

The multi-purpose facility will satisfy several needs. First, it will serve as our primary wrestling room. Our wrestling numbers have grown steadily, and with the addition of Girls Wrestling and our sharing agreement with HMS, our current facility needs to be more significant to use safely with this number of athletes. Our wrestling program has utilized the elementary gym as its practice location for the last three years. It requires creative space and removes elementary programming and gym access for our other youth activities. In addition to being used as a wrestling facility, our Multi-Purpose building will be able to house indoor, modified practices for many programs in inclement weather, including marching band, boys' golf, girls' golf, boys' track and field, girls track and field, football, boys soccer, girls soccer, and our strength and conditioning programs.

Question 5

Please describe the issues with the older additions and classrooms in the high school.

Accepted Answer

The newest classrooms at Okoboji High School are now thirty years old.  Many classrooms are more than fifty years old. These classrooms have remained clean, safe, and functional thanks to excellent maintenance and care from district staff and students. Many of these spaces need to be updated, are undersized, and need physical and technological updates. The nature of teaching and learning has evolved dramatically in the last half-century, and the spaces in which our students and teachers operate must also evolve. Renovations in many classrooms are needed to allow for better technology usage and the hands-on teaching methods we know are impactful for our students.

Question 6

How much is the school tax rate going to increase?

Accepted Answer

The FY25 property tax rate for the Okoboji school district is $9.25452 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. The district does not anticipate any increase in the overall property tax rate, which will remain at $9.25/$1,000. The current rate of $9.25 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation comprises different component pieces that change based on enrollment and the district’s needs. Moving forward, the district can and will adjust those components to keep the tax rate as low as possible while still operating in a financially responsible manner.

Question 7

How much is this going to cost property owners?

Accepted Answer

There is no anticipated increase in the over-property tax rate. The tax rate will remain at $9.25 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. A primary residence assessed value at $150,000 under 65 with a homestead school tax estimated at $598/year and over 65 with a homestead school tax estimated at $538/year.

Question 8

Can I vote if I don’t own any property and rent my home?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You are eligible to vote as long as you reside in the Okoboji Community School District and are a registered voter.

Question 9

When is the vote?

Accepted Answer

November 5th, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., at Arnolds Park City Hall, Lake Park Community Building, Milford Community Building, and the Terril Memorial Building. Here is the link for a voter to see where they will go to vote.

Question 10

Can I vote early?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can go to the Dickinson County Courthouse and vote at the auditors' office during regular business hours or request an absentee ballot.

Question 11

What happens if the bond referendum fails?

Accepted Answer

The Okoboji Board of Directors will assess the situation and, due to increased construction costs, go back to the voters with a higher bond amount in November 2025.

Question 12

Are construction costs the reason for the $69M bond? Why?

Accepted Answer

ast construction costs were like clockwork. The square foot per cost was between $180 and $225/sq. ft. Today's costs range from $300 to $400/sq. ft. and exceed $400/sq. ft. The middle school cost was $19M, which equates to $224/sq. ft. 
The $69M is an appropriate amount for the scope of improvements proposed. This amount also keeps the school district in line with state borrowing regulations and also keeps the district’s current tax levy rate.

Question 13

Has the school district explored the elementary school's new location, with the fuel plant across from the site, for safety and traffic?

Accepted Answer

At Sunoco LP, they focus on being responsible stewards of our communities and the environment and providing reliable, safe service to our customers. They continue to offer one of the safest options for responsibly transporting, delivering, and storing liquid fuels. They have received the International Liquid Terminals Association's (ILTA) annual Safety Excellence Award 13 times.

The company's health, safety, and environmental goal is simple: Zero injuries, zero incidents, and zero releases. They strive to prevent incidents by participating in joint drills and exercises with regulatory agencies and performing internal exercises, including full-scale personnel deployment, tabletop exercises, equipment deployments, and unannounced preparedness tests. They continuously evaluate and improve our Corporate and other Emergency Response Plans during these exercises. Exercises like these enhance our ability to respond effectively across departments, regions, and business units.

Milford Terminal received the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program's (VPP) Star Status in January 2019 and was recertified on May 19, 2022. OSHA VPP is an elite program that recognizes employers and employees who demonstrate exemplary achievement in preventing and controlling occupational safety and health hazards and developing, implementing, and continuously improving their safety and health management systems. Certification as a VPP Star Site is OSHA's official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health.

The Milford Terminal also received the VPP Star of Excellence Award in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. The Star of Excellence Award is awarded to sites with a Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) and Days Away Restricted Time (DART) rate of 90% or better below the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) average. All employees are AED/CPR/First Aid trained.
Dan Klinetobe, Manager-Operations, SUNOCO LP MidCon Region
Attached is a brochure that includes our terminal's safety policies and procedures.

Question 14

According to the Iowans for Tax Relief site, the Okoboji school's outstanding per-student debt is $33,610.00 per student, one of the highest debts per student in the state, and this is before the $69 million new school bond issue.

Accepted Answer

I’m unaware of any entity such as IASB, ISFIS, IASBO, or any financial institution that uses this data. However, let’s correct the facts. The Okoboji CSD’s General Obligation (GO) debt outstanding on 7/1/24 is $14,750,000. With 1200 students, that is $12,292/pupil. However, the District will retire $4.87M of the debt on 6/1/25 per its FY25 budget, leaving the debt outstanding at the end of the current budget year at $10.345M, or $8,621/student.

Furthermore, ITR includes the district’s SAVE debt in its calculations. If you include the SAVE bonds, the District’s debt as of 7/1/25 (after the retirement of debt scheduled and budgeted for FY24-25) is $23,095,000, which is $19,246/pupil. I want to remind the Okoboji Community that the SAVE debt can only be repaid from the one-cent sales tax, is not, and cannot be, paid from property taxes, and has no effect on the school property tax rate.

After assessing the information according to the Iowans for Tax Relief, property taxes, and debt per student are not the correct way to compare operations. They calculated this to create ambiguity for their narrative and did not include all factual data. The Iowa Foundation (funding) Formula is the equalizer for Iowa school districts.

The current data, the denominator for this cost analysis, is not a financial take used by experts; it's useless and irrelevant to the overall Iowa Foundation (funding) Formula. Also, this debt will serve thousands of students for several decades, so comparing the debt to current enrollment only has no relevance.

Question 15

What fund was allocated to the new school, $33,000 per acre for 30 acres of ground? Where did they get that money and the money to rebuild school ball fields, new football field bleachers, and a new bus barn without another bond issue?

Accepted Answer

The superintendent and school board spent several weeks working with an appraiser to determine comps on Iowa school districts that have purchased land for building projects. In rural areas, there are limited comps. In larger urban areas in Iowa, schools purchase property regularly due to growth. For example, recent Iowa school district land purchases:
 • Pleasant Valley $60,127/acre (15.8 acres for $950,000 in October 2023)
 • Lewis Central/Council Bluffs $58,285/acre (95.65 acres for $5,575,000 in July 2023)
 • Ankeny $75,000/acre (40 acres for $3,000,000 in April 2023)
 • Waukee $64,315/acre (14.6 acres for $949,000 in May 2022)
    • Average price $64,603/acre

We knew these price points were very high, and we worked diligently in our negotiations. Based on the information gathered on Iowa schools, we felt that keeping the price below $1M would be a good deal. The district purchased 30 acres for $970,000, which is $32,333/acre.

The district used SAVE dollars (one-cent sales tax) to purchase the 30 acres. SAVE dollars were also used to purchase the new bleachers (the old bleachers were non-compliant with the ADA requirements), construct the bus barn, and construct the baseball and softball fields. Again, I want to remind the Okoboji Community that the SAVE debt can only be repaid from the one-cent sales tax, is not, and cannot be, paid from property taxes, and has no effect on the school property tax rate.

Question 16

How can the district have another bond issue if the one voted on for middle school is not paid off? Can you get any answers to these at the school board meeting about the new bond issue? Also, how can they say that after the 2018 bond issue, it will be paid off in 2024, four years early, and adding a 69 million dollar bond can be paid off by 2047?

Accepted Answer

How can we vote for $69M and not raise the overall tax rate?

Step 1 
The district has taken steps to reduce the cost of the 2018 (middle school) bond by:
 • As property values have moved upward, the district used the increased capacity to levy ahead on bonds in each of the years since, and this was a promise we’ve kept to the voters. The district has retired:
    • $60K from FY 2020
    • $180K from FY 2021
    • $255K from FY 2022
    • $1.095M from FY 2023
    • $1.120M from FY 2024
    • $3.78M from FY 2025

Step 2
As you know, the old middle school was sold, and the proceeds were used to retire the 2018 bonds early.
 • The total of $7.525M was retired through FY 2025, resulting in an interest cost reduction of $2.288M over 2027-2037.
 • District has now retired all bonds due in the years 2035-2028.
 • If the election passes, the district plans to sell the bonds in 2025, 2026, and 2027 and have a valuation growth of 3%/year for fiscal years 2026-2029.

The charts show the bonds and how they can be laid beside each other, allowing the new $69M bond to be paid off by 2047.

Question 17

Can you explain open enrollment?

Accepted Answer

Open enrollment is a cost-free option available to parents or guardians residing in an Iowa district. It allows them to enroll their children into another Iowa school district under the terms and conditions of Iowa Code section 282.18 (https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/282.18.pdf)and the administrative rules contained in Iowa Administrative Code 281—17 (https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/281.17.pdf)as amended by Senate File 2435.

Open Enrollment Handbook(https://educate.iowa.gov/media/10193/download?inline)

Question 18

Does open enrollment contribute to additional students for the district?

Accepted Answer

Yes, open enrollment does bring additional students to the district. However, it's important to note that open enrollment is not counted toward the district’s certified enrollment. Only resident students are considered for the district’s certified enrollment, and open enrollment is counted toward the students served.

Question 19

Is open enrollment considered in the projection model for the district?

Accepted Answer

Yes, open enrollment is a factor in the district's projection model. When the district assesses its facilities and capacity for students, we consider the total enrollment of students served, including those who have enrolled through open enrollment.

Question 20

Do the students who openly enroll in the district make monetary contributions to the bond project?

Accepted Answer

No, only resident voters vote on the bond referendum.

Question 21

Why does the school district run radio advertisements?

Accepted Answer

Over the last several years, Iowa school districts have received an average of 2.5% Supplemental State Aid (SSA). School districts must be prudent with building and forecasting (5-year projects) their budgets. With the lack of SSA funding, school districts accept open enrollment for additional students and the funding that follows the student(s). This additional funding is crucial for the district's financial planning and helps in managing the budget effectively. School districts receive the tuition per pupil for open enrolled student(s), which contributes to the overall district funding.

The 'Open Enrollment Billing Chart & Scenarios'(https://educate.iowa.gov/media/10177/download?inline) is a comprehensive document that outlines the financial implications of open enrollment for the district. It provides detailed scenarios and calculations to help the audience understand how open enrollment affects the district's finances and budget planning.

Question 22

When did the school district purchase the 30 acres to construct the elementary school?

Accepted Answer

The district spent several months completing the purchase process, which involved negotiations, legal procedures, and financial arrangements. The district will close on the transaction in less than 30 days, marking a significant milestone in the construction of the elementary school.

Question 23

What happens to the land if the bond doesn’t pass?

Accepted Answer

First, the two most essential questions voters ask school districts on a bond referendum are: 1) Where is the district building? and 2) What is the repurposing strategy for the building?

School districts own or purchase property before going to the voters on a bond referendum. The superintendent and school board must have a detailed plan for the building process, and property is a must when talking to voters. If the bond doesn’t pass, the district will look at leasing the land for agricultural purposes to generate revenue until a bond referendum passes.

VOTE November 5th

VOTE
November 5th