REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN)
Easton Valley $7.5 million bond falls short; Kirkwood $88 million measure passes
LOCAL NEWS WIRE • November 12, 2026
Easton Valley voters gave the school bond 55.6 percent, short of the 60 percent needed, while Kirkwood Community College’s $88 million bond passed with nearly 70 percent.
KEY FACTS & RECORD HIGHLIGHTS
- Easton Valley Community School District voters rejected borrowing $7.5 million: 1,003 yes (55.6 percent) to 802 no (44.4 percent); 60 percent approval was required.
- The Easton Valley money would have built a new competition gym at the high school in Preston, a better space for performing arts students, new locker rooms doubling as a storm shelter, and repurposed space for industrial arts.
- The district would have repaid the loan with property tax dollars; district officials said approval would not have increased the district’s property tax rate.
- More than 500 additional voters participated in this election than a year ago, according to Superintendent Chris Fee.
- Kirkwood Community College’s $88 million bond measure passed with nearly 70 percent approval; it needed 60 percent plus one.
- Kirkwood says the funding will go to its Cedar Rapids main campus, where many buildings date to the 1970s and have aging plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems, plus renovations for trades programs such as welding and HVAC.
- A home assessed at $400,000 in Kirkwood’s seven-county region would see $37.41 added to annual property taxes, according to a Piper Sandler tax-impact summary.
- Just under 63 percent of Jones County voters approved the Kirkwood measure (7,576 ballots cast); in Jackson County the vote was 43 in favor and 38 against; in Clinton County, 9 in favor and 1 against. Tama County, with a 99-97 split, was the only county with more no votes than yes votes.
According to the Bellevue Herald-Leader, voters in the Easton Valley Community School District fell short of the 60 percent threshold needed to approve borrowing $7.5 million for district improvements. Some 1,003 voters (55.6 percent) said yes and 802 (44.4 percent) said no, according to unofficial results. The money would have built a new competition gym at the high school in Preston, a better space for performing arts students, new locker rooms that would have doubled as a storm shelter, and repurposed space for industrial arts. District Superintendent Chris Fee said 60 percent is a tough mark to hit and that the needs of students and programs remain the same. In the same election, a ballot measure authorizing Kirkwood Community College to sell $88 million in bonds for infrastructure at its Cedar Rapids campus passed soundly, with nearly 70 percent approval. Bellevue voters also approved a $3 million pool bond in the same election, as previously reported.
Official Attribution: Bellevue Herald-Leader