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Election Extra: Bevy of school bond measures on 2024 ballots in Northwest Iowa

Amid the November 5 slate of traditional contests for legislative, congressional and county-level positions to be determined by voters, there are several public school bond issue votes on ballots in Northwest Iowa.

Early voting is underway, and polls will be open on November 5 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. School bond measures in Iowa require a 60 percent supermajority of affirmative voting to pass.

Three of the school bond measures in Siouxland are more than $50 million, including at Sergeant Bluff-Luton, where voters have defeated several measures to borrow to expand facilities in recent years. This year, the SB-L bond issue proposal is for $54.6 million.

The largest involves voters in the Okoboji School District deciding whether $69 million will be spent to build new facilities.

The proposal in the school bond measure would add an addition onto the high school and build a new elementary on the west edge of Milford.

According to a school newsletter, the district has seen a 23 percent increase in enrollment over the last decade, at a time when many Siouxland districts are struggling to maintain enrollment.

In the Le Mars School District in Plymouth County, voters will consider a proposal for $50 million. The total cost for a new elementary school building is $67 million, but district officials have set aside other revenues, such as sales tax, to pay for the full amount.

Another school bond measure in Plymouth County is in the Hinton School District, where voters will determine the fate of a $11.9 million proposal.

In Woodbury County, there is an $18.6 million facilities plan at Westwood of Sloan, Iowa, plus $17 million at the Lawton-Bronson School District.

There is one more bond issue measure in the area, although this one is not for a school project. In Sac County, the sheriff’s office has put forth a proposal of almost $11 million for a new jail in Sac City. The current jail facility received a recent inspection that showed it does not meet standards.