As South Sioux City School District officials ponder adding new school facilities that might cost up to $123 million, one final public input meeting will be held on Tuesday.
South Sioux City residents are encouraged to at the Cardinal workshop at 6 p.m. January 14, at the Middle School Gym.
In a release, school officials said the prior four sessions have pointed to infrastructure needs and challenges that may come to a public bond issue vote, to potentially allocate from $88 million to $123 million.
The most recent workshop drew 100 people. Some takeaways are that current schools are overcrowded, with half being over capacity in the number of students, while three-fourths of the schools are older than the national average for age, which is 49 years.
South Sioux City School District workers are currently educating nearly 3,800 students. That number is projected to rise by 150 students over th next five years, and by 500 pupils over the next 10 years.
One of the possibilities being weighed is to build a new school for fifth and sixth grades.
*Additionally, a group that has challenged race and sex-based scholarships at universities around the nation is now claiming scholarships offered by the University of Northern Iowa violate federal civil rights law.
The Equal Protection Project, which is based in Rhode Island, argues in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that the 13 UNI scholarships directed at women or students of color illegally exclude others, such as white students.
Groups like the Equal Protection Project have targeted scholarship programs around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that race-conscious college admissions are unconstitutional.
In statements about their complaint, Equal Protection Project refers to an Iowa law aimed at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the state’s public universities.
They say scholarships should have the same treatment.
In response to that law, UNI along with the University of Iowa and Iowa State cut or modified dozens of positions and redistributed more than $2 million in funding.
At its next meeting, the Iowa Board of Regents will consider removing references to diversity and inclusion in its strategic plans.
*Additionally, a new University of Iowa study released this week underscores the importance of doctors asking patients about their levels of physical activity.
The UI researchers had more than 7,000 patients at family medicine clinics answer two survey questions about exercise levels.
They found those who reported high activity were at significantly lower risk for 19 chronic conditions including diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Lucas Carr, an associate professor of health and physiology at the University of Iowa, led the study. He says few health systems nationwide screen and counsel patients on physical activity.
"Financially, the system is just not set up in a way that makes exercise prevention work, something that keeps the lights on at the hospital,” Carr said.
Carr says in addition to billing concerns, many providers report not knowing how to counsel their patients on exercise.
