Two major construction projects — a multipurpose activities facility and a mid-sized performing arts center — are being proposed in the West Des Moines school district that would be paid for with revenue from a bond referendum.

Voters in the West Des Moines school district on Tuesday will decide whether to approve a $135 million bond referendum, the first put before voters in over two decades. Sixty percent of voters need to approve the measure for it to pass.

Over 75% of the bond referendum – $106 million – will be used to modernize and update all of the buildings in the district with an emphasis on improvements to instructional spaces.

In addition, feedback from the community indicated a desire for additional spaces for extracurricular and co-curricular activities, said Bryan Geelan, the district’s executive director of communications. The district is proposing to build a two-level multipurpose activities facility that is estimated to cost $35 million.

“Our students are involved in a lot of activities and we are short of space to serve them,” Geelan said. Currently, the high school dance team rents space in a facility that is not owned by the district; the cheerleading squads practice in the career and technical education facility that has high ceilings to allow tossing people upward.

“We’re making it work right now but we think we could be in a better place,” Geelan said.

The facility would be built on land the district owns south of the West Des Moines Library, located at 4000 Mills Civic Parkway. The facility would include multipurpose surfaces and dedicated rooms for school clubs.

Also proposed in the bond referendum is a mid-size performing arts center that would be built on the Indian Hills Junior High School campus. The center would be a districtwide resource, Geelan said.

“We looked at usage of our [performing arts facilities] and realized we need a mid-size facility,” he said. The performing arts facility at Valley High School seats over 1,000 people; one at Stilwell Junior High School seats about 250. A new center would seat about 500.

A bond referendum was last put before voters in the district in 2002. The referendum, which asked voters to decide whether to build a new Valley High School, failed to pass.

If voters approve Tuesday’s bond referendum, all of the district’s facilities would be updated, including buying new furniture and improving lighting and air quality. Other projects include:

• Construction of a band and equipment storage facility at Valley Stadium.
• Upgrading Valley Southwoods’ track and field facility.
• Upgrading the technology and equipment at the Staplin Performing Arts Center at Valley High School.
• Reconfiguring Valley’s main entrance.
• Updating all of the district’s playgrounds.

If the bond referendum is approved, the district’s property tax rate would increase by $1.52 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, according to the district’s website.  The owner of residential property valued at $300,000 would pay an additional $209 in property taxes annually.

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