The scope of the project includes:

• Approximately 20 classrooms (enough to get us to 5 sections for each elementary grade level)
• Safe and Secure Entrances
• Performing Arts/Multi-purpose Space
• More parking and better traffic flow
• Renovated interior spaces to allow for more cafeteria seating and other classroom improvements
• Concession/Restroom facility at the stadium

If the budget allows the district will consider an additional space connected to the Concession/RR facility that would house a weight room and fitness facility. The district is looking at a steel pole barn type of structure for this part of the plan.

If the community supports the idea of partnering through a fundraising initiative, the district will consider adding additional multipurpose spaces for indoor cages, wrestling, turf areas, courts, etc. to meet activity needs. This would be a potential future project with many details to be worked out. It is not part of the G.O. Bond plans.

As with any project, we only have the initial conceptual drawings completed, but we won't have any specific details until we know how much money we have available to support the project and what the cost of the facilities will ultimately be. There is still a lot of work to be done over the next several months.

There have been several meetings over the last 9-10 months and we have gotten a lot of input from a variety of people. If you have questions, contact me at deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com or reach out to any school board member, or facilities committee member listed below:

• Jess Drake- Board President
• John Gilliland- Board Vice President
• Sarah Moore- Board Member
• Brent Haynes- Board Member
• Tony Bradley- Board Member
• Adam Lamoureux
• Joe Day
• Katie Fischer
• Adam Carper
• Bill Bemis
• Ben Hammes
• Chas Funaro
• Cody Tibbetts
• Rick Roberts
• Quin Pelz
• David Johnson
• Hayley Lincoln
• Garret Hulse
• Jon Sieck
• Renee Martin
• Lindsay DeGroote
• Meredith Scott
• Mike Wiedman
• Michael Murphy
• Luke Reimers
• Shannon Miller
• Travis Brott
• Joe Herman
• Jay Olson
• Andrew Horsley
• Brett McDonough
• Jesse Adams
• Jenny Curran
• Kim Schreck
• Megan Warwick
• Sara Cook
• Jennele Swalla
• Jenny Bruins

On Tuesday, November 7, the voters of Van Meter CSD will have the opportunity to vote on a bond issue for $18,000,000. This funding along with borrowing up to $13,000,000 from S.A.V.E. (1% Sales Tax) will allow the district to put an addition on to the building that will provide up to 20 new classrooms, a multi-purpose performing arts center, secure entrances, improved traffic flow and parking, improved concession stand and restrooms at the stadium, and renovations in the current building which will meet current and future needs of the district.

Because our school board has been working to pay down our current debt, the debt service part of our tax rate is currently $3.98/$1000 of assessed valuation. If approved, this election would require the district to tax at $4.05 for debt service. However, by adjusting other components of the tax rate, the district and the board are committed to keeping the overall rate at or potentially below the current rate of $16.10. This project will not increase the district’s overall tax rate.

For the bond issue to pass, 60% of voters need to support the measure. Learn more about the project at vanmeterbond.org Also, there will be two more public forums about the project, information shared on social media and through the mail, and be looking for more videos from me as well.

Feel free to email me at deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com with any questions.

Below is a chart with information about the tax rate. The board has the authority to adjust the following components of the tax rate:

• Management
• PPEL
• Debt service (can only increase it to pay off debt early. The rate is set to make minimum current debt payment)

The majority of the tax rate is determined by the state of Iowa.

The chart has a bar graph with our total tax rate to the left, the entire state of Iowa school districts’ maximum, median, and minimum tax rates in the middle, and Van Meter CSD’s tax rate and the various components of it over the last 7 fiscal years in the colored part to the right. As you can see, various parts of our tax rate have changed, but the overall rate has been in the $16.00 range for the last several years.

You can also find more information about school finance here.

The board and the district are committed to keeping the tax rate consistent...or lower when possible. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions at deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com

On Tuesday, October 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the East Dining Hall, we will be hosting an informational meeting about our upcoming building project with our architects from Invision. You will be able to learn more about the project, the G.O. Bond election, the timing and cost of the project, as well as the impact it would have on our tax rate.

This will be the second of three meetings that we will have here at the school. We will also have one on Wednesday, November 1.

We will also send information out via mail and you can find out more information at https://www.vanmeterbond.org/. If you have any questions about the project and are unable to attend any of the meetings, feel free to contact me at deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com

For the 2023 School Board Election, we have 5 people who are running for two seats. They are listed below:

• Tony Bradley (incumbent)
• Jenny Bruins
• Luke Reimers
• Meredith Scott
• Robyn Sullivan

We will share more information about the candidates in next week's Bulldog Brief.

We are also anticipating a candidate forum sometime in October. The VMEPC is looking at either Wednesday, October 11 or Wednesday, October 18 at 6:30 p.m. We will get details and information to you soon.

We want to thank Brent Haynes for the last 8 years of service. He has been an integral part of the work we have done in our district. We truly appreciate all he has done to support our students, staff, and community.

The FFA Dairy Foods team did VERY well at the Career Development Event this week.

Caleb Johnson received 4th out of 137 students. The high school Dairy Foods team consisting of Caleb Johnson, Lydia Thummel, and Katie Oliver ranked 3rd out of 40 teams. I attached a group picture below of all the students who attended.

Congratulations to all of our participants!

US News and World Report Rankings are based on the following six factors:

• College readiness, based on the proportion of 12th grade students who took and earned a qualifying score on at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam (30% of ranking).
• State assessment proficiency, based on aggregated scores on state assessments that students may be required to pass for graduation (20%).
• State assessment performance, based on whether performance on state assessments exceeded expectations given the school's proportion of underserved students (20%).
• Underserved student performance, based on how Black, Hispanic and low-income students performed on state assessments compared with those who are not underserved in the state (10%).
• College curriculum breadth, based on proportions of 12th grade students who took and earned a qualifying score on AP and/or IB exams in multiple content areas (10%).
• Graduation rate, based on the proportion of students who entered ninth grade in 2017-2018 and graduated four years later (10%).

Van Meter ranks 3rd in the state overall. We were also tied for #1 in the country in the percentage of proficient students. Learn more here.

For anyone who would like to learn more about advertising on the video board at the stadium, please email either Rick or me at

rick.roberts@vmbulldogs.com

deron.durflinger@vmbulldogs.com

All of the commercial spots are filled, but there is room for the two levels identified below. We'd love to have your support for our programs.

Options for supporting our programs are in the image below.

Van Meter will have two open seats on the ballot in November. 30 signatures are needed to get your name on the ballot. Important dates to consider:

Aug. 28: Candidate filing begins.
Sept. 21: Candidate filing deadline by 5 p.m.
Sept. 26: Candidate withdrawal deadline by 5 p.m. (last day for candidates to withdraw by filing a written request with the school secretary).
Nov. 7: School election day. Polls are open from 7 a.m.–8 p.m.

If you are interested, more information can be found at https://www.ia-sb.org/school-board-elections

We have four organizations that do a great job of supporting Van Meter Schools. They are always looking for members. Be sure to reach out to them if you are interested in helping out.

Van Meter Education Foundation- Contact Luke Haverstick at lhaverstick@hotmail.com

Van Meter Elementary Parent Committee Contact Katie Gionet at vmepc01@gmail.com

Van Meter Performing Arts Boosters Contact Scott Prickett at prickettsd@gmail.com

Van Meter Athletic Boosters Contact Jason Pleggenkuhle at vmathleticboosters@gmail.com

Email: firstname.lastname@vmbulldogs.com
Website: www.vmbulldogs.com
Location: 520 1st Avenue, Van Meter, IA, USA
Phone: (515) 996-2221
Facebook: https://facebook.com/VanMeterSchools/
Twitter: @vanmeterschools