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Bond Referendum | Frequently Asked Questions

Below are the responses to frequently asked questions about the November 4, 2025 Dubuque Community School District Middle School Bond Referendum. This page will continue to be updated with new questions added.

Looking for an overview of the bond project? View the main bond webpage for full details.

Questions included on this page include:

 


If the bond is approved, when will the new middle school open?

If the bond is approved, the district would move into building design and project bidding stages before construction starts. Based on tentative timelines, the new middle school would be ready to open in fall 2029 for the 2029-2030 school year.

That means that students who are currently in second, third and fourth grade during the 2025-2026 school year would be the first sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students to attend the new middle school.

 

Where would my student attend middle school?

Middle school boundaries would align with the high school boundaries when the new middle school is completed.

Students residing in the Hempstead High School boundary would attend middle school at Roosevelt Middle School and students residing in the Dubuque Senior High School boundary would attend middle school at the new middle school.

Not sure which high school boundary you reside in? Check by address on our Find Your School page.

 

What will happen to Jefferson Middle School and Washington Middle School if a new middle school is built?

Jefferson Middle School and Washington Middle School will continue to operate during construction of the new middle school. Once a new middle school opens, the current Washington building would be deconstructed. The Jefferson building WOULD NOT be deconstructed by the district and next steps for use of the building would be determined at a later date.

 

Will Jefferson Middle School remain open if the bond does not pass?

Discussion at the September 2, 2025, School Board Facilities/Support Services Committee meeting focused on the fact that in all future efficiency scenarios, Jefferson Middle School will need to close due to consistently declining enrollment, the age of the facility, and the cost associated with updating the school and its learning spaces.

The recommendation to close Jefferson will be needed whether or not the bond issue is approved by voters in November. While there is not a finalized timeline for a closure, the district anticipates a future closure of Jefferson would not impact students currently attending Jefferson.

 

Is the district purchasing the Dubuque Community Y property near Washington Middle School for the project?

No, the middle school project does not have any component that includes the Dubuque Community Y property.

As part of a comprehensive site and property study during the district’s first bond referendum in 2023, a variety of possible site and land scenarios were explored in order to exhaust all possible land options. At that time, the Dubuque Community Y property was explored but determined to not be a viable option for expanding the Washington site.

 

What is the impact on student transportation if a new middle school is built?

Based on enrollment estimates for a new school, the district could see up to $230,000 in additional transportation costs, not considering enrollment changes and savings from students who may choose to use public transportation.

The district would realign bus routes to accommodate eligible riders based on their new middle school of attendance. That potential increased ridership can be accommodated within the district’s current transportation system. Given this, we do not anticipate any additional school bus purchases will be needed. The route realignment would change the number of buses going to each middle school based on redistribution of eligible riders across two middle school boundaries.

For forecasting purposes, based on the increase in students who would be eligible for school bus transportation in the realigned boundaries, a high-end projection of an additional $230,000 in annual expenditures for transportation is included in the cost estimations. This was arrived at by using the current transportation cost per pupil and taking it times the number of anticipated new eligible riders. The new middle school site would be designed to accommodate additional school buses on school grounds rather than on surrounding roads in a designated, on-campus bus lane area for drop-off and pick-up times.

Even with this additional transportation cost, the district is estimated to save $1.9 to $2.5 million annually in operational costs.

 

How will a new middle school impact traffic in the Washington area?

The district utilized WHKS & Co. engineers to conduct a traffic study of the area surrounding the Washington Middle School with an evaluation of the proposed new school’s traffic patterns, expected traffic increases and the impact of the site design on traffic safety.

Overall, the study indicated that the proposed site design would reduce congestion, improve traffic patterns, and increase pedestrian and vehicular safety.

The primary cause for existing traffic concerns are related to the deficiency of the existing site to pull vehicles off the street for drop-off and pick-up

Key current challenges are:

    • vehicles stopping near the main entrance on North Grandview and letting students out, causing slowdowns and backups in both directions
    • U-turns during peak hours around the median on North Grandview
    • little queueing space due to the short distance from the vehicular entrance to the main entrance of the building, leading to backups on streets
    • large groups of students cross North Grandview, creating hazards
    • people use the existing ramp shoulders to drop-off students to avoid the congestion, which is unsafe
    • buses and vehicles share entrances which causes increased conflict points and reducing traffic flow

The traffic study model was based on an estimated 30 percent increase in general school vehicular traffic and a 70 percent increase in bus traffic. The proposed site layout decreases conflict points, increases onsite queuing space, and improves traffic flow. A sensitivity analysis of the proposed site configuration showed that the adjacent roadway system could absorb a 100 percent increase (three times the expected increase) in school vehicular traffic without major issues. This highlights the long-term viability of the site’s traffic plan.

The proposed new site:

    • relocates the main entrance to Lombard Street with a significant internal parent drop-off zone that will reduce congestion and eliminate unsafe drop-offs along ramps.
    • has a dedicated bus lane along the north side of the school that will separate bus and vehicle traffic, and improve flow and safety
    • has a new pedestrian crosswalk at North Grandview that will enhance pedestrian safety through installing curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalks, and flashing beacons
    • reduces traffic conflict points by splitting bus and vehicle entrances and creating right-in and right-out flows to move cars quickly and ensure a safer site

No roadway widening will be needed, which will preserve the character of the surrounding neighborhoods. Signal timing adjustments will likely need to be made at intersections in order to facilitate traffic flow.

 

What will the property tax impact be if the bond passes?

If a general obligation bond is approved, it would add an additional $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed value to the district’s property tax levy.

Property owners do not pay taxes on their entire assessed value. Iowa law prescribes a method to “roll back” property assessed values. In the current school year, residential property owners pay taxes on 47.4316% of the assessed value of their home, minus any qualifying exemptions. This is true statewide, regardless of where someone lives.

Use the calculator linked below, which allows you to input your assessed value and takes into account the rollback and any exemptions, to calculate the impact of the proposed $1.00 on your specific property.

CALCULATE THE TAX IMPACT ON YOUR PROPERTY

 

Do the district’s projections on tax impact already account for both principal and interest, and what will the interest rate on the bonds be?

Bonds are the borrowing mechanism that schools use to borrow money for capital projects. In fact, the district uses bonds regularly for capital projects and those bonds always include interest payments.

If the bond measure is approved, the district would sell bonds as funds are needed and make regular debt service payments on the outstanding bonds. Interest rates for the bond cannot by law be locked in until the time the bonds are sold. The projections by our financial advisors for the bonding process were done assuming a 3.9% interest rate. For reference, the current interest rate on the market is 3.75%.

The additional $1 on the tax levy if the bond passes includes the payment of BOTH principal and interest.

 

If approved, would the district immediately issue bonds for the project?

No, the district would not sell all bonds immediately and would have multiple bond issuances to fund the project. If approved, the district would issue general obligation bonds for the project as needed in 2026, 2027 and 2028, with the term of each issuance being 20 years.

 

Why build a new school on the Washington site rather than renovate and add on to the current Washington building?

As part of the district’s facilities planning process, there were several factors considered when determining whether to build new or renovate the existing Washington building.

These included:

    • The overall cost of the project in each scenario
    • The cost of ongoing maintenance
    • The construction timeline

The overall cost for a new middle school as proposed is $121.9 million. The cost to renovate and add on to the current Washington was estimated at $109.1 million. Conversely, the district would spend an estimated 30 percent less on maintenance and operational costs for an entirely new building as opposed to a renovated facility over time.

Also, in the renovation scenario, it would take one to two years longer to complete a renovation and addition project, which would delay the realization of operational cost savings and create significant disruptions to the learning environment during that time.

The existing Washington Middle School structure was evaluated during the planning process and was found to have some limiting features like load bearing masonry walls, many different floor levels that don’t align, a small auditorium capacity, etc. that make it challenging and costly to provide equal spaces to modern schools like Roosevelt.

The renovated scenario would have also limited the ability to improve traffic flow in the Grandview area, which currently poses increased safety risks.

Ultimately, the planning group recommended and the Board approved the plan to move forward with proposing a new middle school on the Washington site.

Read the comprehensive response to questions received regarding renovation of Washington Middle School