“We are asking voters to approve an increase in our voted Physical Plant and Equipment Levy from the current maximum of $0.67 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $1.34,” G-R Superintendent Caleb Bonjour wrote in an email earlier this month. “This funding is specifically used for infrastructure and equipment needs, such as maintaining and improving school facilities, purchasing vehicles like buses, and updating technology and security systems.”

The voted PPEL, as it is currently constructed for G-R, is made up of two components, including a levy for 33 cents per $1,000 of assessed property tax valuation that does not require a public vote.

The second requires a special school election to implement, and on March 1, 2022, G-R voters did just that by renewing the district’s 10-year voted PPEL and allowing the school board to levy $0.67 per $1,000 of assessed property tax valuation rather than just the initial 33 cents.

At the time of the 2022 renewal, G-R had been using its longstanding voted PPEL – records indicate that participation predates consolidation to at least 1975, when it was first adopted by the Gladbrook Community School District – to fund vehicle purchases, technology hardware and software purchase, facility repairs, equipment purchases and rental of facilities such as the Western Outreach Center at Hawkeye Community College, according to previous reporting.

Gladbrook resident Steve Schmitz stands on Friday, Feb. 14, next to a hand-painted ‘VOTE NO’ barn sign he recently placed in his front yard located at the corner of Garfield and Second streets.

But a deteriorating 1921 secondary building coupled with the failure of two recent school bond referendums — along with $8.9 million in SAVE (sales tax) bonds and cash-on-hand already committed to updates/additions at the elementary school — have seemingly backed the district into a proverbial corner, leading the board to now seek the full $1.34 voted PPEL as allowed by Iowa Code.

“With our deteriorating infrastructure at the secondary building and our General Obligation bond failing, we are working to develop plans of how to address some of our most concerning and pressing issues as our timeline (should we be able to get a General Obligation bond to pass) will still be moved out for a few years causing us to still need to address some major items sooner than later,” Bonjour further explained in his email.

The decision was thus made during the November 2024 regular monthly school board meeting to adopt, by a 7-0 vote, a resolution calling for an election to amend the 2022 voted PPEL.

The resulting public measure will be put to voters in less than two weeks on Tuesday, March 4. If passed by a simple majority, it would authorize the school board for nine years to levy and impose an additional $0.67 (up to the full $1.34) per $1,000 of assessed property tax valuation using a mix of both property tax and income surtax.

“The nice thing about the voted PPEL is it just gives the board the authority to go up to that limit,” Bonjour said. “Every year as we set our certified budget, we would set the levy rate. Should a General Obligation bond get passed in the future, we would then be able to reduce the PPEL levy rate to keep the overall tax burden lower.”

Reinbeck’s electronic sign flashes the word ‘VOTE!’ on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022 – the day of an unsuccessful $23.6 million school bond referendum.

The Gladbrook, Reinbeck divide

While nearly 60% of voters approved the 2022 voted PPEL renewal, the vote share between Reinbeck and Gladbrook was stark. Voters in Reinbeck were near-unanimous in their support (155-4) and Gladbrook voters almost entirely against it – 108 nos to just 14 yes votes.

Ever since that fateful board vote in February of 2015 to close the Gladbrook school, a schism between the two communities has festered with the divide only widening in 2022 when Gladbrook’s closed buildings were demolished – a razing that coincided with the 100th anniversary of the town’s annual Corn Carnival.

Today, many Gladbrook residents cannot pass by the now-vacant green space at Fifth and Washington streets without conjuring up vivid memories from June 16, 2022, of their half-destroyed school’s long shadows forming the backdrop to the Thursday evening Kiddie Parade along Fourth Street.

In the 10 years since the school was shuttered, a significant number of the community’s residents have made the decision to open enroll their children at nearby school districts including Green Mountain-Garwin (GMG). As a result, G-R experienced a nearly 79% increase in its open enrollment out numbers directly following the closure – going from 70 students in 2014-15 to 125 students in 2015-16.

According to certified enrollment data for the current, 2024-25 school year, G-R has 168.2 students open enrolled out with 446 resident students served in-district plus another 22 students open enrolled into the district.

In tandem with the enrollment struggles, conditions at Reinbeck’s 1921 secondary building continue to slide downhill, leading the district to try twice in as many years to pass a bond referendum earmarked for facilities improvements, including a $23.6 million bond in Sept. 2022 that garnered only 36% of the vote share.

Last November, the district tried again with a $16.5 million bond request that came in 50/50 — still short of the requisite 60%+1 supermajority, but giving the school board and Bonjour hope that the threshold could eventually be overcome.

Letter to the community

Earlier this month, Bonjour, who was hired to replace former shared Superintendent Erik Smith following the failed 2022 bond vote, authored a six-page letter addressed to Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s ‘families, staff, and community members.’

“In recent days, I have seen and heard the conversations happening throughout our district regarding the upcoming voted PPEL measure and broader concerns about our schools and community. It’s clear that people care deeply about the future of our district – whether they support or oppose different initiatives – and that passion is something I deeply respect,” Bonjour began his letter.

“In Gladbrook-Reinbeck, our community is not defined by town lines, addresses, or past divisions – it is built on the students we educate, the schools that bring us together, and the people who invest in our future. No matter where you live in the district, we are one. Whether you call Gladbrook home, live in Reinbeck, or reside anywhere in between, we are all part of something bigger. Our strength does not come from being separate, but from coming together with a shared purpose – to ensure that every student in our district has the best opportunities to learn, grow, and succeed. Our community is more than just a school district – it is a commitment to each other, to our children, and to the future we build together.”

Bonjour went on to say that the district currently sits at a “crossroads.”

“The reality is that our school district cannot thrive if we remain divided,” he wrote. “For too long, our district has been known as a great school that excels in many areas, yet remains divided and feuding like rivals. But the truth is, we are bigger and better than that. We are ONE district. We are ONE community. And we can either go down together – or we can thrive together.”

Bonjour then included a subsection titled “Clarifying the Facts” in which he said, “Consolidation is not needed. Our district remains financially stable due to continued enrollment growth, even as state supplemental aid has not kept pace with rising costs. Our biggest challenge is not financial sustainability – it’s our aging facilities.”

He also said the upcoming vote was not for a “new tax” but rather “an increase to an existing funding source.”

In a third section of the letter, Bonjour addressed “The Reality of Consolidation & Dissolution,” stating that both situations would likely lead to an increase in property taxes.

“If we were to consolidate, taxes for everyone in the district would likely increase. The combined tax rate of a larger district would be higher than what we currently pay. If we dissolve, taxes would also go up – but the decision about where our students would attend school and how our tax dollars are allocated would no longer be our decision.”

If the district were to consolidate or dissolve, those in the current G-R school district would be redistricted and would thus be eligible to vote in any school elections that were called in their new, respective districts.

Bonjour then discussed the challenges of the 1921 building.

In terms of why G-R families are choosing to enroll elsewhere, Bonjour wrote, “Every neighboring district around us has invested in updating their facilities in recent years, creating modern and accessible learning environments. While we are working to do the same at our elementary school [using SAVE funds], our secondary building is falling behind.”

He also addressed the relatively low tax rate G-R currently has in place.

“Gladbrook-Reinbeck currently has one of the lowest tax rates among neighboring districts. Even with the proposed PPEL increase, our tax rate remains competitive. BCLUW is the only district with a lower tax rate, and they have also had to discuss facility closures in one of their communities,” he wrote.

Finally – before diving into the details of when and where to vote plus an announced restart of the district’s ever-evolving Facilities Task Force – he issued a “Call for Constructive Conversations.”

“I know there are strong feelings about these issues, and some of these discussions have become heated. But personal attacks, accusations, and assumptions about people’s intentions only push us further apart. I welcome constructive conversations and hard questions – we may not always agree, but I am committed to providing honest, fact-based answers. I ask that we all approach these discussions with respect for one another and a shared commitment to finding the best solutions for our students.”

Gladbrook’s heart

“We got along as joint boards very, very good,” Gladbrook area farmer and former school board member Keith Sash said last week in a sit-down interview ahead of the special election. Through the years, Sash has served on not only the Gladbrook and joint school boards, but also as Gladbrook mayor and on the Tama County Board of Supervisors.

While he was born in Laurel, he moved to Tama County in 1952 with his family, eventually graduating from Gladbrook High School in 1961 after previously attending country school up to the eighth grade.

All three of Sash’s now-adult children graduated from either Gladbrook or G-R, he said, while several of his grandchildren currently open enroll out from G-R to GMG.

“When we each had our own elementary, we got along very well,” Sash said. “There were good reps [on the board] from both towns. But once your town loses a school, [that town] is going to be affected the worst.”

While discussing the schism that exists today between the two communities separated by roughly 17 miles, Sash listed off all the things Gladbroook has lost since the school was closed and subsequently demolished, including the grain elevator — which wasn’t rebuilt following the derecho — the medical clinic, the pharmacy, restaurants, bars, and more.

“We had nothing to fall back on and the dominoes fell. The school was our number one employer,” he said.

Sash also brought up several of the initiatives Gladbrook was working on prior to the school closing including constructing new senior housing in order to “open up” more starter homes in the community for young families.

“But just as soon as they closed that school…” he said, before trailing off.

‘Do we want to become Gladbrook?’ is certainly a question that’s been posed — sometimes quite callously — many, many times by folks in surrounding communities whenever the subject of school consolidation or closure is raised. The question – or phrase, in one form or another – is one Sash is keenly aware of, he admitted, before also admitting, “I’m not loved up in Reinbeck by any means.”

But despite all that’s happened, he still firmly believes it didn’t have to be this way.

“Did they have to do it during Corn Carnival?” he asked at one point, referencing the demolition. “[The school board] didn’t give a damn.”

When a town loses its school, the heart is often yanked out of it, in Sash’s words. But without some Gladbrook voters marking ‘Yes’ on March 4, the voted PPEL may not meet the required simpler majority to pass.

Bonjour rounded out his February 2025 letter to the community with a plea seemingly aimed at people like Sash.

“Our district is stronger when we work together,” Bonjour wrote. “Whether you live in Gladbrook, Reinbeck, or anywhere in between, we are connected by the success of our schools. We can continue to fight amongst ourselves and fall apart, piece by piece – or we can come together, build a stronger future, and thrive. I remain committed to ensuring that we build a future together – one that keeps our district strong and focused on what truly matters: our kids. I appreciate the engagement, the passion, and the willingness to discuss these issues. Let’s continue the conversation, but let’s do it in a way that builds – not divides.”

The upcoming vote will certainly tell a lot about whether the schism that cut so very deeply into Gladbrook’s heart can ever truly be healed.

Polls will be open for voters in the G-R district on Tuesday, March 4 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Polling locations in Tama County include the Gladbrook Memorial Building (Crystal and Spring Creek townships; City of Gladbrook) and the AMVETS Post #10 of Lincoln (Grant, Lincoln, Buckingham townships; City of Lincoln). In Grundy County, the Reinbeck Memorial Building will be the polling site for all residents.