It is the mission of the Marshalltown Community School District to provide all students with a high-quality education that prepares them for success later in life.

To do this, we must maintain a learning environment where our nearly 5,300 students and 900 staff members can thrive. One of the ways this is accomplished is through a voter-approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL).

MCSD is among the more than 83% of Iowa school districts that relies on a voted PPEL. The levy must be approved by voters every 10 years and generates funds that can be used only for infrastructure and equipment repairs, purchases, and improvements. These expenditures have generally been in four areas: buildings and grounds improvements, safety and security measures, transportation vehicle replacement and technology.

On March 5, our residents will be asked to approve the district’s voted PPEL through 2035. MCSD has used PPEL funds for a variety of needs since 1997, including roof repairs, HVAC system maintenance, computer purchases, and school bus replacements, among many others.

An approved PPEL will allow the district to continue accessing these funds to protect the prior investments our community has made in its schools. It will also allow MCSD to plan for future maintenance — a priority considering the average age of our schools is nearly 67 years.

The current voted PPEL has a rate of $0.67 per $1,000 of assessed property value, and the ballot measure asks voters to approve a new rate of $1.34. MCSD is fortunate to be in a financial position where we can raise the voted PPEL rate and offset that increase with other levy and spending reductions. This means the overall tax rate of $15.99 will remain flat.

It’s important for the community to know an approved PPEL will not lead to a tax increase. We understand the need to keep property taxes as low as possible, which is why providing relief has been a priority since the district’s overall tax rate peaked at $18.35 in 2021.

If you would like to learn more about the voted PPEL and the ways it supports MCSD and our students, please visit www.marshalltownppel.org.

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Dr. Theron Schutte is the superintendent of the Marshalltown Community School District.