On September 8, 2020, the bond referendum for the Southeast Polk Community School District was passed. According to the district’s Superintendent Dirk Halupnik, “A bond referendum is a vote to allow the school district to borrow money.”

The 2020 referendum was worth 92 million dollars and will provide the funds for many projects for our district within the next 5 years. With the district growing constantly, this project has been on the minds of the school board for many years.

“Several of these projects have been discussed for many years. The school board began seriously discussing the idea of combining all of these projects into one vote about 2 years ago and then made the decision to move forward with this officially in May,” said Halupnik. 

There are multiple different projects that the district hopes to accomplish using this money. One of the first projects to be started will be the building of a new 6-7 grade facility. 

“One big change will be a new middle-level building and the restructuring of grades in buildings. The new building will house 6th and 7th grade students. The junior high will transition to 8th and 9th grade students and the high school 10th -12th,” said Halupnik. 

The district also hopes to build a new elementary school and a new multipurpose stadium. According to southeastpolk.org, “The facility [multi purpose stadium] will be located on the east side of the cross country course. There will need to be some adjustments to the course but the course itself will remain largely intact.”

Although current high school students may not see all of the projects completed, they will be able to see the start of some. This includes technology being upgraded in classrooms, which, according to Halupnik, “is already being piloted right now.”

None of these projects would have been funded without the help of the Southeast Polk community voting this month, so Halupnik wants to say, “Thank you to the Southeast Polk community for the support of the school system and for the commitment to our kids!”