SIOUX CITY — Sioux City public school district officials are warning that if voters reject a proposed tax levy later this year, the district could be forced to ax plans to build a new elementary school.
A special election on Dec. 2 seeks a new levy to raise $45 million over 10 years to help fund several new elementary schools and renovate Sioux City’s three high schools. If passed, the levy would increase property taxes by about $70 a year for a home valued at $105,000.
School officials say the special levy is needed as a 1-cent sales tax approved in 1998 for school infrastructure is set to expire in 2018.
That sales tax has funded the building of more than 10 schools since 2002.
But four projects remain to be funded, including construction of the new Bryant Elementary School, set to open in 2020, Superintendent Paul Gausman said.