The Cedar Rapids Community School District said on its Future Ready Today podcast that district leaders will share a list of potential facilities proposals with families and staff this Friday and that the school board will discuss the list at its Jan. 12 meeting. Justin, a host of the district podcast, said, "That proposal list will be shared with families and staff this Friday afternoon. The school board will discuss it during its January 12 meeting."

District leaders described an "intermediate model" under consideration—reconfiguring schools so fifth- and sixth-grade students attend separate intermediate buildings and seventh- and eighth-grade students attend distinct middle buildings—as part of efforts to stabilize finances and strengthen instruction. Isabelle, the co-host, summarized that district leaders are finalizing a list of schools that may be proposed for consideration and noted consolidation is one possible outcome.

Podcast hosts emphasized that these are proposals only and that no final decisions have been made. "Note, no final decisions have been made," Justin said, adding that "the board is not scheduled to take a final vote on facilities until January 26." The hosts encouraged families to attend the meetings in person or watch online and to review presentation materials posted on the district website.

Why it matters: the district framed the effort as a fiscal and instructional strategy to align facilities with student needs; changes to school configuration or consolidations would affect where students attend and how resources are allocated. The podcast did not list which schools are on the potential proposal list.

What the podcast did not specify: the episode did not provide a definitive list of schools under consideration, specific enrollment thresholds that would trigger consolidation, estimated cost savings or projected timelines beyond the Jan. 12 discussion and Jan. 26 vote window. Any formal action would follow the board process described on the district website.