Dubuque superintendent unveils plan after failed bond: Roosevelt addition, community-driven planning and PPEL renewal proposed

Superintendent Amy Hawkins on March 16 told the Dubuque Community School District Board of Education that the district must pursue a three-part plan after a failed bond referendum: add space at Roosevelt Middle School to enable middle-school consolidation, start a community planning process to shape 2028–29 grade alignment and building use, and seek a voter-approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) renewal at $1.34 per $1,000 assessed value.

Hawkins said the district’s finances have eroded over years of falling state supplemental aid and steady enrollment declines, and warned that, without change, projections show the district could face a negative unspent-balance position by the 2028–29 school year. “We just can’t survive as is,” Hawkins said, summarizing the fiscal picture and earlier cost-saving steps including reductions in teacher leadership, reallocation of categorical funds and the prior closure of Hoover Elementary.

The first recommendation is to begin an addition at Roosevelt Middle School that Hawkins estimated would cost between $20 million and $25 million and be paid from existing SAVE (the 1¢ sales tax) dollars; she said using SAVE would avoid a property-tax increase for residents. Hawkins said Roosevelt has site capacity and is one of the district’s more modern facilities, adding that the planned timeline would allow Jefferson Middle School to remain open through the 2027–28 school year and the Roosevelt addition to be online for 2028–29.

Hawkins described a second step: an external community planning process involving an internal cabinet-level core team, an external task force and topic-focused community sessions. The district will use the task force and focus groups to explore grade-level alignment, future building consolidation, transportation implications, program preservation and ways to maintain class-size goals. “We need the community to be at the table and help shape Dubuque into the future it needs to be,” Hawkins said.

The third element is a proposed PPEL renewal. Hawkins and staff explained that the district’s current voter-approved PPEL rate of $0.67 per $1,000 assessed value generates about $3 million a year and that a $1.34 rate would produce roughly double that amount — funds restricted to capital upkeep, buses, security and similar uses. Hawkins said that revenue could accelerate air-conditioning projects and fund secure entrances in buildings that lack them; the board was told the district plans a voter-approved special election in September 2026 for the PPEL renewal.

Board members and staff discussed engagement and outreach plans. Staff member Mike described a communications approach that includes a dedicated web page, local media, social channels and paid outreach to broaden contact beyond district families. Board members stressed the difficulty of reaching less-connected voters and urged leveraging community partners and board members’ personal networks to expand participation.

Several board members voiced support for a community-driven process but cautioned that the district must balance community input with hard fiscal constraints. Anderson, a board member who said he has served for eight years, praised the proposed engagement and emphasized the need for good process. Mike said the external core team would likely meet every other week and that focus groups would be topic-specific and include data presentations to inform discussion.

Hawkins stressed that only the PPEL renewal would go to voters; the Roosevelt addition would be financed from SAVE funds already set aside and the broader planning recommendations would come back to the board for final decisions. She asked board members to support launching the process and encouraged the community to participate in the upcoming outreach and focus-group schedule.

The meeting concluded after a short question-and-answer period; the board approved the evening’s agenda at the start of the session and Hawkins said the district will follow up with an email and public information about how to join the planning work.