Hawkeye bond referendum on March 7 ballot

Hawkeye Community College will be asking voters to approve a $35 million bond referendum on Tuesday, March 7 that the school hopes to use to expand its trade school and law enforcement training opportunities for students.

The referendum is a bond renewal at the current tax rate as an existing tax levy is ending. The owner of a $100,000 home will pay approximately $1.20 per month with an approved bond renewal.

The school plans on using the bond money to improve vocational and career education, including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and expanding law enforcement training as part of a two-phased plan, according to a press release.

With workforce projections forecasting a 15-20% increase in demand for skilled trade workers in Iowa by 2030, an existing building will be renovated into a Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Center, with construction, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, automotive and diesel technology programs under one roof.

A STEM Learning Center would include interactive virtual reality technology geared toward middle and high school students, connecting them to high-demand career pathways and to college, allowing younger students to more easily decide if they are interested in a STEM career.

Hawkeye also looks to expand its Law Enforcement Academy with the bond money to help meet the growing need for law enforcement personnel and the training that new and current officers take to that end. Aplington and Clarksville’s police departments, as well as the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, have sent cadets through Hawkeye’s academy and hired their Police Science graduates.

The press release stated that 92 percent of Hawkeye graduates stay in Iowa to live and work, training healthcare workers, first responders and skilled trades workers, in addition to helping individuals complete the first two years of their four-year liberal arts degrees.

In the fall of 2022 alone, 195 high school students from Aplington-Parkersburg, Clarksville and Dike-New Hartford schools completed almost 1,700 college credits, saving families $358,000 in future college tuition. In the last ten years, Hawkeye has awarded degrees to more than 625 individuals from these school districts. In the last four years, Hawkeye has trained nearly 2,900 employees to the benefit of more than 300 businesses.

Additional information on Hawkeye’s plans can be found at www.hawkeyecollege.edu/bond-2023.

Absentee ballots for the March 7 vote are available by request through Feb. 22 and can be found online at the Secretary of State’s website at https://sos.iowa.gov.