At a special meeting tonight, the Highland School Board will discuss and possibly vote to move forward with holding a bond referendum. If the election is held and voters approve the measure, the $10,460,000 bond sale would finance the construction of a new elementary school. It would be located next to the high school and middle school and replace the elementary schools in Ainsworth and Riverside.

State funding and the need to find ways to save money prompted community meetings this spring where the suggestion to centralize the district’s buildings received the most support. According to Highland superintendent Chris Armstrong, operating one elementary school instead of two would save the district $250,000 a year.

To learn more, listen to our conversation with Armstrong during today’s In Touch with Southeast Iowa.