Voter approval last week to extend the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) in the Highland School District means more money for the district’s new waste water system.

Superintendent Ken Crawford says the project, mandated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to reduce bacteria levels in their water, will cost between $800,000 and $900,000. He says they’re in year two of a three-year window for completion, “So we feel if we can get bids out this spring, built this summer into the fall, make sure it works and everything’s good to go and then by the summer of 2022 we’re up and running and have met the deadlines that we need to.”

Crawford says they’ve set aside about $400,000 in PPEL money in recent years to help pay for the project. He says other items topping their PPEL-related purchase list in the next year include adding another 12-passenger van and a new school bus.