A case earlier this school year where a public school district refused to sell a closed building to a private school led to a bill late in the first part of the Iowa legislative session. That bill mandated that if a private school is the highest bidder for a closed school building, the public school district must sell it to the private school. That language was later incorporated into Senate File 2368, which dealt heavily with charter schools and was signed into law at a charter school.
Unlike many other recent bills, however, it was not declared “of immediate importance” and thus is to take effect July 1.
That gave the Cedar Rapids school district just enough time to avoid being forced to sell Garfield Elementary School to Isaac Newton Christian Academy. Instead, the district accepted a bid from a real estate developer half the size of Isaac Newton’s.
Cedar Rapids schools’ chief financial officer said at the June 24 board meeting, as reported by KCRG, “a loss of $1.5 million from our general fund was attributed to the 196 students choosing Isaac Newton Christian Academy.”