DES MOINES, Iowa – With the November election less than a month away, the Des Moines Public School District is hoping voters will throw their support behind the district’s “Reimagining Education” plan. A $265 million bond referendum that aims to upgrade buildings, add career and technical education programs, and expand preschool opportunities within the district.

It comes during a tumultuous time for the district. Last month, former Superintendent Ian Roberts was arrested by ICE, which has sparked questions into how he got the job in the first place. Now, DMPS is hosting several educational sessions to go over the bond, answer the public’s questions, and ultimately, regain their trust.

“I do think, unfortunately, that the trust of the current Des Moines School Board, the trust of the current administration, has been shattered. And I think a lot of people are looking for accountability for where the district is at right now. The fact that graduation rates are low, and the fact that so many schools are underperforming, there needs to be accountability for that before people are going to look into trusting them with more money,” said Des Moines resident Ross Peterson, who was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.

Tascha Brown, the Director of Career and Technical Education and Postsecondary Readiness for DMPS, says that when it comes to public trust, there needs to be action.

“You also have to give us an opportunity to show you that you can trust us. So, this is really about how do we get to the finish line in DMPS, if we’re not even given the opportunity to get over the starting line,” said Brown.

Brown also said that in order to move forward, hateful rhetoric surrounding the district and its members needs to stop.

“We’re talking about people, we’re talking about human beings that don’t make very much money that walk into our building every single day and do things for our children that now everybody is either equipped or interested in doing. So, when people are saying that, well, because of XYZ or because of what happened with the former superintendent, this is where we are at with Des Moines Public Schools; we do not deserve that. Nobody deserves to have the rhetoric that’s going around us.”

Others in attendance shared their concerns over the bond passing, saying that while they support the initiative, the issue surrounding the former superintendent could overshadow the bond on election day.

“A week ago, a few days ago, I was like, is this the right time for the bond to be on the ballot? And is it too late to take it off? Because being afraid that the trust in the community will go down, and they made some very good points about why the district should be trusted. It’s not one person; it was the community involvement … I am as committed as I was before that. I would like the bond issue to pass, and I’ll vote for it,” said Des Moines resident Anne Rowland.

Tuesday’s educational session was one of multiple being held around the metro ahead of the November election. To learn more about when and where the meetings are happening, click here.