DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines Public Schools unveiled a retouched education bond last week, and this week they are laying out the plan in hopes of getting the community on board ahead of a likely fall vote.

DMPS presented a $500 million plan earlier this year after a recent decline in enrollment forced the district to make changes. Due to high costs and ambitious redesign, a new $265 million plan that takes half the time and cost was developed.

“After some feedback from the board, we just knew that there would be tremendous benefits to this reduced amount and the shorter term and the benefits, which really stands out, is the fact that you heard from that it now allows 100% of our students who are currently enrolled to benefit from this plan before they graduate from high school,” DMPS Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts said.

The new plan mainly focused on scaling down plans while cutting a few items. Cut from the bond was full-facility modernization and district-wide capacity adjustments in classrooms. While these may have been cut for this bond, the district is still open to revisiting them later.

“100%, yeah. We’ll continue to actually analyze that. We monitor, we monitor that data consistently daily about our capacities and looking at what we need to do future forward. And so, we’re forecasting about where we need to be about those particular investments,” said Matt Smith, DMPS Associate Superintendent.

This plan will also close three schools and one administrative building. Associate Superintendent Smith says Walnut Street Elementary would close in 2027, Harding Middle in 2029, and Howe Elementary in 2031, along with the closure of the Fleur Drive offices.

“They are staggered, that staggered is a purposeful and intentional. It allows us to build out the capacities in those surrounding schools to make sure that we’ve got the solid plan to accommodate the additional enrollment in nearby schools,” said Associate Superintendent Smith.

“We want to make sure that every single DMPS teacher and staff know, hear from us and understand that there is a place here for them,” said Dr. Roberts. “In terms of our students, the result of this plan is going to be one whereby students they’ll have much more agency in terms of where they should enroll, what they should pursue.”

Aspects of the plan that stayed on the bond include full-day access to preschool, changing grade configurations, redesigning middle school curriculum, and adding 130 new education spaces.

A highlighted aspect of this plan includes the Diploma+ program, which recognizes students for activities, clubs, and participation throughout high school, and Signature Schools, which focus on STEM and technical education. Dr. Ian Roberts says this program helps students beyond graduation.

“We’re keeping our finger on the pulse of what are the needs right now in our job community, not just here in Des Moines and in Iowa, but around the country,” said Dr. Roberts. “So our goal ultimately is to ensure that we are truly preparing students and adequately preparing them to be successful in the postsecondary pursuits.”

Associate Superintendent Smith says a campaign team has already begun working on collecting the 7,500 required signatures to get the ballot on the November ballot. If the bond passes, the district hopes to begin implementing aspects of the plan immediately.

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