DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines Public Schools held it’s first education session for its $265 million Reimagining Education bond referendum that will be on the ballot this November.

The Director of Career and Technical Education and Postsecondary Readiness, Tascha Brown, was one of the main speakers at the education session.

“Today was one of our first of several close to 17 or 18 community listening sessions on the Reimagining Education Reinvigorating Schools Plan, specifically stating to our community why we’re asking for $265 million and what that $265 million is going to do, not only for the current 30,000 students and 5000 employees that we serve, but future generations to come,” Brown said.

Brown said that some of the funding from the referendum will go towards upgrading DMPS aging buildings.

“The $265 million will touch 130 learning spaces over a variety of schools. I think we currently have around 65 buildings, and while maybe not every single building is going to be touched, a good chunk of learning spaces within those buildings will be,” Brown said.

During the presentation, Brown said if the referendum isn’t passed, 10-11 schools may need to close.

“A big question we get is what if the bond doesn’t pass? That list of five buildings is probably going to go back to ten or 11 spaces closing, taking 10 to 11 schools off line, and now we don’t have anywhere to put those children,” Brown said.

Brown said she wants the public to understand the importance of the referendum.

“I just want people to also recognize that we need help, we need this money, we need to update these facilities and we need to do this programing. The plan is solid, it’s intentional, it’s responsive not only to the community, but it’s also responsible to the labor projections, specifically right here in central Iowa. And this is an opportunity for education to become everybody’s business,” Brown said.

The next education session will take place Tuesday, October 7th, at Zion Lutheran Church 4300 Beaver Avenue 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. To learn about future sessions visit DMPS website.