Hoover and Van Buren elementary neighbors repeat concerns to Cedar Rapids School Board

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — It was déjà vu for neighbors who spoke out in recent weeks to the Cedar Rapids City Council against proposed new school projects and repeated their message tonight to the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board of Education.

While the rezoning applications for sites at Hoover Elementary, 4141 Johnson Ave. NW, and Van Buren Elementary, 2525 29th St. SW, are still pending before the city, the school district had already scheduled public hearings on site projects and bids for both schools for July 14, 2025.

Related: Cedar Rapids Mayor: “I really don’t enjoy debating the work of the School District”

A half-dozen neighbors addressed the School Board in opposition to building new, larger schools to replace the current ones, citing concerns over the location of proposed access roads, loss of privacy and decreased property values, elimination of wildlife habitat and other issues, including the lack of communication between the school district and residents.

Two speakers mentioned submitting written comments, even though Board Secretary Karla Hogan said none had been received.

Whether it was the concerns the neighbors raised or for other reasons, the board voted to table a vote on the two schools until a later date.

Gary Dusil, one of the Hoover neighbors who live on Roxbury Drive NW, cited the historic significance of the school. President Herbert Hoover, the only U.S. president born in Iowa, attended the groundbreaking for the school in 1954.

Dusil, who has lived near the school for more than 30 years, questioned the environmental impact of clearing the site for a larger school, where towering oak trees will be cut down and property owners will be subjected to two years of construction, along with an access drive running alongside their back yards.

“We will have a complete loss of privacy with this access drive,” he said. “Our neighborhood concerns are not being heard.”

Dusil also noted that drilling began for geothermal wells in June, without residents being notified.

The new two-story, 28-foot-tall school is estimated to cost $42 million. No structural deficiencies of the current solid brick school building have been cited, but district officials have said a larger school is needed for the site, as enrollment has been increasing.

Dusil asked what alternatives were explored to provide more room without starting from scratch.

Residents were not allowed to vote on replacing the elementary schools, due to the funding stream the district is using, known as SAVE, but they will be able to vote on a proposed $117 million school bond referendum this fall, something some of the speakers mentioned.

The School District still needs about 2,000 of the 6,000 or so signatures necessary to place the issue on the ballot.

More: Voters asked to back $117 million bond referendum

Sarah Hinzman, a graduate of Hoover and now a university professor, cited a lack of communication and the need to build trust between the School Board and residents, particularly in light of the Nov. 4 bond referendum.

The school district could have learned about the neighborhood’s concerns sooner, Hinzman said, “but you didn’t ask us. We were kept out of the process until the end of May.”

Joe Brokaw, another Roxbury Drive resident, said while the neighbors want to keep Hoover at its location, they are concerned with its height and proximity to their backyards.

Brokaw moved to his home just eight months ago without knowing what the school district was proposing.

“We were ambushed by this,” he said. “We had no idea it was being built.”

Neighbors of Van Buren Elementary raised similar concerns.

Mary and Steve Doty, who have lived on 28th Avenue SW more than 30 years, cited concerns about the proposed access road nearby and the effects construction will have on a small, well-used park.

“It seems it’s just full-steam ahead,” Mary Doty said, noting safety concerns she has regarding the project.

Steve Doty said the way residents are being treated will be reflected in the November bond vote.

Julie Rochford, a resident of 27th Street SW, said she and other neighbors want what is best for students, but communication from the school district has been lacking.

Rochford asked how the School Board could approve the project before the city had rezoned the site and before a required easement had been approved.

“Communication with the Van Buren neighborhood has not occurred,” she said. “This is our neighborhood. This is our school.”

During her comments, Cedar Rapids Community School District Superintendent Tawana Grover said the School District has been reaching out to residents.

Speaking virtually, Grover said two meetings had been held with Van Buren and Hoover neighbors.

“We’ll continue to work with them,” she said.

It was unknown when the School Board would next take up the issue of the new elementary schools.

Replacing Van Buren Elementary will cost nearly $43 million, according to estimates made before tariffs on construction materials were put in place by the Trump administration.

The next School Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 11, but the board often schedules special sessions. Notices are typically published on Friday afternoon before the Monday meeting.

Related: Neighbors speak out against Van Buren and Hoover school rezonings