CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Neighbors living next to Hoover Elementary pleaded to both the Cedar Rapids School Board and City Council this week to resolve their concerns about plans for a new school.
The neighbors asked for a better location for a bus access road, planned to be built just feet from their backyards, and to reorient the new two-story school, which will be built much closer to their property lines, among other requests, including a plan for stormwater runoff.
City Council members unanimously approved the third reading to rezone the school property during their meeting Aug. 12, 2025, while the School Board unanimously voted during their Aug. 11 meeting to proceed with site demolition, excavation and site utilities at Hoover, 4141 Johnson Ave. NW.
The new two-story, 28-foot-tall school is estimated to cost $42 million. No structural deficiencies of the current solid brick building have been cited, but a teacher said at the City Council meeting that the school contained mold and often smelled like raw sewage.
School Board President Cindy Garlock cited the teacher’s assessment of Hoover when she addressed the council to ask them to move forward with the rezoning.
A district spokeswoman did not answer questions regarding students and staff being exposed to mold and the cause of the sewage odor.
Joe Brokaw, who lives on Roxbury Dr. NW, next to the school grounds, told the School Board the 28-foot-tall building will “drastically alter the landscape” for the neighboring homes.
A construction fence was quickly erected next to the homes on Roxbury Drive NW, after the City Council approved rezoning. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
A red-headed woodpecker and other wildlife were seen during a recent visit to the site, where a number of oaks and other trees will be removed to make way for a 26-foot-wide bus access road, just feet from the neighboring properties.
School district officials plan to keep Hoover open while the new, larger building is constructed. None of the School Board members asked what would be done to mitigate any issues in the current school.
Brokaw said he would not have purchased his home less than a year ago had he known about the changes, which, he said, will result in a permanent loss of the scenic view that attracted him to his home.
Some school board members visited with the neighbors, but he and others said the school’s plans have not substantially changed, in spite of the residents offering alternatives.
“We’re not opposed to the project itself,” Brokaw said, “but at this point, we feel our concerns are not being taken into consideration.”
More: Hoover and Van Buren neighbors repeat message to School Board
Homes along Roxbury Drive can be seen a short distance from where markers note the location for the new Hoover Elementary School. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Don Clark, who lives nearby on Clive Drive NW, told the City Council he is concerned about stormwater runoff, and was told by a school district leader that the district would pay for home repairs in case his home is flooded.
Sarah Hinzman, a graduate of Hoover who lives on Roxbury Drive NW, spoke to both the City Council and School Board, asking that the history of Hoover and other schools slated for demolition be preserved and for the public officials to keep neighbors in mind in their decisions.
“Real people make their homes next to these schools,” she said.
Mark Kramer, who also lives on Roxbury Drive and spoke to both the City Council and School Board, said the school district has no plans to replace a well-used trail on the school grounds and will remove two baseball fields.
Kramer also questioned why the school was not being properly maintained, given the teacher’s assessment of mold and other issues at Hoover.
Gary Dusil, another resident of Roxbury Drive, said the residents were not opposed to Hoover being improved and enlarged, but cited the loss of the tree canopy and other disruptions, including two years of construction.
“It’s like trying to turn the Titanic around and they’re going with the plan they already have,” he told the City Council.
Van Buren Elementary will be demolished and replaced with a larger school under the Cedar Rapids School District’s proposal. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
The City Council also passed rezoning requests for Van Buren Elementary, 2525 29th St. SW, and Harrison Elementary, 1310 11th St. NW.
Van Buren will also be replaced with a new school at a cost of nearly $43 million, according to estimates made before tariffs on construction materials were put in place by the Trump administration.
Harrison will have an addition built and the school will be updated inside, at a cost estimated at $41 million.
School Board leaders said they plan to continue meeting with the Hoover neighbors.
The School Board also approved a purchase agreement for land at 2612 27th St. SW, to be used for the new Van Buren school’s access road. The purchase was suggested by neighbors of Van Buren.
Funding for the land will be through the district’s Physical Plant and Equipment Levy.
Residents were not allowed to vote on replacing the elementary schools, due to the funding stream the district is using, known as SAVE.
The district is continuing to collect signatures to put a proposed $117 million school bond referendum on the ballot this fall.
More: Voters asked to back $117 million bond referendum
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