IOWA CITY

A request by Johnson County Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz to look into helping the Iowa City School District through a financial crisis was not supported by the rest of the board in a work session last week.

Fixmer-Oraiz, who attended a crowded School Board meeting in which the district’s $45 million shortfall was discussed, asked the Board of Supervisors to set up a joint meeting because the school district’s problem becomes a county problem.

School officials have come under fire for overspending issues, and talks of school closures and staff cuts have surfaced.

“If they are going to be closing schools, which is definitely something that they’ve been talking about, that really has a county-wide impact,” Fixmer-Oraiz said during the Board’s Oct. 28 work session. “You know, we saw the Hills closure. We haven’t really had an understanding from the school district, like what kind of an impact would that have in the community. This is $45 million that could be multiple schools.”

Three other supervisors opposed putting the school district’s crisis on the Board’s agenda as a formal item; it takes a minimum of three supervisors to place an item on the agenda.

Supervisor Chair Jon Green did send a letter to the school district.

“Are there tools that we can utilize to help them?” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “It’s really trying to figure out, what is our lane? It’s like, if you see somebody drowning, you don’t just let them drown.”

Among Fixmer-Oraiz’s options was pausing property taxes to help out the school district.

Supervisor Lisa Green-Douglass said county officials need to be focusing on their “own potential crisis,” finances that are affected by changing state laws on property taxes.

Green and Supervisor Rod Sullivan also opposed putting the item on a county agenda.

The school district’s financial shortages led to the closing of Hills Elementary School in 2024.

Sullivan, in his weekly newsletter, called Fixmer-Oraiz’s suggestions “insulting.”

“The very suggestion is insulting,” Sullivan, an Iowa City resident, stated in his newsletter. “I cannot imagine the indignation with which the BOS (Board of Supervisors) would react if the roles were reversed.”

“The BOS represents a county that has parts of 11 public school districts. The ICCSD is the largest, certainly, but they are not the only school district in the county.”

A former Iowa City teacher appeared in the public comment portion of the Board’s Oct. 29 formal session, and asked the Board to help the school district.

Public Health Funds

Danielle Pettit-Majewski, Johnson County Public Health Director, asked the Board to include public health needs among its legislative priorities for the 2007 legislative sessions.

“I’m deeply concerned about the impact that (state fund limitations) will have on public health overall,” Pettit-Majewski said during the Oct. 28 work session. “We are 50th in the nation for support from our state legislature in terms of public health funding. We have not gotten an increase since 2007.”

Supervisor Rod Sullivan, while acknowledging public health concerns, said heads of all county departments, not just public health, should have a voice in the Board’s legislative priorities.

A legislative forum is scheduled for Dec. 7.

Voting Numbers

Entering this week’s elections, early voting numbers had increased 115% from the last mid-term elections in 2022, according to Johnson County Auditor Julie Persons. Early voting topped 21,000 a week before the election.

The county has held early voting on the Johnson County campus in downtown Iowa City, and also at several locations throughout the county, including a Solon High School football game.

In-person voting was held Tuesday, and most results should be tabulated by Wednesday.

The Johnson County Supervisors’ canvassing session is set for 1 p.m. Nov. 11, which is part of the certifying process.

Board Action

The Board approved a $110,000 professional services agreement with Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development for farm management and planning services at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm.

The Board set a bid letting date of Dec. 1 for a construction project on Club Road NE.

The Board issued a proclamation in honor of Adoption Month.

Next Meeting

The Board’s next formal session is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 5.