Parent launches petition drive for new Iowa City elementary school

A parent has started a petition calling on the Iowa City school district to build a new elementary school on the east side of Iowa City.

Dan Shaw, the parent of a Longfellow Elementary School student, created the petition Thursday night. It had 89 signatures as of 1 p.m. Friday.

Shaw said via email that he hoped to get as many signatures as possible and to submit the petition to the school board and Superintendent Stephen Murley in advance of the board's facilities committee meeting at 4 p.m. March 20.

The district's newest schools are on the west and north sides of its boundary, which is where most of the community's growth has occurred in recent years. The district covers Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights and Hills.

School administrators have acknowledged they have capacity concerns in east-side elementary schools. At a meeting last week on proposed boundary changes, some parents called for a new elementary school.

The school board has not had any detailed discussion on a new elementary school in east Iowa City.