116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Recount unlikely in C.R. schools’ narrowly failed bond referendum
Superintendent Tawana Grover wants to harness momentum gained in failed vote to build a school district the community backs
Nov. 5, 2025 4:17 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — The morning after a multimillion dollar school bond referendum narrowly failed voter approval in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, Superintendent Tawana Grover held back tears as she talked about the students.
“As I approached the podium last night, while there were adults in the room, all I could think about and all I could see were the faces of our children,” Grover said in an interview with The Gazette Wednesday morning.
Around 10 p.m. Tuesday, as the last precincts were reported and initial election results showed the $117 million school bond referendum failing by less than 1 percent, Grover gave a different speech than the one she hoped to be giving. Only a couple dozen people — school leaders, advocates for the bond and media — remained at the watch party at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance offices.
“People were believing down to the wire that we could pull this off as a community,” Grover said. “One of the things that we’ve been standing on is that this is a community built plan. We believe that wholeheartedly it was never solely about any one person. This was the community galvanizing in a major way around some of the key factors that matter.”
With about a 165-vote difference between the referendum passing and failing, school leaders are considering calling for a recount.
But Ron Corbett, vice president of economic development at Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, said after reviewing the results, it doesn’t look like there have been “any initial errors in the reporting.”
“We don’t see anything that would give us any hope that there’s all these ballots that haven’t been counted and the results would be substantially changed,” said Corbett, who helped guide a Believe in CR Schools campaign, which advocated for people to vote “yes” for the bond.
A recount “is still an option if people really felt strongly about it,” Corbett said.
Linn County Auditor Todd Taylor said a recount can be requested by any eligible voter in the Cedar Rapids district filing a petition to the Board of Supervisors. The petition requires signatures of 10 percent of voters in the election, so about 228 signatures, he said.
The signatures are due three days after the official canvass on Nov. 12.
Grover said the district needs to do their “due diligence.”
“I think we want to give our kids the very best chance of having what they deserve in those high-quality learning environments, as well as our staff,” Grover said when asked about a recount.
This is the second school bond referendum in Cedar Rapids to fail voter approval in two years. A different proposal that went to voters in November 2023 only gained about 38 percent voter approval.
Tuesday night indicated a shift in public opinion with more than 59 percent of voters in favor of the bond referendum, still short of the 60 percent supermajority approval required to pass.
“I was very encouraged,” Grover said. “There were more people that voted ‘yes’ than ‘no.’ It was a stark difference from 2023.”
Following the failed bond referendum in 2023, almost 10,000 people responded to surveys from the district asking for their feedback on why they opposed the bond and what projects they would like to see prioritized in the future.
From there, hundreds of community conversations took place and a community task force reviewed data and discussed possible projects before a plan was presented to the Cedar Rapids school board this last spring.
“There has been deeper, richer conversation than we have had in a very long time,” said Grover, who joined as superintendent of Cedar Rapids schools in April 2023. “We came so incredibly close, and that tells us something powerful. Our community believes in our schools, and we’re moving in the right direction.”
Iowa public schools have three funding mechanisms to support facility projects:
- The Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL), a voter-approved capital projects fund used in the Cedar Rapids district to maintain the district’s 31 existing facilities.
- Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE), a capital projects fund funded by statewide sales taxes allocated to school districts based on certified enrollment.
- School bond referendums.
The last school bond referendum to be approved in the Cedar Rapids district was in 2000. It primarily funded the construction of Viola Gibson Elementary School, among other projects.
“I get a chance to walk these buildings every day,” Grover said. “I know the schools our kids are coming to. I know the challenges they’re faced with. I also know the conditions under which our teachers are working every day. We want to attract the best teachers in our organization, and it definitely feels unfair that our facilities are in the condition they are in and that after 25 years and a lot of discussion, it takes more discussion to get this done.”
Voters in the College Community School District, for example, have approved seven school bond referendums since 2000.
Grover said she felt “forced” into the 2023 school bond referendum, a proposal that began before her tenure in the district. But she doesn’t regret taking it to voters anyway.
Through every conversation, Grover and school leaders have “built relationships” and “exposed some of the challenges and hopes” of residents.
“We can’t overlook that more than 59 percent of people voted ‘yes’ this time around compared to 39 percent (in 2023),” Grover said. That’s more than 20 percent more people voting ‘yes.’ We’re moving in the right direction.“
But the facility needs in the district remain and “tough decisions” might need to be made this year, Grover said.
“Costs have risen astronomically. It’s sort of like going to the grocery store. How far does $1 go these days? That’s the same thing that’s happening with our facilities. Prices are drastically different from even just a few years ago,” Grover said.
She said there could be lessons to be learned from Iowa school districts whose bond referendums were approved Tuesday.
Voters in the Des Moines Public Schools district approved a $265 million school bond referendum by almost 74 percent.
“I was blown away by the overwhelming support from their community toward their school bond,” Grover said. “They’re good partners with us. We certainly would like to hear from them about how their community came together to really support their students.”
The Cedar Rapids district has had five superintendents in about the last decade and hasn’t had a superintendent stay for more than six years in over two decades, Grover said.
“Leadership and stability matters,” Grover said. She intends to be a superintendent who stays.
“I want people to know me,” Grover said. “I purchased a home when I came here. I want to put roots down. My husband and I both are committed to Cedar Rapids, and so we’re looking forward to the future.”
The Cedar Rapids community has “prevailed” through floods and a derecho, Grover said.
“How can we get that same kind of momentum when it comes to education?” Grover asked. “This is an opportunity to embrace all of the feedback, but we can’t be held back.”
“I feel like I am a leader like this community. I am resilient,” Grover said.
Grover said she is in the middle of hosting “Talks with Tawana,” attempting to visit all 31 schools in the Cedar Rapids district in 31 days to better engage with staff.
There are “long-standing grievances and concerns,” Grover said. “But I am encouraged because I believe there are areas we can improve and do something about. It’s going to take strategy because we’re faced with financial upheavals.”
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