298.18 Bond tax — election — leasing buildings.

1. a. The board of each school corporation shall, when estimating and certifying the amount of money required for general purposes, estimate and certify to the board of supervisors of the proper county for the debt service fund the amount required to pay interest due or that may become due for the fiscal year beginning July 1, thereafter upon lawful bonded indebtedness, and in addition thereto such amount as the board may deem necessary to apply on the principal.

b. The amount estimated and certified to apply on principal and interest for any one year shall not exceed two dollars and seventy cents per thousand dollars of the assessed valuation of the taxable property of the school corporation except as otherwise provided in this section.

c. For the sole purpose of computing the amount of bonds which may be issued as a result of the application of any limitation referred to in this section, all interest on the bonds in excess of that accruing in the first twelve months may be excluded from the first annual levy of taxes, so that the need for including more than one year’s interest in the first annual levy of taxes to pay the bonds and interest shall not operate to further restrict the amount of bonds which may be issued, and in certifying the annual levies to the county auditor or auditors such first annual levy of taxes shall be sufficient to pay all principal of and interest on said bonds becoming due prior to the next succeeding annual levy and the full amount of such first annual levy shall be entered for collection by said auditor or auditors, as provided in chapter 76.

d. The amount estimated and certified to apply on principal and interest for any one year may exceed two dollars and seventy cents per thousand dollars of assessed value by the amount approved by the voters of the school corporation, but not exceeding four dollars and five cents per thousand dollars of the assessed value of the taxable property within any school corporation, provided that the registered voters of such school corporation have first approved such increased amount at an election held on a date specified in section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph “c”.

2. The proposition submitted to the voters at such election shall be in substantially the following form:

Shall the board of directors of the .................... (insert name of school corporation) in the County of ........................, State of Iowa, be authorized to levy annually a tax exceeding two dollars and seventy cents per thousand dollars, but not exceeding ........ dollars and ............ cents per thousand dollars of the assessed value of the taxable property within said school corporation to pay the principal of and interest on bonded indebtedness of said school corporation, it being understood that the approval of this proposition shall not limit the source of payment of the bonds and interest but shall only operate to restrict the amount of bonds which may be issued?

3. Notice of the election shall be given by the county commissioner of elections according to section 49.53. The county commissioner of elections shall conduct the election pursuant to the provisions of chapters 39 through 53 and certify the results to the board of directors. The proposition shall not be deemed carried or adopted unless the vote in favor of such proposition is equal to at least sixty percent of the total vote cast for and against the proposition at the election. Whenever such a proposition has been approved by the voters of a school corporation as hereinbefore provided, no further approval of the voters of such school corporation shall be required as a result of any subsequent change in the boundaries of such school corporation.

4. The voted tax levy referred to in this section shall not limit the source of payment of bonds and interest but shall only restrict the amount of bonds which may be issued.

5. a. The ability of a school corporation to exceed two dollars and seventy cents per thousand dollars of assessed value to service principal and interest payments on bonded indebtedness is limited and conferred only to those school corporations engaged in the administration of elementary and secondary education.

b. If a school corporation leases a building or property, which has been used as a junior college by such corporation, to a community college, the annual amounts certified as herein provided by such leasing school corporation for payment of interest and principal due on lawful bonded indebtedness incurred by such leasing school corporation for purchasing, building, furnishing, reconstructing, repairing, improving, or remodeling the building leased or acquiring or adding to the site of such property leased, to the extent of the respective annual rent the school corporation will receive under such lease, shall not be considered as a part of the total amount estimated and certified for the purposes of determining if such amount exceeds any limitation contained in this section.

[C73, §1823; C97, §2813; S13, §2813; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §4403; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §298.18]

90 Acts, ch 1253, §109; 94 Acts, ch 1029, §28; 2001 Acts, ch 56, §14; 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §50, 71; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §110; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §49

Referred to in §292.1, 292.2, 298.18A, 298.19, 423F.3