FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 19, 2026
S-F School Board Approves Petition for November Bond Vote
SUMNER, IA — At its August 18 meeting, the Sumner-Fredericksburg School Board approved a $16.3 million general obligation bond referendum question that will appear on the ballot Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Petitions circulated throughout the district in recent months to gather signatures from eligible voters equivalent to 25% of the voter turnout in the most recent School Board election. A total of 424 signatures were collected, which exceeded the minimum of 385 required.
“We are grateful to the many district residents who engaged in the petition process and helped move this conversation forward,” said Superintendent Ryan Cunningham. “Our attention will now shift to providing our communities with detailed information about the plan to reshape our schools with a November bond issue and answering any questions that potential voters may have.”
The district is in the early stages of a multiphase plan to modernize schools in Sumner and Fredericksburg to better meet students' needs and the district’s enrollment by leveraging state revenue that SFCSD received from the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) fund and voter-approved general obligation bonds.
Phase I of the capital projects, which were targeted in part by community feedback, has the district leveraging $11.5 million in SAVE funds for improvements at the high school, middle school, and Fredericksburg Elementary School. SAVE funds come from the statewide “penny tax” and do not impact local property taxes.
At the high school, SAVE funds are supporting a variety of improvements, including a new secure main entrance and office area, renovated music and art classrooms, a new special education suite, modernized career and technical education classrooms, HVAC upgrades, and ADA accessibility improvements.
Phase II calls for the district to use up to $16.3 million in voter-approved general obligation bond revenue to complete additional projects in Sumner and Fredericksburg. The work would include creating a new elementary and early childhood center at the existing SFHS campus in Sumner through a building addition and extensive remodeling of the south half of the current high school. The redesigned campus would provide age-appropriate separation between students while allowing the district to share facilities and resources efficiently.
On the north side of the Sumner campus, the project would add a two-story classroom wing for high school students. The addition would include space for agriculture education, general science, family and consumer sciences, business education, and a media center with collaborative learning space. Once construction is complete, the district would remove the school's existing west wing.
The Sumner campus also would see expanded special education spaces, updated restrooms, and a new playground with both hard and soft play surfaces. Bond revenue also would fund HVAC improvements at Fredericksburg Elementary and interior improvements at the middle school.
When complete, the proposed bond projects would allow the district to close Durant Elementary as an attendance center and transition to maintaining three attendance centers instead of four, providing annual operational savings.
General obligation bond referendums require voter approval of at least 60 percent to pass. More information is available at www.sfcsd-future.org.