Election Day: November 3, 2026

We listened and responded. All students in grades PK-4 will have a school in Sumner and Fredericksburg, and we will keep and invest in Fredericksburg Elementary School (FES) to ensure this is the case.We will also use FES to support powerful learning for students in our new, career-connected No Boundaries Northeast program for 8th graders. It will also be the headquarters of our Future Frontiers charter school, which is already bringing back students we had lost and bringing in new students from our region.In addition, the Sumner campus will make significant improvements with the closing of Durant Elementary to ensure elementary and high school students have an even better learning environment than any plan previously released.

The plan is in place, and you will already see that we can share details that feel light-years ahead of what we could share in our previous referendum. There is still work to be done as we continue to meet with staff and community members for feedback, but we have the plan in place to accurately share the impact these essential improvements will have on our students for years to come.

Voices from the school community will play a key role. Teachers, district leaders, and community partners will form a team to visit other schools, iterate on proposed designs, and refine the final facility design that reflects the shared values and student-centered priorities of SFCSD. Teacher and district leader teams will provide input for every aspect of the design process.

The bond will address essential needs such as modernizing academic spaces, upgrading heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and reducing the number of schools we maintain. All these projects are designed to improve the learning environment at S-F while ensuring the wise use of taxpayer dollars.

By acting now, we can address our needs and allow our schools to better accommodate our enrollment and provide students with a learning environment that will meet their needs for generations to come.Delaying the proposed bond referendum projects will lead to higher costs later due to inflation, rising material and labor costs, and other factors.

The maximum tax impact would be $2.70 per $1,000 of taxable property value. For a home assessed at $200,000, this equates to approximately $216.44 per year (or about $18.04 per month).For a $300,000 commercial property, the estimated impact would be $544.86, or about $45.40 per month.​​Based on the average assessed value per county, the annual tax impact for agricultural property in Bremer County would be $2.91 per acre, $3.02 per acre in Chickasaw County, and $3.10 per acre in Fayette County.More information is available in the Tax Impact section.

Compared with neighboring districts and members of the North Iowa Cedar League (NICL), 13 school districts have a tax levy rate for fiscal year 2027 higher than SFCSD's.Of the districts with levy rates higher than SFCSD, Hudson, Denver, Jesup, Grundy Center, Dike-New Hartford, Aplington-Parkersburg, East Marshall, and Gladbrook-Reinbeck have all passed bond referendums since 2020.

Shall the Board of Directors of the Sumner-Fredericksburg Community School District in the Counties of Bremer, Chickasaw, and Fayette, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $16,300,000 to construct, build, furnish, and equip additions to the High School building; and to remodel, repair, and improve the existing High School, Middle School, and Fredericksburg Elementary buildings, including playground, parking, and site improvements?

The election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and polling locations can be found on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website.

Yes. Registered voters may request a mailed absentee ballot ahead of election day through their county auditor’s office. The first day voters can request a mailed absentee ballot is August 25. Ballots will be mailed starting October 14.To receive a mailed absentee ballot, complete a request form and return it to your auditor’s office. The deadline to request a mailed ballot is October 19. Ballots must be received by your auditor’s office before the polls close on election day (November 3) to be considered for counting.