Judge dismisses case seeking to force an election on Des Moines schools' stadium plans
A district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to at least pause Des Moines Public Schools plan to build a $19.5 million stadium in partnership with Drake University.
The lawsuit filed by four Des Moines residents with the Save Our Stadiums group claimed the school district's failure to hold a special election vote on the plan "effects a total and complete disenfranchisement of the electorate" and violated the 14th Amendment and due process clause of the Constitution.
The Des Moines School Board approved the agreement between the Des Moines schools and Drake University to build a 4,000-seat stadium east of the Knapp Center last year. The stadium will serve as the home football field for four of Des Moines' five high schools and host high school and Drake soccer games.
“I am grateful that the Court confirmed the school district followed the law and has dismissed this lawsuit,” Des Moines schools Superintendent Tom Ahart said in a statement. The community stadium is an “important project” for schools and the community, he said.
Opponents have said the new stadium, which would be located more than two miles from the closest school, would not only create barriers for those who want to participate in high school athletics but also hamper the community spirit built around home football games and threaten revenue for the schools' booster clubs.
Save Our Stadiums plans to appeal the judge’s decision, attorney Gary Dickey said.
“As the ruling indicates, the school district did not follow the procedure for processing the petition. The court simply disagree with what the remedy is,” Dickey said. “So, we'll be asking the (Iowa) Supreme Court to take a look at that. We also disagree with the courts' view that we should be counting voters who didn’t even cast ballots in the school board election. And so we'll ask the court to take a look at that as well.”
More:Residents file lawsuit to block Des Moines Public Schools stadium at Drake University
District Court Judge Jeffrey Farrell said in his decision that although the failure to return the petition was a procedural mistake, it did not result in the district misleading the plaintiffs as to the number of signatures needed to force a vote.
Farrell also ruled that the plaintiffs are required pay any court costs.
Dickey told the Des Moines Register he expects the appeals process to take another 12 months.
From June:Citing quadrupled material costs, Des Moines school board again rejects stadium bids
Costs delay completion until 2023
Ahart said because of increased material costs and other issues, the stadium is not expected to open until fall 2023. Previously, the stadium had been expected to open in fall 2022.
The Des Moines School Board has twice rejected bids related that came in over the stadium's budget.
The increased costs are due “in part by the pandemic's interruption of supply lines,” said Phil Roeder, district spokesman, in an email. District officials are planning to ask for bids again in a few months.
“That means opening day will be about a year later than originally hoped, which is a small price to pay in order to keep the project on budget,” Roeder said.
Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @svhernandez or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.