Burlington Community School District voters on Tuesday, Sept. 10, approved a levy increase of up to 67 cents per $1,000 taxable valuation for up to five years that will make possible the transformation of the auditorium at Aldo Leopold Intermediate School into a district-wide performing arts center.
“We are so thankful to voters for getting out and supporting this measure and for the opportunity to bring such a high-level performing arts center to our area,” Superintendent Robert Scott said. “We look forward to the opportunities this will create for our students and our community.”
A total of 975 ballots were cast in the special election. Of those, 538, or 55.24%, were in favor of the measure.
“I’m super excited. It’s a victory for our kids, future kids and generations,” Burlington School Board President Darven Kendell said Tuesday night at the Des Moines County Courthouse after seeing the vote tally. “It’s a victory for our community and I’m so thankful for everybody who came out to vote and voted yes for us today. It’s been a long, long process with a lot of people working very hard to make this a reality.”
Among those involved have been the BHS Music Booster Club and music students, both current and former, who took to social media to campaign for the measure and made and posted signs encouraging people to vote in its favor.
“It was a team effort,” Board Vice President Anika McVay said.
The expansion will increase seating from 500 to 700 and include improved stage presence and acoustics, as well as improved accessibility. The expansion will be along the current auditorium’s south wall, allowing for seating to be installed up to about the end of the existing stage, which will be moved back further into the expanded space. Other features and specifications for the project will be determined via input from staff, students and community stakeholders.
The expansion will meet a need that has been discussed by community members since Burlington High School was built in 1969.
“This is the best chance for an auditorium in my whole time that I’ve been involved with this district,” board member Deborah Hatteberg said at the close of the Sept. 9 school board meeting. Hatteberg is in her third term on the school board and previously taught music in Burlington schools for 33 years.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring or summer of 2026.
“Our future generation of students are going to have an awesome place to be proud of,” McVay said.
