PPEL measure passes in East Mills

The second time turned out to be the charm for the East Mills School District’s Physical Plant and Equipment Levy.

On Tuesday voters in the district approved a PPEL levy increase of $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation for a 10-year period after rejecting a similar referendum in September 2014. The measure passed with 54 percent of the votes saying yes to the increase.

The PPEL increase will mean nearly $400,000 annually for the district to be used for district infrastructure projects. The additional PPEL money will also allow the districts to avoid using general funds to pay for improvement projects.

This time around, the district sought the approval of voters with a clear plan targeting two specific projects for the new revenue: completion of the long in gestation geo-thermal project at the elementary school building in Hastings and much-needed repairs to the roof at the junior-senior high school in Malvern.

In East Mills school board elections, Brenda Koger defeated Bruce Breeding for the open seat on the board. Koger received 482 votes to Breeding’s 397.