The Knoxville Community School District will hold a special election on March 4th to extend the Physical Plant & Equipment Levy (PPEL) and elect a new school board member.

PPEL provides the necessary funds to maintain and improve school buildings, complete site and facility improvements and purchase transportation vehicles and technology equipment. PPEL cannot be used for salaries, educational program materials or curriculum. It is an annual property tax levy, not a bond issue, and is approved for a term of ten years. The PPEL vote does not raise property taxes, and is a levy that has been in place for several decades according to Knoxville Schools Business Manager Craig Mobley, who says the levy supports the district in a variety of ways. 

“A lot of projects that you can think of that these funds pay for would be the tennis courts project, all the updates and renovations at Randy Wilson Track. We use PPEL funds to purchase maintenance vehicles, transportation vehicles, including school buses, a lot of technology needs, and then a lot of our more expensive fixes at any of the buildings.”

After two board members elected in November 2023 moved out of state, the board initially proposed appointing replacements. However, 400 community members petitioned for an election and one seat was filled in the July 2024 special election. The upcoming March 4th election allows the district to fill the remaining vacancy, as state law requires appointments to be made on the next regular or special election ballot. Jyl DeJong was appointed in December to fill in on the school board until the special election.