The Iowa City School District’s Board of Directors voted to move forward with a letter of intent for renovations to the Center of Innovation and an expansion of their partnership with Junior Achievement Programming of Eastern Iowa, or JAEI.

According to the letter of intent, the partnership would work to integrate curriculum on career readiness, entrepreneurship, personal finance, assets, and community engagement into the previously existing educational framework of the district, with curriculum and programming from JAEI.

JAEI is a nonprofit organization whose core mission aligns with the district’s letter of intent. The organization supplements students’ education on career readiness and future preparation.

The proposal was for phase 1 of a potentially five-phase plan to implement JAEI’s programming into the district to increase students’ financial literacy and career readiness.

District Superintendent Matt Degner said he is proud of the work behind the scenes to create the proposal, and the programming provides important opportunities to all students within the district.

“Another theme that we wanted to commit to was something that reaches all kids,” he said. “We didn’t want the center to be something where [only] some kids had an opportunity to experience the activities we designed here, and I think we’ve achieved that.”

The Iowa City Community School district will pay an estimated $2.1 million for the renovation, with JAEI planned to invest in staff and program support. According to the district’s presentation, JAEI is bringing in $1.5 million in “asset and software intellectual property design” to the project.

Degner clarified that while the letter of intent is not a direct commitment of funds, it is approval to move forward with the plan, assuming the board members agreed.

Degner also addressed his potential conflict of interest with the partnership, as he does sit on the board of JAEI. President of the Board of Directors Ruthina Malone said the board has received several emails from the community regarding the conflict.

“I don’t have a voting stake in this,” Degner said. “I do have a responsibility to recommend things I think are good for the school district to you, and so that’s the routine.”

Nate Klein, vice president of education at JAEI, explained his goals for the partnership, including providing students the necessary tools to explore potential careers after high school.

“I think that’s the great thing about this [partnership], is it’s not mutually exclusive to just what’s happening with Junior Achievement,” he said. “It’s how do we all work together for kids and provide them opportunities to not only see their future, but to see what dreams are possible.”

The Dream Accelerator, an immersive technological experience that would allow students to explore career paths, is a large part of JAEI’s proposed programming. If constructed, it would only be the second in the nation, the other one being located at the Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain Free Enterprise Center in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

The capital expenses for the Dream Accelerator alone would be about $1.3 million — before including technology-specific expenses — spent over the next two fiscal years, causing some disagreement among school board members.

Board Member Lisa Williams approves of the plan. She was one of two board members who travelled to Denver, Colorado, in the fall to see the only other Dream Accelerator in the country.

She said the programming is in alignment with the state’s work-based learning requirement and will also allow students to earn “industry-recognized credentials” — two factors, along with college credit, that culminate to determine the level of post-secondary readiness for students across the state — so it is worth the price tag.

She complimented the administrative team for devoting capital improvement funds to a state-mandated need while limiting the general fund expenses.

“I mean, if you want to talk about bang for buck, I just think this is it,” Williams said.

Board Member Jayne Finch voted against the proposal, questioning if the Dream Accelerator would be used enough for its price.

Klein estimated it would be used 28 days of the school year. This would be to put all ninth graders through the experience, which is the current plan in the programming.

Klein said the Dream Accelerator would be beneficial for more of the time than just when the students directly interact with the technology. He noted that a curriculum would be offered to bolster the experience and that data from the accelerator would be provided to guidance counselors to best assist students in preparing for their futures.

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“Utilizing [the Dream Accelerator] with front-end curriculum and then back-end connecting with guidance counselors and others to then take what students are interested in, to have them explore the academies and pathways that you all have spent a lot of time working on, that allows students to jump start some of their ideology,” he said.

Klein said the approach was based on the question: How do we accelerate students’ understanding of the role of work, and what possibilities are available?

Board Member Charlie Eastham voted to move forward with the plans, describing the project as an “inclusive undertaking.” He said he validated the cost because the program would benefit every student in the district — not just students in a specific class or with a specific interest.

“The way I’m trying to approach the cost associated is that, an important thing for me to consider anyway, that this is an investment in every student in the district,” he said.

Board Member Mitch Lingo also voted against the proposal, questioning why the district would want to put students in front of more screens after decreasing the use of electronics has been a topic of discussion throughout the district.

“Last fall, we spent four months developing a policy guided by research condemning the use of screen time, not just any kind of screen time — cell phones, tablets, Chromebooks, smart watches, screen time in general,” Lingo said. “We spent four months talking about that. So, now we have a proposal to stick students in front of more screens. It just seems counterintuitive for me.”

He said the cost does not seem worth the program, saying he wondered what the program offered that hasn’t already been done. Lingo also mentioned that since the Dream Accelerator has only been done one other time, it does not have solid data behind its effectiveness, and it would be expensive to pay that much for a “pilot program.”

The board voted 5-2 to approve moving forward with the proposal. The district plans to have the construction for the Dream Accelerator completed this winter with plans for a grand opening in spring 2026.