Polk County preliminarily backs another $1 million for Des Moines education campus

Polk County supervisors have preliminarily approved another $1 million for the school component of Starts Right Here’s planned transitional-housing and education campus in Des Moines’ East Village.

The July 24 action consists of a $500,000 loan and a separate $500,000 grant. It is a preliminary funding commitment, not a completed disbursement.

The new package would bring Polk County’s cumulative aid for the project’s school portion to $1.75 million. The broader campus is projected to cost $11.4 million.

Funding tied to planned education and housing campus

Starts Right Here is planning the campus at the former Elim Christian Fellowship property in the East Village. The project combines a school component with transitional housing, linking education services to a housing-focused redevelopment effort.

County support in this action is specifically directed to the school portion of the project. The $1 million package includes both a loan and a grant, rather than a single grant award.

The project is still planned; the available information does not establish that the campus is open or operating. It also does not specify planned enrollment for the education component or an opening date.

What the preliminary vote means

The supervisors’ action advances a proposed county financial commitment, but the reported approval was preliminary. The available account does not detail final legal steps, a disbursement schedule or a future meeting date tied to the funding.

That distinction matters for a project whose education component is connected to transitional housing. The county’s additional commitment identifies public support for expanding the planned school portion, but it does not by itself establish how many students would be served or when services would begin.

The $1.75 million figure refers to cumulative Polk County aid for the school portion, while the $11.4 million figure is the projected cost for the overall transitional-housing and education campus. Those figures should not be treated as the same measure of funding.

What comes next

No next board date, final approval timetable or disbursement deadline was provided in the available reporting. Until those details are established, the July 24 vote should be understood as preliminary support for a planned Des Moines education and transitional-housing campus.