Volunteers gear up for school facilities election
By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer
The Blaine County School Districts $37.7 million facilities
improvement plan was scheduled to move into its next phase last night with a meeting of
volunteers whose goal was to brainstorm an election strategy.
With the districts ballot initiative slated for a countywide vote in
about a dozen weeks, Superintendent Jim Lewis says the plans levy election team has
its work cut out.
"This is going to be a big job and we need representation from all
communities for this project for a successful outcome in May," he said in a Feb. 10
letter to volunteers.
The school district board of trustees unanimously approved the facilities
plan and the election earlier this month.
If approved by voters, the plan will bring much-needed improvements,
including a new $19 million high school, to district infrastructure throughout the county,
officials say.
The district says those improvements are needed because of a burgeoning
population in the county.
Financial experts in the district hope to pay for the plan with a $4
million per year plant facilities tax levy assessed for 10 years.
In a telephone interview last week, Lewis said the election was scheduled
for May because of a state law that requires schools to begin assessing tax levies in the
month of September. Placing the issue on Novembers general election ballot, Lewis
said, would cause a years delay in the plans.
So far, Lewis said, the plans have generated "a lot of
excitement," especially with senior citizens, who could benefit from a wider variety
of classes offered by an expanded College of Southern Idaho extension.
However, Lewis said, to achieve the 55 percent voter approval needed to
pass the levy, many more people need to be reached before Mays election.
Therefore, the levy election team will likely consider the options of
conducting door-to-door campaigning, mailing reminder cards, distributing flyers and
creating ads in newspapers, radio and television, Lewis said.
The district might also televise a presentation Lewis has been giving at
public meetings during the past several weeks.
"Our most important job is to provide an opportunity for anyone
whos interested to see the entire plan," Lewis said.
Meanwhile, district board clerk Cathy Zacardie will be responsible for the
nuts and bolts of the election.
Early in March, she said during an interview at her Hailey office, she
intends to ask the district to determine an exact date, time and place for the election.
And, she said, shell ask the district for permission to hire an
election board, to draft a ballot and to start publishing and posting election notices.
The districts previous building efforta $16 million levy that
resulted in the new Wood River Middle School and other smaller projectspassed by 78
percent in 1993.