School improvement plan to voters
Ketchum resident Susan Winget signs the
electors oath before voting on the school levy Tuesday at Hemingway Elementary
School. At 3 p.m., election coordinator Cathy Zacardi said record numbers of people were
turning out for the election. I dont know what it means, she said,
but people are out there voting. Express photo by Willy Cook
By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer
Last night was the moment of truth for the Blaine County School
Districts plan to levy a $4 million-per year tax to finance extensive school
facilities improvements.
Fifty-five percent voter approval is needed to put the levy over the top.
Polls were open yesterday at four elementary school locations in the
county for voters to cast their ballots on the 10-year plan aimed at helping schools keep
pace with a burgeoning student body population.
Growing at a rate of 3.1 percent annually, district officials say schools
will be bursting at the seems in the next several years without expanded facilities.
At stake for the district last night was the funding for projects to be
completed over the next decade: a new $19.6 million high school; a new $8.1 million
elementary school; a $5 million Carey School renovation; a $2.7 million Wood River Middle
School expansion; a new $1 million bus barn; and several smaller projects.
Planners hope to turn the existing Wood River High School into a multi-use
facility shared by the Blaine County Recreation District, the school district and the
College of Southern Idaho.
Blaine Countys high property values allow the district to fund the
projects with a "pay as you go" plant facilities levy, which would save
taxpayers $28 million in interest compared to financing with a school bond, officials say.
Opponents of the levy say that the district can finance the $40 million
worth of improvements from its current budget and does not need the extra, on average,
$64.75 per year for every $100,000 of taxable assessed value the levy provides.
The district, however, says that funding the improvements through the
current budget would require cutting back existing educational programs and cutting back
on the number of teachers in the district, which would raise the ever-important
student-teacher ratios.
District clerk Cathy Zacardi said in a telephone conversation Monday that
holding the election in May allows the district to begin collecting money as early as
September.
First up on the districts list of projects is building the new high
school and bus barn, Zacardi said; however, she didnt know exactly when those
projects would begin.