Many of you are aware that the school district is in the process of prioritizing possible facility improvements. To help in the efforts, a survey has been sent to community members. I am happy to report that responses are starting to come in. One respondent had a couple of good questions that others may also have. The following is my response to the questions:
Are there existing funds for upgrades?
Yes, we do have some funds available. You may have heard of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds provided by the federal government. If not, these are funds that schools can use to improve the health of our students and the safety of our buildings. Last summer, these funds were used to replace the flooring in the older portion of our elementary school. The purpose of the survey was to help us identify the projects the community finds most pressing.
As you know, the items on the survey are all "big ticket" items. The survey's preliminary results show that the priority should be the upgrade of the high school HVAC. Fortunately, we think we have enough ESSER money remaining to complete this project. We are in the preliminary stages of planning this project and look forward to receiving more responses from the community to confirm proceeding.
Isn't an Idaho tax refund coming to you?
A tax refund is coming to you. The district currently has a supplemental levy of $290,000 per year, which costs you $167.11 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. A tax refund was passed in this spring's legislative session, which will return much of that money to you. The district will continue to receive the $290,000, but most will come from the state of Idaho rather than from local taxpayers.
If you have other questions, please feel free to contact me at the district office - 208-423-6387.