Board approves funding for Capital Reserve No. 3 after weeks-long debate; vote 7-2

The Board of Education voted 7-2 to approve funding for Capital Reserve No. 3, a fund the district plans to use as it develops a potential capital project for voter consideration. The motion to approve funding for Capital Reserve No. 3 was made by Jim and seconded by Brent Bridal; the resolution passed by a 7-to-2 margin.

The vote follows more than an hour of discussion in which board members debated whether to allocate the district’s year-end surplus to capital reserves or keep the money available for academic programming or potential tax relief. Board member Christian said he would "probably be voting against this resolution" and argued for returning some funds to taxpayers or holding money for program needs. Christian noted that many districts exceed the four percent guideline and said, "if we're not gonna spend the…