Middleton board adopts $19.9 million bond resolution to place elementary-school question on May ballot

The Middleton District Board of Trustees adopted a resolution Monday to place a bond election question on the May ballot asking voters to authorize up to $19,900,000 in general obligation school bonds to construct a new elementary school.

Brandon Helgeson, an associate with the law firm Holly Troxell, told the board the ballot language “essentially does 3 things. It describes, for what, how much, and how long.” Helgeson said the language also includes state-mandated financial disclosures: an estimated interest rate, repayment amount, and an “estimated annual average tax impact for homes, per a hundred thousand dollars of taxable assessed value.”

The board discussed community concerns raised at two recent public information nights (at Mill Creek and Heights) about whether the district could use developer impact fees to pay for a school and whether open-enrollment students were increasing capacity problems. District staff said state law currently prevents school districts from levying impact fees for schools, and that the district has repeatedly urged legislators to change that law but has not yet found a sponsor willing to carry such a bill. The superintendent explained that even if impact fees were allowed today, revenue from new development would take years to accumulate and would not address the district’s immediate capacity shortfall.

District staff also reviewed the district’s prior practice and recent state changes on open enrollment. The board noted that a district policy enacted in 2021 temporarily stopped accepting new out-of-district enrollment; in 2023 the state legislature required districts to accept out-of-district students unless a school or a grade level is over capacity. Staff said the district has been denying transfers for schools and grade levels already over capacity (naming Mill Creek, Heights and specific grade levels at Purple Sage and the ninth-grade cohort), but must accept others under state law.

Board members asked about the difference between bonds and levies. Staff explained three options for local funding: supplemental levies and plant-facility levies (which require a simple majority and are paid year-by-year) and bonds (which require a two-thirds supermajority in Idaho and secure funding upfront through the sale of bonds). Staff told the board a bond is the legally appropriate vehicle to fund a new building because it allows the district to secure the full construction dollars up front.

The board adopted the bond election resolution by voice vote. The resolution calls for a 20-year bond term and asks voters to authorize levy of property taxes to repay the bonds if the measure passes. District staff said they will publish the required notices and include the statutorily required financial disclosures in all district materials about the measure.

The board also discussed public outreach: staff plan an early-April hard-copy newsletter and an FAQ on the district website ahead of absentee ballots being mailed.