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Committee backs bill to let school districts run supplemental levies up to six years, phase out perpetual levies
Summary
Sen. Ben Toews sponsored SB 1094 to let school districts seek supplemental levies for up to six years (instead of the current two), allow boards to reduce levies during the authorized term and phase out perpetual levies for future use; the committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation.
State Sen. Ben Toews introduced Senate Bill 1094, a measure to extend the maximum authorization period for district supplemental levies from two years to six years, to permit a board to reduce a levy during the authorized term, and to eliminate the option to create new perpetual levies while grandfathering existing perpetual levies in six districts.
Testimony included Jimmy McAndrew, a trustee of the Coeur d'Alene School District, who said longer levy terms would reduce administrative and campaigning burdens that cost districts time and money and could improve teacher recruitment by offering greater stability. Quinn Perry, deputy director of the Idaho School Boards Association, said more than 80% of Idaho districts rely on supplemental levies for day-to-day operations and described levies as a significant portion of some districts' budgets (he cited Coeur d'Alene at about 20% of operations in his testimony). Perry said the bill strikes a balance by allowing multi-year levies while phasing out indefinite perpetual levies for future use.
Senators asked whether a district could seek replacement or amended levies within the six-year period if local financial needs changed; the sponsor and witnesses said districts could re-run levies during an authorized term if needed. The committee voted to send SB 1094 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation.
