Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Budget Levy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves two-year $3.85 million-per-year supplemental levy for November ballot
Summary
The Blaine County School District No. 61 board approved a resolution to place a two-year supplemental levy of $3,850,000 per year on the November ballot to fund programs not covered by state or federal dollars, including summer school, preschool and special education costs.
Trustee Stone said the board approved a resolution to place a two-year supplemental levy for $3,850,000 per year on the November ballot to address the district's funding shortfall.
The levy, Trustee Stone said, "is a 2 year levy for $3,850,000 a year. It'll be used to cover the district's costs of some of the critical programs that we don't receive federal or state funding for." The board moved and seconded the resolution and approved it by voice vote with the three trustees present voting aye.
The resolution directs the district to ask voters to authorize the supplemental levy to pay for programs the district said are not fully funded by state or federal sources. Trustee Stone and Superintendent Fowdy listed programs the levy would support: summer school, school resource officers, cybersecurity, preschool (which Idaho does not fund with state dollars for full day), all-day kindergarten costs (Idaho funds only half-day kindergarten), and special education expenses beyond state reimbursements.
Superintendent Fowdy said the levy is one of several measures the district is using to address a budget gap and noted the board also recently approved staffing reductions to cut costs. "We had approved 3 positions for the 2526 school year that will not be filled," Fowdy said, and those reductions will save "over a $100,000." He described the levy as a limited amount balanced with ongoing expenditure reductions and other revenue efforts.
Trustee Turner said the board's earlier discussion made her comfortable sending the measure to voters: "I would like to put this to the voters and ... see if we can get them to approve this additional funding for the district." The board conducted a voice vote; all three trustees present voted in favor and the chair declared the motion approved.
No further procedural details, such as exact ballot language or estimated tax impact per property, were provided during the meeting. The resolution was placed on the November ballot schedule as announced at the meeting.
