Mt.Hall to open later due to construction

MT. HALL—- Due to summer maintenance and extensive construction over the summer, the first day of school for Mt. Hall Elementary will be on Sept. 12. Other schools in the Boundary County School District are starting Sept. 6.

Mt. Hall staff announced the change in start date on social media on Tuesday. Mt. Hall's office is open and is located in the gymnasium. Student enrollment opened Wednesday Aug. 24, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1 p.m.-4 p.m, and is open Thursday Aug. 25 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1 p.m.-4 p.m. A phone line is up and running. Residents can call 208-267-5276 with questions.

No date has been set for Back to School Night. Look for updates on Mt. Hall’s Facebook page.

At the BCSD board meeting on Aug. 22, the board approved the delay of school for Mt. Hall. Superintendent Jan Bayer said that there are hours built into the school year for snow days that will prevent school from running longer into the summer. She added that, if needed, hours of school closure can be made up by adding five minutes to the school day.

Since BCSD returns to school with a three-day week after the Labor Day holiday, Mt. Hall will only lose three days of school by starting Sept. 12.

Trustee Teresa Rae has been following the construction at Mt. Hall and Naples closely all summer. At the Aug. 22 board meeting she said it was lucky that the builders are just behind one week. Due to delays in the plumbing construction, the flooring has still not been installed.

Rae said that the flooring will not be fully installed until next week and then the toilets and cabinets will go in.

Bayer said that the gym is usable, but with the work that needs to be finished there will be traffic in the halls as insulation is on going. If there needs to be a future extension of school opening, she said the district has options.

Board Chair Ron MacDonald is a plumber by profession and said that the repairs couldn’t be done in time. He was impressed with the amount of work completed over the summer.

Rae called the amount of work completed for summer maintenance at the two elementary schools as a “herculean effort.”

BCSD used a combination of federal and forest funds for capital improvement projects at Mt. Hall and Naples elementary schools over the summer.

Bayer told the Bonners Ferry Herald that BCSD received approval to use Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund payments for capital projects, including plumbing, remodeling and renovation at Mt. Hall and Naples elementary schools.

As part of the renovations, the offices at the schools have been relocated to the front of the building to help monitor who is coming and going, Bayer said.

BCSD officials said due to the failure of the March bond ESSER dollars were used for maintenance at the Mt. Hall and Naples elementary schools.

$122 billion in ESSER funds have been set aside to help schools across the country open post-COVID-19. The funding is for expenses that reduce the impacts of COVID-19 on students by the purchases of funds for learning loss, health screening tools and additional resources to address the mental well-being of students impacted by the isolation of the lockdown.

The Boundary County School District will run a $16.4 million 20-year school bond for a new Valley View Elementary in the Aug. 30 election.

Bayer told the Bonners Ferry Herald that the district listened to patron input from the community survey and have removed the capital project of updating bleachers at the football and track field.

The proposed bond is to replace Valley View Elementary School, construction an addition to the shop at Bonners Ferry High School, and renovating the shop at Boundary County Middle School. In addition, it will construct traffic flow solutions and paving at Naples Elementary School; construct a new roof at Mount Hall Elementary School; and repairing, renovating and remodeling other existing schools and facilities in the district.

The anticipated interest rate of the proposed bond issue is 3.48%, based on current market rates.

The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the proposed bond levy is a tax of $83 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, based on current conditions. Currently, the BCSD collects a bond levy in the amount of $60 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, which will be replaced by the bond levy for the proposed bonds. The estimated average cost to the taxpayer per $100,000 of taxable assessed value will increase by $23 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value.

Bayer said due to the raising of cost, the bond is set at the previous price of $16.4 million.

To help residents understand what the maintenance and operation and bond levy taxes will cost them, BCSD officials added a section to their website. That tax calculator can be found at https://www.bcsd101.com/ under the tab “August 30, Bond Election Tax Calculator.”