BCSD to re-run bond in August

BONNERS FERRY — Following a recommendation by its facility committee and based on results of a bond survey, the Boundary County School Board voted 3-1, to re-run the bond in August.

The decision follows a special meeting on May 2 by the committee, school board and members of the public to discuss the results of the bond survey and what the next steps are for the district.

The committee is composed of professionals, former BCSD students, BCSD parents and home-schooling parents seeking to examine facilities of the BCSD.

The facility committee has been working to help guide the board to make an educated decision on re-running the school bond and maintaining facilities across the district, Superintendent Jan Bayer said.

The survey consisted of a sampling of 36% of the 7,200 registered voters who reside in BCSD boundaries.

Bayer said that every 12th voter on the voter roll was contacted and the survey reached 50% male and 50% female.

This yielded a population of 200 survey takers. The surveys were conducted by phone mainly during the evening hours of April 18-30.

The survey’s goal was to break down what people would vote for in a school bond. When asked if building a new K-5 elementary school with the capacity of 500 students to replace Valley View Elementary, 71 percent of those surveyed said they would approve. That is 4.33% above the 66 2/3 percent needed to pass a bond.

Improving the traffic flow and adding asphalt at Naples Elementary, constructing a new roof and completing some plumbing work at MT. Hall Elementary also received 71% approval.

56% disapproved of updating the shop at the middle school, adding onto the shop at the high school, adding outside bleachers and making some other athletic improvements at both the BCMS and BFHS campuses. This is 10.67% under what is needed to pass a bond at 66 2/3% majority.

When survey takers were asked if they would approve or disprove of a $16.4 million bond levy to run for 20 years to cover the four projects that would add $17 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, 68% approved. That is 1.33% over what is needed to pass a bond at 66 2/3% majority.

Of those surveyed 39% were aged 55 and up, 28% were aged 44-54, 21% were aged 31-43 and 12% were aged 18-30.

Suggestions to the BCSD from survey takers was to better inform/educate the public before they will make a decision, with 19 of the survey takers saying this.

Other suggestions were to make the bond 30 years to lower the cost, having a solid plan with many parents on board to ever get this bond passed and dropping the cost down to make it no tax increase in order to receive survey takers vote.

With the survey presented, the facility committee deliberated before making a recommendation to the board.

Bayer said that projects such as the Mt. Hall plumbing and the Naples addition are moving forward with the use of ESSR funds. Due to interest rates climbing, the past bond in March would have cost $20 million, now it is anticipated for $23 million. There is an increase of 10 cents per thousand and rates are anticipated to rise again this week.

If the bond passes in August the interest rate of the bond will be locked in within three months, she said. The hope had been to claim a better interest rate if the bond had passed in March in order to get ahead of rising interest rates.

“We’ve delayed three months and have to pay $3.5 million more, $7 million in November,” Bayer said.

There was discussion to cut the adding a total of four grades per grade level at VVE, but there was concern that then there would be no planning with growth.

“If we were to go back to three classrooms per grade level, we’d have no room for growth,” trustee Teresa Rae said. “Zero. So, I’m not saying that we're going to grow by leaps and bounds, but you just wouldn’t plan for growth.”

Planning of growth was with the knowledge that 300-400 homes are planned to be built within city limits in the next 10 years and having a school that could support an increase in students that is projected.

Facility committee members said that it would cost $8 million at VVE to only put lipstick on a pig, without fixing any of the core issues.

Fiorvanti said that it is the legislators responsibility to fund facilities, but they aren’t doing that right now. She asked if a sales tax increase could be proposed.

Bayer said that the district can’t legally propose a sales tax increase to fund schools. She said district staff had just attended the law conference last week.

There was a big study over the last two years, which found it would cost more than $800 million to bring schools in the state of Idaho to “good” condition, Bayer said. The Legislature has made no movement to fund facilities.

Bayer said that before school districts in Idaho could run a levy every six weeks. In one legislative session, the districts compromised and said, “we'll limit it to four elections a year if you agree to look at the bond passage percent.” The Legislature agreed if the districts agreed to limit elections to four per year.

“Well, guess what? They've never dropped that percentage and they are now trying to limit when we can run bonds and levies even more,” she said.

Mark Carey, committee member and local real estate agent, said he went in with an attitude of fixing VVE but said he realized it isn’t possible. He said that the cost is probably closer to $10 million to only do surface level repairs on the school.

Another issue to address is all separate buildings and entrances and how to protect the school from an active shooter.

“In this day and age we have to think about it,” he said.

Ryan Comer, committee member, addressed concern that there is a need and push for more agriculture and trades education at the middle school and high school level. That the local economy would benefit from having students ready out of high school. He said it is time to invest in the trades.

Bayer said that there is a need for preventative maintenance rather than reactive maintenance. Due to COVID-19 new air quality standards, BFHS has had to get a new $67,000 air unit. It was ordered five months ago and is being installed this week.

Bayer agreed that there is a large push for more Career Technical Education courses to be offered earlier in students' education. She said an option to have the FFA alumni help expand the school shops.

Another option was to piece-meal projects and run a plant facility levy. The committee and the board said that after running the numbers taxpayers would pay more overall than if a bond was passed.

Trustee Mary Fioravanti spoke out against re-running the bond in August; the public perspective would find it harmful to run an election outside from the November general election. She said it would prevent the public from thinking the board is “malicious” for re-running the bond.

She advocated for a good education campaign to inform the public through mailers and a YouTube channel showing the issues in the district facilities.

Rae said the board had run an education campaign, but many community members do not receive local papers or have internet access and did not see the video that the board and facility committee had already made.

Community member Jeanine Betsher agreed on running the bond during the general election.

“I think you'd alienate fewer voters. If you didn't run this more than twice a year,” Betsher said.

Bayer said that BCSD has only run a bond twice, once in 2002 and again in 2003.

“We haven't run a bond in 19 years,” she said. “We do run supplemental maintenance and operation levees every two years. And I think that needs to be clear. So bonds are for buildings, big capital projects and our strip. All our levies are for learning.”

She said that the district has only now received the same funding they received in 2008, but operational costs have gone up.

“We haven't raised our supplementals [levy] since 2015 from $2.4 million that continues. And I guarantee you if we didn't increase what we pay our individual people, we would not have them,” she said.

Bayer said that there are four election dates in Idaho and the voters are aware of it. Trustee Teresa Rae said that the longer the district waits, the more the taxpayer will have to pay.

Weaver said she cares about voter perception, but her job is what is best for the student and she believes that is to provide a safer facility. Since the high school bond is dropping off in August, it would be easier for taxpayers to only pay a $17 increase per $100,000 of assessed value instead of telling them their taxes are going up $1,000 or so if there was to be a year of tax reprieve.

“It’s going to be a lot more painful once they’ve already spent the money,” she said.

Christie Campbell, committee member, said that school bond and levy elections have always run in March and August since she can remember and she went to elementary school in the county.

There was discussion that if the bond is not run in August that the interest rates would be even higher in November.

Dr. Rich Bauscher, who ran the survey, said that a November election historically is the worst time to run a school bond due to the low success rate.

Bauscher also said schools bring people into the community. Communities with poor facilities dry up and the local economy is negatively impacted.

Another option was to leave VVE as is and let the state come in and condemn the building. If this were to happen, VVE students would be moved to the middle school. Double shifting would return as high school students and middle schoolers would be attending BFHS.

Board members said that if the state condemns the building, then a new school would be built to the state standards, which could be above BCSD standards. The taxpayers would have to pay for facilities they did not vote on and at a price they did not agree to.

Ron Smith, committee member and Bonners Ferry City Council, said that they owe it to all the “yes” voters to re-run the bond in August. They voted because they know the project is needed. He said that if it is dropped now, then those voters would be penalized.

The committee recommended that the bond be re-run in August, but that there would be an update on the projects to run in the bond. This will be discussed at a later meeting. The committee wanted more time to look over the survey input to address priorities.

Trustee Candice Kelly said that it sounded like the bond had the best chance of passing with the least amount of cost to the taxpayer in an August election.

The board approved to re-run the bond in August by a 3-1 vote.

Board Chair Ron MacDonald closed the meeting with a final word. He reminded those present that he is a lifelong resident and that his parents were born and raised in Boundary County as well.

“Every time school stuff comes up, it tears this community apart,” he said.

He said since he’s come on the board they have worked to be more transparent, be friendlier and listen to patrons. In the end, they have to worry about every kid in the district.

Public schools are under fire, he said. Taxes have changed.

“The state is never going to take over building schools, because the second you throw the state into it everybody wants a Taj Mahal, because the state is paying for it,” he said. “We are still paying for it.”

He said but if the state is paying for it people will want pools and other extravagant amenities.

“No decision we make is taken lightly,” he said. “Bottom line, people need to go out and vote. If we pass this, will 30% of voters turn out, am I gonna be happy? I’m gonna be happy we passed it, but am I gonna be happy, no. That means 70% of the county didn’t [care].”

There was only a 30% voter turnout at the March election.