Local school district will rerun bond for new elementary school in August
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IDAHO FALLS — A local school bond that failed by a very slim margin back in May will be run again as students head back to school.
Bonneville Joint School District 93 will ask voters again for a $34.5 million bond to build a new elementary school south of Telford Road in Idaho Falls. The bond would also provide funds to repair the roofs of other schools.
RELATED | No new elementary school in District 93; Bond fails to pass by slim margin
The bond will be up to vote by patrons in the election on Aug. 29.
“Kids are coming back to school the day before that,” said District 93 Superintendent Scott Woolstenhulme. “That’s a good way for us to make sure people are aware of the election.”
In May, the bond was run and failed. According to Bonneville County election results, 65.26% of voters were in favor of the bond, while 34.74% were against the bond. A total of 2,818 people voted.
“It’s disappointing when our election turnout is just under 3,000 voters and we have at least 16 to 17 thousand parents of our kids … it’s just a really small turnout,” Woolstenhulme said in a previous interview with EastIdahoNews.com. “We really hope that in the future, people will come out just so we have a better representation from our entire community on these critical issues.”
School bond issues in Idaho require a 66.6% supermajority support from voters to pass.
According to the ballot in May, the bond would cost taxpayers an additional $36 a year for every $100,000 of their property’s taxable value. The bond will be repaid over the next 17 years.
RELATED | District 93 asking voters for $34.5 million bond for new elementary school
In a board meeting in June, after the bond didn’t pass, there was a discussion about what the next steps should be. There was a survey sent out to families and patrons to see what their thoughts were.
“The No. 1 suggestion was to run the bond again, so based on that and again … looking at how close it was to passing, the board felt that that was the right thing to do,” Woolstenhulme said. “People expressed that they overlooked it in May. They heard about it, but it wasn’t really on their radar.”
The new school would help alleviate overcrowding issues at schools like Iona Elementary and Discovery Elementary. Woolstenhulme added that the school roofs need to be repaired.
“Bonneville High School is now over 50 years old. Ammon Elementary School is more than 100 years old,” he said.