District-wide issues prompt D91 to propose $250M bond. Here’s what supporters and detractors have to say about it
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IDAHO FALLS — Crowded classrooms, security and safety concerns. These are some of the issues Idaho Falls School District 91 has been dealing with for years, and if a $250 million bond doesn’t pass during the election, students in the district could face year-round school or split sessions.
On the other hand, with a bond proposal this large, if it passes, there will be a significant property tax burden placed on locals. Some members of the community feel that such a large ask is unnecessary and places undue stress on the community.
Still, the problems in the district are not going away and are getting worse as the buildings continue to age. District leaders say that something needs to be done.
Some of the problems
Skyline High School, which was built in the late 1960s, has a multitude of problems, according to the principal. Josh Newell wrote a list of issues that’s nearly two pages long and took EastIdahoNews.com on a tour of what students and teachers have to work with on a daily basis.
One of those problems is one of the boys’ bathrooms. It is constantly overflowing, and sewage water sits on the floor, which leaves a permanent stain. The bathroom is shut down on a weekly basis, causing a restroom shortage.
There’s also an area of the ceiling in the school where pipes are showing due to leaking problems. The ceiling tile can’t be replaced because the new tiles would get damaged over and over again by the constant leaking. Sometimes, a trash can is put underneath it to catch the drips from the pipe.
Another problem? Newell said there are 88 points of access to Skyline High School, which creates security concerns.
Over at Sunnyside Elementary School, principal Kylie Dixon said staff is trying to make the most use of available space, but it has been tough. The school was built in the early 1990s for 450 to 500 students. An addition added a few years ago created space for another 100 students.
The school currently has around 700 kids, and some closets have been turned into classrooms.
“It makes the day-to-day functioning of the school extremely challenging,” Dixon said.
As for Temple View Elementary, there are similarities. District leaders want to create a new and bigger elementary school.
There are concerns at Idaho Falls High School too, which was built more than 70 years ago.
“The big thing that really screams out to me is the space of our science classrooms,” said Matt Houser, a science teacher at Idaho Falls High School.
Houser says there are desks in the front of the classroom for students to sit in, but the space is so small they are crammed next to each other. On top of that, he says there are safety concerns.
“If something happens and we need to get those kids out of those seats fast, there’s no way,” he said. “There’s just not enough space for kids to get out of those seats.”
The D91 bond
To fix these issues, Idaho Falls School District 91 is proposing a $250 million bond, which is the largest bond the district has ever asked the public to approve. Patrons will vote on it on Nov. 8.
“It’s something that our students need. That’s what our patrons have told us. I want to respond to it,” D91 Superintendent Dr. Jim Shank said.
D91 proposed two other bonds in the past, including one for $110 million in 2017. The bond would have paid for the construction of a new high school and the redesign of Skyline High School.
RELATED | After $110 million bond fails, what’s next for Idaho Falls School District 91?
The other bond was in 2018 for $99.5 million. That bond would have paid for a new Idaho Falls High School, extensive upgrades to Skyline High School and a project to transform the existing Idaho Falls High School into a career-technical school.
RELATED | $99.5 million bond fails in Idaho Falls School District 91
Both bonds failed to pass. Now, district leaders say it’s to the point that this year’s bond is critical.
The Idaho Falls Board of Trustees has spent the last few years studying the district’s facility’s needs and gathering feedback from parents, patrons and staff.
In January, D91 launched a survey about the school facilities. The survey asked questions about different schools such as “If Idaho Falls High School is rebuilt, do you support the new location near the corner of 49th and Holmes?” and “Is there another amenity you would like to see included in a new or renovated Skyline High School?”
RELATED | District 91 launches survey on school facilities
“What the community told us is they want new schools. That was the response from the surveys,” said Shank.
After reviewing more than 5,000 survey responses and other community input, the district came up with a plan of what would be included in the $250 million bond.
Specifically, the proposed bond would help pay for the following:
- Build a new high school on East 49th South to replace Idaho Falls High School. The current IFHS campus would eventually become the permanent home for D91’s Career Technical Education Center, with community spaces for sports and the arts.
- Renovate and add an auditorium to Skyline High School.
- Build a new elementary school south of town.
- Replace Temple View Elementary with a new, bigger elementary school north of Idaho Falls.
The new Idaho Falls High School would be designed for 1,800 students. Currently, there are about 1,354 enrolled at the school.
“It’s a vision into the future. It’s looking at the potential for growth in Idaho Falls — the families that would move here. So the minute we open the doors, we’re not packed,” Shank said.
Renovation for Idaho Falls High School is not really an option, Shank said. He said there are challenges like the school having limited space to expand. The city owns part of the land on campus such as the Civic Auditorium, the band room, the choir room and the parking lot on the north side of the building.
The school was built in the 1950s and doesn’t have enough classrooms to accommodate enrollment, so students take classes in satellite buildings.
Shank has put a lot of effort into the bond and realizes the district is asking for a lot of money.
“I know it’s a big dollar figure. I know it’s an issue of economics for people. There’s no question. You are voting to take money in taxation and provide it for these facilities so students can come to school. You are either voting for it or not. That’s what it boils down to,” Shank said.
How much will this cost?
A big question: why is the bond so high?
“Things cost more. That’s why the $250 million price tag is what it is. It has a lot to do with inflation,” Shank said.
According to the district’s website, the cost of the bond reflects construction costs. About $119 million will be used for a new Idaho Falls High School. Around $71.5 million will be used to renovate Skyline High School, and $27 million will be used for each elementary school. Although the price tag is high, there’s no sign that waiting will decrease the costs of the projects, according to the website.
The district is paying off prior bonds early, which leaders say will save taxpayers millions of dollars. The last time a bond passed in District 91 was in 2012 for $53 million dollars. The bond was used to construct Dora Erickson, Ethel Boyes, Edgemont, and Longfellow elementary schools.
RELATED | District 91 Board of Trustees paying off bond nine years early
The previous bonds, with a tax impact of approximately $133 per $100,000 of net taxable property value, will be paid off next year and will drop off tax notices before the new bond appears.
D91’s proposed $250 million bond is estimated to cost $233 per $100,000 of net taxable property value.
The district has a tax calculator online that anyone can punch numbers into. Click here.
According to the ballot, the interest rate anticipated on the proposed bond issue is 3.65% per year. The term of the bond will not exceed 20 years from the date it’s issued if passed.
Shank says he has been asked by community members if he’s taken into consideration potential bond rate increases.
“We don’t always know what the economy is going to look like or which direction a bond rate is going, which is out of our control,” he said. “If the Fed (Federal Reserve System) decided to do something that would impact the bond rates one way or the other, then that would change the value so that’s some of the concerns people have.”
Not in favor
Not everyone agrees with the bond. Some people have told EastIdahoNews.com there are other solutions including creating new boundaries, a new school district or fixing existing schools.
“The biggest concern is that it’s a quarter of a billion dollars in new taxes that we do not believe are necessary,” said Lisa Keller.
Keller is a spokeswoman for a group called D91 Taxpayers. She says the concerned citizen’s group has been around for about six years. Click here to view the D91 Taxpayers Facebook page.
A recent Facebook post by D91 Taxpayers said, “Many residents in D91 have told us they cannot afford a new $250,000,000.00 tax. With rising gas prices, grocery costs, insurance premiums, and much more as we are beginning a recession, it’s easy to see how this MASSIVE new tax would hurt those who are already struggling in our community.”
Keller voted against the previous bonds in 2017 and 2018.
“They have just come back at us with the same plans that we have said no to twice — just with jacked-up prices,” Keller said. “We wanted them to come back with something reasonable but they came back with something the same but worse.”
Keller told EastIdahoNews.com she is OK with remodeling schools but believes building new schools is not the answer. The district needs to fix and work with what they have.
“What they are proposing is not necessary. We know there are other ways around it,” Keller said. “Do not burden our people on fixed income. … A child in kindergarten — a 20-year bond at a quarter of a billion dollars, means that child will still be burdened with those taxes after that child has graduated from high school.”
Keller said she loves children but is worried for their future with a bond like this one.
“People don’t understand that we paid off the last bond early so they (the district) could stick us with a new bond. … They are just being disingenuous. They are not good fiscal stewards, and they are not representing people like they should,” Keller said.
For the bond
Erin Bingham is a mother with four kids who have attended school in District 91. Some of her children have experienced going to Idaho Falls High School and Sunnyside Elementary School.
“This is about all of our students in District 91,” Bingham said.
She runs the ‘Vote Yes for D91 School Bond’ campaign online. Click here to learn more. She’s posted various pictures of the schools and issues she says students are facing.
“Some of the safety concerns at Idaho Falls High School are a result of overutilization because we have just so many kids there that our hallways and our stairwells and classrooms just don’t have the space to accommodate all of these students,” she explained.
Bingham has posted pictures that show the crowding issues in the hallways at Idaho Falls High School during passing periods.
“It looks like we are herding cattle. From a parent perspective, my concern is if we had an emergency and all of those kids needed to get out of the building, kids would get hurt,” Bingham said. “If we had an emergency like a fire or a school shooting or anything like that and students had to exit quickly, it would be pandemonium.”
She said another safety concern is the modules outside of the school that hold hundreds of students separated from the main school building.
Bingham said that Idaho Falls High School and many of the other schools are just trying to make do, and it’s not enough.
“At Sunnyside, we have classes that are closets,” she said. “We are at a critical point in our district that we have to do something. What we are currently doing is ridiculous and is not acceptable.”
What if the bond doesn’t pass?
The enrollment in District 91 is 10,247 students.
An email from Shank addressed to parents and staff on Oct. 18 says the Board of Trustees has been starting to consider ways to address safety, security and overcrowding if the proposed bond fails on Nov. 8. Some of the ideas being discussed include year-round schools or split sessions.
Year-round school would entail students attending school on different tracks to reduce the number of kids in the building at any given time. Split sessions would mean half the students attend school in a morning session and half the students attend school in an afternoon session.
A survey included with the email has five questions, including “What is your greatest concern about the idea of year-round school?” and “What is your greatest concern about the idea of split sessions?”
“The needs are not going away. Our projections for growth with students are one thing but the projection for community growth is there as well. We know there are thousands of new homes that are being built in the community. Will new children come when those families move in? We have to respond to that,” Shank said.
Keller and others are not happy with the email and have called it “despicable” and “threatening.” She wrote in a news release that the district is resorting to using scare tactics.
As for Bingham, she believes it’s a reality that the district is facing.
“It’s not a threat. … We are at a breaking point,” she said. “It’s not an option to do nothing.”
Bond issues in Idaho require two-thirds support from voters to pass.