BYU-Idaho Radio · Bond and Levy Elections for Bonneville County
Coming up next Tuesday, Bonneville County will see the new round of bond and levy elections for the county’s school districts. One of those districts with an upcoming levy renewal is Idaho Falls School District 91.
The levy on the ballot is the district’s supplemental levy, a recurring levy the district has had implemented for 30 years.
“The levy provides critical funding for the district,” said Margaret Wimborne, director of communications for District 91. “The bulk of that money really helps with teacher salaries so that we can stay competitive and bring the best, high quality teachers to our district.”
The $6.8 million levy hasn’t changed much in the 30 years it’s been active. The last change made to the levy happened in 2003. Wimborne said it provides a “stopgap” between what the state government provides and what is actually required to run the district.
“We’ve had tremendous community support for the levy over the years. It has been in place for a long, long time,” she said. “It’s come up for renewal every two years, so we put those to our patrons, and they have an opportunity to go out and vote to renew those.”
Although the bond and levy elections are the talk of the school boards right now, District 91 has another big decision coming up. They’re looking for a new superintendent.
The current superintendent, George Boland, has announced his retirement, and the Board of Trustees is looking for his replacement.
The board has narrowed it down to five finalists, and the next round of interviews is next week.
“That search started at the beginning of this year,” Wimborne said. “They have reviewed the list of candidates, done reference checks, and the finalists will be invited to come to Idaho Falls later this month on the 29th for final interviews and a meet and greet with students, parents, and faculty.”
Early in the hiring process, the Board of Trustees sent out a poll to the parents of Bonneville County about what they wanted to see the superintendent focus on.
“Some of the qualities our staff identified was fostering positive community relationships, having good conflict management, and background in curriculum, supervision, and team building,” said Wimborne.
You can check out how to vote in next week’s election by visiting this website.
There are several other school districts with elections happening on Tuesday as well. Click here to see if your district has an election in Bonneville County.