Election Results could lead to Staff Cuts

Voters in Idaho's largest school district rejected a property tax increase to help offset budget cuts in Meridian classrooms.  Meridian’s $18.5 million, two-year supplemental levy was among a slew of education funding measures that went before Idaho taxpayers on Tuesday with mixed success. Voters in at least 12 districts across the state approved supplemental levies to boost local funding for public schools. But levies failed in Meridian, Payette, Fruitland, Kuna, Buhl, Kamiah and Culdesac. In southwestern Idaho, officials at the Meridian School District have cautioned that more than 100 jobs would be cut if the levy failed. In south-central Idaho, the superintendent of Buhl public schools says the defeat of a $571,903 levy means students could have to start paying a fee to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities.