Kimberly School District to Ask Voters for New School

KIMBERLY, Idaho (KLIX) – The Kimberly School District will ask voters in May to help pay for a new elementary school and upgrade existing schools.

The school board met Feb. 17 and came up with two resolutions to meet district needs: One was putting a $14 million bond on the May 17 ballot; the other was asking for a plant facility levy of $300,000.

The district has experienced tremendous growth over the past half-decade, said Superintendent Luke Schroeder. On average it grew 2 percent every year since 1991. But over the past four years it grew 20 percent.

“It’s a good problem to have but we’re reaching capacity,” he said.

The district has a supplemental levy but plans to let it expire in place of the plant facility levy. The bond would be phased in over the next 25 years.

“We anticipate levy rates remaining the same. If they don't pass we will reassess the situation,” Schroeder said. “Worst case scenario would be to figure out a way to accommodate students in the current facility.”

That would be difficult to do, however, because about 900 students currently are enrolled at Kimberly Elementary School. And the district keeps growing.

If the requests do get voter approval in May, construction of the new school would go out for bid in spring 2017 after design documents have been completed. It would open for classes in fall 2018. The revitalization of the existing schools would take place in spring 2019.

For the most part, the schools are in good shape but because of finances the district has not proactively sought maintenance on the buildings since the recession started.

Schroeder said community meetings will be scheduled to share information about the proposals so residents can be better informed when election time rolls around. If someone cannot attend the meetings, they can contact the district office to get information.

“Our goal is to have informed voters at the polls,” he said.