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City of Kuna to consider using CARES Act money to fund a private teacher for children of city employees

Money to pay for the teacher would come from the federal CARES Act, using about $45,000 of the nearly $715,000 the city received from the CARES Act.

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KUNA, Idaho — A proposal by the Kuna City Council isn't sitting well with some working parents in the Kuna School District.

During Tuesday night's regularly scheduled board meeting, council members reviewed the proposed "Employee Cooperative Tutoring Plan." The plan would allow a classroom would be set up in Council Chambers at Kuna City Hall with a private teacher for the 32 students whose parents are city employees. Students would come at varying hours to be able to accommodate everyone.

"Other city staff have mentioned that we may have five, six employees who may be disrupted due to this and it would make it really hard for them to keep their job and educate their children," Kuna City Council Treasurer Jared Empey said. "This is so that we can make sure that a sizeable portion of our city workforce can continue remaining employed and not have sizeable disruptions due to school district shuffling their hours."

The teacher would work with students to help them with their online school work. Money to pay for the teacher, as well as things like PPE and sneezeguards, would come from the federal CARES Act, using about $45,000 of the nearly $715,000 the city received from the CARES Act. That money is earmarked to offer grants to small businesses disrupted by COVID-19 and to mitigate COVID-19 issues on the city's end. 

However, under the plan, city employees would have to help fund a small portion. 

"We would need to work out some other details and we'd bring it back to council and at that time council could decide if we're unfairly spending money or if this is something that would be a good thing and a reasonable thing," Mayor Joe Stear said.

Several councilmembers chimed in with their concerns.

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"I know that the intent is to look for CARES Act money to cover this. My concern is if that we do end up having to spend tax dollars, it feels unfair that it would be limited to only city employees," Council President Briana Buban-Vonder Haar said.

"To see city money going to a private, so to speak, school, but if the funds could be allocated and if the parents were willing to subsidize, I'd have no problem with it," Councilmember Richard Cardoza said. "I just, in fairness to everybody out there having the same problem, I don't know if it'd be fair to use taxpayers' money."

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Mayor Stear told the council that it's not meant to do more for city employees, but it would help them get the most bang for their buck, as using the CARES money would be more cost-effective than paying city employees time off. Part of that also falls under the CARES Act, which allows employees to take up to ten weeks of paid leave to care for a child if there are school closures.

On Friday, Stear told KTVB that if some city employees took ten weeks off, it would be too disruptive to city services. Positions like sewer workers, who have to be certified, cannot be easily replaced.

Right now, the idea is only that, an idea. No action has been taken. Even if it were to pass through the council, the city would still need approval from the state to use the CARES Act funding.

Kuna schools reopen beginning August 31.

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