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Caldwell board finalizes school closure, sets budget in the face of reduced funding

The Caldwell School District Board voted unanimously to approve drastic cost-saving measures including the school closure and setting new district boundaries.

CALDWELL, Idaho — This story originally appeared in The Idaho Press.

The board’s decision is in, and Lincoln Elementary School will be closed for the 2024-25 school year.

The Caldwell School District Board voted unanimously Monday night to approve drastic cost-saving measures including the school closure and setting new district boundaries.

Attendance at the meeting was sparse, with approximately 40 people sitting in the audience.

The decisions follow the non-renewal of Caldwell’s $4.1 million supplemental levy, which was up for renewal on the May 21 primary election ballot. This is the first time in 50 years that the district will not have a supplemental levy.

Lincoln is one of six elementary schools in the district. Parents of students can expect to receive communications as to what school their children will attend in the fall. The new boundaries will also reassign some students to different schools this fall.

"Lincoln Elementary is significant and provides the district $2 million in reductions in the general fund,” Caldwell School District Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Sanderson said.

Lincoln’s building will be repurposed for the district office and the Boys and Girls Club. The current district office will be used for Canyon Springs High School, Caldwell’s alternative school. The district will be able to defer $9 million in maintenance at the current Canyon Springs building with this move.

The failure of the levy has also resulted in a laundry list of other cost-saving measures, including added fees to student extracurriculars, layoffs in the district office and the restructuring of Caldwell’s middle schools. Each of these items have already taken effect or will take effect at the beginning of the school year.

This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com

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