KUNA, Idaho — Voters in Kuna will have a $5.3 million decision on their ballot next month.
The Kuna School District has a two-year supplemental levy up for a vote during the May 21 election.
The levy levy has two main parts, $2.5 million of the levy would be allocated for staffing and operations maintenance:
- Maintain 15 teachers:
- 1 agriculture
- 4 kindergarten
- 10 additional teachers
- Maintain existing curriculum and technology
- Maintain safety:
- School resource officers (SROs)
- Safety aids
- Behavior specialist
- Safety projects
The other $2.8 million from the proposed levy would be allocated toward facilities maintenance:
- Roof replacement/repairs:
- Reed Elementary
- Hubbard Elementary
- Fire alarm replacements:
- Kuna High School
- Hubbard Elementary
- Indian Creek Elementary
- Ross Elementary
- Heating/air conditioning (HVAC) replacements:
- Kuna High School
- Indian Creek Elementary
- Ross Elementary
- Technology infrastructure and replacements
- Three new busses
The district says the maintenance projects are for critical needs.
"As far as the critical need, we put critical to the point where it could close a school or cause us to have to close an area of a school," Kuna Schools Director of Operations Brian Graves said. "We have many needs as far as construction and fixing goes, but these are those projects that we said could literally close our school if one of our roof fails, or if our fire panel is not working. So our kids are safe."
The budget for the emergency projects were part of a bond the district proposed last year, however that bond failed. Graves says they are prioritizing maintenance that could cause potential closures if left unaddressed.
The proposed levy would cost an estimated tax of $103.90 per $100,000 of taxable assed value per year. A breakdown of estimated Kuna School District property taxes can be viewed here.
The school district will host a town hall meeting regarding the levy on May 9 at 6 p.m. at the Kuna School District Office at 711 E. Porter St.. Another levy town hall will be held virtually on May 16, streaming on the district's YouTube page.
The levy requires a simple majority to pass during the May 21 election. Additional information about the levy can be found on the Kuna School District website.
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