MERIDIAN, Idaho — The West Ada School District Board voted against pursuing an emergency property tax levy due to Idaho Gov. Brad Little's special session earlier this month, which signed specific tax rebates and $410 million of education investments into law.
The emergency levy is different than the supplemental and bond levies -- the board can vote for the emergency levy without citizen voting to handle class sizes and request up to $8.78 million, a news release from West Ada said.
But, that does not need to happen this time, according to West Ada Superintendent, Derek Bub.
"West Ada School District appreciates the continued support from our parents, patrons, and the wider community. While our district will continue to grow and have significant facilities needs over the next decade, we are optimistic about the recent actions at the state level," Bub said in a news release. "With this historic state investment into public education, the outlook for helping schools with these challenges and providing relief to our local property taxpayers is bright."
The education investment that Little signed into law in early September, after calling a special session, takes $410 million from Idaho sales tax proceeds and is thrown right into education -- $330 million will go directly to public school income, and $80 million will go to education careers and workforce training.
Board members unanimously voted against pursuing the emergency levy due to that investment in education, which they can likely use in place of the levy.
WASD continues to seek improvements in education, they said, which includes organizing a Citizens Committee that meets at 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 29 at Centennial High School. The Citizens Committee will focus on the district's 10-year facility needs, the release said.
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