BOISE, Idaho — While many voters are already looking ahead to the general election in November, an election this month will decide funding requests for several school districts in southwest Idaho.
Four school districts - with voters in seven counties - have put supplemental levies on the August 25 ballot. Below you will find a breakdown of each funding request, including the question that you will see on your ballot.
Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, voters will have both absentee and in-person voting options. You can find helpful links for checking the status of your voter registration, find your polling place and learn more about absentee voting on our Voter Resources page. You can also click on the links for your county elections office below to contact officials there with any questions or concerns about voting in this election.
Early voting is already underway in Ada and Canyon Counties.
School levies on Aug. 25 ballots
West Ada Joint School District (Ada and Canyon counties)
- Supplemental levy
- $14,000,000 per year for 2 years
- The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer: $52.60 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value
- Read more: West Ada will seek voter approval of supplemental levy in August
- Related: Early voting gets underway in Ada and Canyon counties
Ballot question:
Shall the Board of Trustees of Joint School District No. 2, Ada and Canyon Counties, State of Idaho, be authorized and empowered to levy a Supplemental Levy in the amount of fourteen million and no/ dollars ($14,000,000.00) per year for two (2) years, commencing with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2022, for the purpose of financing any lawful expenses of maintaining and operating the District; all as provided in the Resolution adopted by the Board of Trustees on June 15, 2020?
The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the proposed levy is a tax of $52.60 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, based on current conditions.
Middleton School District (Canyon County)
- Supplemental levy
- $1,500,000 per year for 2 years
- According to the district, due to the existing levy expiring and a decrease in an existing bond, approval of this levy would result in a $5 decrease in taxes. See the explanation below for more details.
Ballot question:
Shall the Board of Trustees of School District No. 134, Canyon County, State of Idaho, be authorized and empowered to levy a Supplemental Levy, as provided in Section 33-802(3), Idaho Code, in the amount of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000)per year for two (2) years, commencing with fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2022, for the purpose of financing any lawful expenses of maintaining and operating the District; all as provided in the Resolution adopted by the Board of Trustees on June 29, 2020?
The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the proposed levy is a tax of $94 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, based on current conditions. The proposed levy will replace the District's existing supplemental levy which currently costs $82 per $100,000, resulting in a net increase of $12 per $100,000 of assessed value per year. The District has a bond levy that currently costs $309 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, which is expected to decline to $292 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value. Therefore, the proposed supplemental levy produces a decrease in the combined costs per $100,000 of taxable assessed value of $5.
Cambridge School District (Adams and Washington counties)
- Supplemental levy
- $100,000 per year for 2 years
- Estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer: $46.21 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value
- Replaces levy that expired in June
Ballot Question:
Shall the Board of Trustees of Cambridge School District No. 432J, Adams and Washington Counties, Idaho, be authorized and empowered to levy a supplemental levy, as permitted by law in Section 33-802 (3), Idaho Code, of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) each year for two years, for a total of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), for the purpose of paying all lawful expenses of maintaining and operating the schools of the District for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2022, as provided in the resolution of the Cambridge School District No. 432J Board of Trustees adopted on April 21, 2020?
The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the proposed levy based on the data above is a tax of $46.21 per $100,000 of taxable assessed values based on current conditions.
This levy would replace the levy that expired on June 30th, 2020.
Jerome Joint School District (Jerome, Lincoln and Gooding counties)
- Supplemental levy
- $800,000 per year for 2 years
- View the sample ballot
Ballot question:
Shall the Board of Trustees of Jerome Joint School District No. 261, Jerome, Lincoln and Gooding Counties, Idaho, be authorized and empowered to levy a supplemental levy, as permitted by law in Section 33-802(3), Idaho Code in the amount of eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000) each year for two years for a total of one million six hundred thousand dollars ($1,600,000) for the purpose of paying all lawful expenses of maintaining and operating the schools of the District for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2021 and ending June 30, 2023?
The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the proposed levy is a tax of $52 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, per year, for two years, based on current conditions. Currently, the District collects an annual supplemental levy authorized in the same amount of $800,000, which will expire when the proposed levy goes into effect, so the proposed levy will not change the tax per $100,000 of taxable assessed value based on current conditions.
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