Four South Idaho school districts are asking voters to support multi-million dollar supplemental levies this election season. 

The asks reflect the obstacles school leaders face — from addressing budget shortfalls to keeping students safe to ensuring competitive staff salaries and manageable class sizes. 

And with school election dates halved, districts that would have put levies on a March or August ballot are now running them next to a presidential election for the first time. 

All told, 22 districts are seeking $175.5 million in supplemental levies on Nov. 5. EdNews is providing in-depth coverage of the half dozen multimillion-dollar supplemental levies. Read about the biggest North Idaho asks here, and the South Idaho asks below. 

Twin Falls, facing budget shortfalls, is increasing its levy ask to $14.4 million over two years

Twin Falls leaders are increasing their levy ask this election cycle — one of only six increased supplemental levy asks among the 22 on Idaho ballots. 

The increase is partly due to a sweeping facilities bill, approved during the last legislative session, that allocated over $1 billion in new funding for school facilities, but also impacted how lottery dollars are used and created a funding gap for some districts.

Twin Falls superintendent Brady Dickinson said that while the district is grateful for the funding they received — which is going toward “some really needed” new HVAC systems — the bill also meant losing dollars that had been used to pay for maintenance staff. 

Inflation and increasing costs are also driving district leaders to seek more local financial support. For example, busing costs have gone up significantly — partly due to gas prices, and partly due to increased wages, Dickinson said. If voters decide not to support the levy, those increased transportation costs will likely be passed on to student athletes in the form of pay-to-play fees, which Dickinson wants to avoid. 

Expiring COVID-19 relief dollars were another factor contributing to the increased ask. 

Most of the levy would go toward salaries and benefits for 64.5 staff members, including administrators, teachers, counselors, paraprofessionals, custodians, cooks and secretaries. 

And $3 million would fund armed security guards at the elementary schools — a somewhat unique approach to school safety,  but one that Dickinson said has been popular. 

“I know that teachers feel more secure,” he said, and parents have “a sense of comfort” knowing there’s increased protection for the children in case of a critical event like a shooting. 

If the levy fails, staff positions would be cut, class sizes would be impacted, and athletes might have to pay to participate. 

“It’s an important community decision on whether or not they want the services the levy pays for,” Dickinson said, but highlighted that the community has been supportive of the district’s ask in the past. 

This is the first time Twin Falls has put a levy on the November ballot. 

Idaho Falls’ communications about its $16 million supplemental levy are minimal

While many districts prominently feature information on upcoming ballot measures on their websites as the election nears, Idaho Falls School District’s website does not have any mention of its levy. 

Details can only be gleaned by looking up a sample ballot for the area. Karla LaOrange, the Idaho Falls superintendent, said the district typically does not “campaign” for supplemental levies. 

The ask, if approved, is expected to cause a slight increase to the tax rate. 

This levy ask comes after a string of legal troubles for the district related to past ballot measures. 

Last fall, a judge invalidated a $33 million plant facility levy that would’ve funded a new elementary school — meaning the district was not allowed to collect the dollars from taxpayers. 

Asked whether trustees might run a $33 million bond in the future to make up for the lost levy, LaOrange said the district is conducting an evaluation of its facilities needs that will be presented to trustees “probably next fall” and at that point, the board will be “considering their options.” A school boundary change has “eliminated some of the pressure” in terms of overcrowding in the district, LaOrange said.

Statewide, student enrollment numbers are generally plateauing or declining. LaOrange said the district did have an enrollment decline this school year, but that was primarily due to the district’s online school closing recently, which was reported here by East Idaho News. 

Last December, a second legal issue — an allegation that two district staff members illegally advocated for a bond measure — was settled without the employees having to plead guilty. Both staff members — former superintendent James Shank and former public information officer Margaret Wimborne — have since left the district. 

Pocatello/Chubbuck’s longtime levy faces a first: A November general election

Pocatello’s supplemental levy has been on the books for more than 60 years — but this is the first time it’s been run during a general election.

Since legislators cut the March and August school election dates, districts now have just two choices — November and May. 

Like most supplemental levies, Pocatello’s primarily goes toward staff salaries and benefits, and helps keep them competitive, Courtney Fisher, the district’s communications director said. 

“We’re asking the community to consider maintaining the current level of educational services and opportunities provided by school district 25,” Fisher said. 

The district’s outreach efforts have been extensive, and have included a webpage dedicated to the levy, social media posts and dozens of community and staff presentations on the levy. 

While Pocatello voters have historically approved district levies, results have been less favorable for bonds, which require a higher approval rate of two-thirds. In the November 2023 election, voters rejected a $45 million bond that would’ve gone toward rebuilding and improving a Pocatello high school damaged in a fire. A sweeping facilities bill that allocated over $1 billion for school facilities is now covering those costs.

Bonneville is keeping its ask the same, but may have to ask for an increase soon

Bonneville School District leaders are keeping their levy ask the same, which is doable partly because of a slowdown in student enrollment growth, Superintendent Scott Woolstenhulme said in a video for patrons. 

“I wouldn’t say we’re completely flat (when it comes to enrollment numbers) but we haven’t grown like we grew in the early part of the decade for sure,” he said.

But at the same time, there’s been “a dramatic shift in state funding” — the return to attendance-based funding — which means the district’s savings fund is diminishing to maintain the status quo. But trustees did not want to ask local taxpayers for an increased levy until that excess is spent, a decision Woolstenhulme said is “the right one.”

It will likely mean a reduction of up to $4 million to the savings account, Woolstenhulme said. Because of that, trustees may have to ask for an increased levy as early as next year. 

Idaho Education News data analyst Randy Schrader contributed to this report.