Campaign launches for $172 million bond election

The Boise School District will take a $172.5 million bond issue to voters on March 14. The plan would replace several aging schools and finance $58.8 million in maintenance projects at 41 district facilities.

An organization called “Friends of Boise Schools,” an advocacy group that actively campaigns in support of bonds, is leading the charge to educate the public.

“This bond allows us to reinvest in strong neighborhood schools without raising the tax rate,” said Melissa Goode, a Boise School District parent.

The bond issue is designed to finance the bulk of Boise’s 10-year, $217 million facilities master plan.

“It’s accountable and addresses critical facility problems now so they don’t cost taxpayers more later,” Goode said.

All bond issues face a high hurdle at the polls, requiring a two-thirds supermajority to pass.

Twin Falls student wins 2016 holiday card contest

Kylee Thiel, a fifth-grade student at Sawtooth Elementary School, is the winner of the State Department of Education’s Holiday Card Contest. Her card featured a penguin with a scarf, surrounded by presents.

Kylee’s artwork will be featured on the SDE’s holiday greeting card. She also will receive a certificate and copies of the greeting card to share with her friends and family.

“I am always so impressed with the effort and creativity of students who submit artwork for the Holiday Card Contest,” said Superintendent Sherri Ybarra.

Click here to check out all the winners from across the state.

Nampa school board approves new charter school

Nampa School District trustees voted to approve Pathways in Education’s application to open a charter high school in July 2017.  Pathways operates schools in Chicago, Shreveport, La., Memphis, Tenn., and Phoenix.

Pathways in Education – Nampa, Inc. submitted a charter application in September and the board held a public hearing in November. The purpose of the school is to provide a comprehensive education program to re-engage underserved students, including students who have dropped out of school, are unable to attend on a regular basis due to outside responsibilities or are not well served by a traditional high school. Pathways Nampa is committed to providing these students the academic and non-academic resources needed to help them achieve their goals for high school and prepare for post-secondary education.

“We are very excited about partnering with the Nampa School District to get these students on the path toward credit recovery and high school graduation,” said Jill Wells, Pathways’ director of charter development.

Pathways utilizes a blended-learning model with small group instruction, online coursework, experiential learning opportunities and one-on-one support from teachers.