The Nampa School District’s supplemental levy won’t expire until 2016, but Superintendent David Peterson is already thinking about the next step.
And that might involve a larger levy, the Idaho Press-Tribune reported Wednesday. At a school board meeting Tuesday, Peterson floated the idea of a $6.8 million-a-year levy, doubling the current amount.
Peterson says the increased levy would help meet a number of goals — from reducing class sizes to cutting or eliminating student fees. With property values increasing, Peterson says the district can increase its levy without raising taxes. The goal is to put the proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot.
“If we can get it on the November ballot, then (if it failed) we could ask again in March, and we could ask again in May,” Peterson said, according to the Press-Tribune’s Kelcie Moseley.
Nampa voters approved a two-year, $3.4 million-a-year levy in March 2014. But the state’s third largest district used much of the money to mitigate the effects of a deep financial crisis that left a $5 million shortfall. The levy was used to restore classroom days and teacher training, and fill vacant teaching positions.
