The State Board of Education quickly and unanimously approved Mountain View School District’s plan Wednesday to split its district in two.
Now, residents of Grangeville, Kooskia, and Elk City will cast their vote in May, the final stamp of approval needed to split the district.
A simple majority of voters districtwide would have to support deconsolidation. Then a majority of voters in the proposed smaller district, Clearwater Valley, would also have to vote in support for the measure to move forward.
Mountain View is the largest school district in the state by geography. It used to be even larger until 2006 when the then-Grangeville School District split into the Salmon River and Mountain View districts. That was the last time a school district in Idaho deconsolidated.
Deconsolidation has come up in the Mountain View district before. Earlier this year, the board of trustees made it clear that if a two-year, $5.8 million supplemental levy did not pass in May, the district would likely close Clearwater Valley High School and Elk City School. That levy passed for the first time in years, after four consecutive denials.
It took a few minutes for the state board to approve the split Wednesday. Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield clarified that approval just signifies the district’s plan meets all state requirements.
“We don’t decide whether we think it’s a good idea or whether they should,” Critchfield said, of the vote.
Tyler Harrington, chair of Mountain View’s school board, explained that geographic size and community tension are factors leading to the ask.
“I guess the simplicity of it is there is tension between the schools,” Harrington said.
Grangeville has about 800 students compared to Clearwater’s 300. The Elk City School has just 15.
“A lot of people in Clearwater Valley feel that they’re second hand citizens in the district,” Harrington said.
That sentiment led to a series of failed school levies, he said.
He pointed to the 2006 split as evidence that more local control in a separate smaller district works. Before the creation of Salmon River School District, people in Riggins routinely voted down levies. But since the split, levies have sailed through.
“It seems that the smaller the community is the more they feel they have more control over it and the more they support it,” Harrington said.
During a series of public hearings on the split this fall, Elk City community members expressed frustration that they didn’t get a say in which district they’d be a part of in the split. Trustees put Elk City in the proposed Clearwater Valley district because it gave the district more taxable property value.
“I just feel like we’re not being listened to,” said Sue Phillips, the Elk City school librarian. “It’s all about the money, i.e. levies. We need to think about the kids.”
Trustees — including Jon Menough, who represents Elk City — argued that this plan is best financially for both potential districts and gives Elk City the best shot at keeping its school.
If deconsolidation passes, the State Board would then appoint two new boards of five trustees, one board for each district. Those boards would work together for a year to split the districts along with hiring or rearranging staff. The split would go into effect for students in the fall of 2026.
