American Falls school district talks about what’s next after failed bonds

The American Falls school district is looking for a solution to its overcrowding problem at Hillcrest Elementary.

In May, the school district put two bonds on the ballot for the public to vote on. The first was a $12.5 million bond to build a new elementary school and allow for renovations on the current intermediate school. About 62 percent of people voted in favor of the bond, but it was still just shy of the super-majority needed to pass.

The other bond was a $1.6 million bond to build a new gym. It also failed to receive the super-majority needed.

Hillcrest Elementary is currently very crowded. Superintendent Ronald Bolinger said the number of students has been increasing for about the last five years. With limited space, the hallway of Hillcrest’s media center became the computer lab, which actually violates city fire codes. Because of overcrowding problems, the fire marshal allowed the school one year to come up with a solution.

So Bolinger said the district had to come up with a solution for the 2016-2017 school year. The school board met to discuss its options after the new school bond failed.

“What we’ve done is looking at it from a standpoint of students first and what we can do for the students in terms of the overcrowding issue,” Bolinger said.

The board decided to rent a two-room modular unit for the school year.

“It’s the best and probably the only option that we have,” Bolinger said. “We in general don’t like modular units, but sometimes it’s a necessity.”

The unit is 900 square feet and will house two of the third-grade classes. The cost is $1,240 per month. Bolinger said that is being paid for largely by state funding.

Bolinger said the two new rooms with the modular unit will also allow Hillcrest to split its third grade into six classes instead of five. So he said they will be hiring an extra teacher for the class. He said this will help keep class sizes smaller, and help increase the quality of education for students.

Bolinger said while the modular unit is a good solution for now, they need something more permanent down the road.

“We’re going to reconstitute our building committee and work on it through the year with the anticipation of a target for next spring to take it to them again,” he said.

Bolinger said because November is a general election, the board felt there were already too many things on the ballot for voters to consider. So the board will look at putting a bond option back on the ballot in either March or May.

He said as far as the bond for the new gym, the board has decided to defer that bond for now.