Jefferson County Schools to ask voters for $1,000,000

At the eleventh hour on Wednesday night in Rigby, the Jefferson County School District voted to approve a $1,000,000 supplemental levy.

After a well attended community straw poll on Tuesday night, many board members argued the district could not ignore the call from patrons to at least hold a levy election.

There was dissent from several trustees. Trustee Paul Hepworth said by not holding the levy, the district would send a clear message to Boise that school districts won’t just pull themselves up by their own boot straps by putting pressure on the taxpayers anymore when the funding should be coming from the state.

Others argued that reasoning would only hurt students and in the end a call for a levy vote passed.

Superintendent Ron Tolman took the budget discussion a step further by making a motion to take voluntary cuts in the administrative offices. Several administrative assistant positions at the district office will be moved to school positions. The district’s assistant superintendent will function in his current role, and as a principal.

“We have to do more with less,” said Tolman.

The supplemental levy election will be held in May. The decision to hold an election comes just before the final deadline next week