Firth School District levy would upgrade technology

Next Tuesday, five local school districts will ask patrons to approve a bond or levy. Firth School District is seeking a $230,000 two-year supplemental levy.

Technology upgrades, including 200 tablets, would be the bulk of the levy.

“Some of those computers are getting to be very old. We are spending an awful lot of time and money repairing them to keep them up and going,” said Sid Tubbs, superintendent of Firth School District.

The district also wants to hire a new IT staff member each year of the levy. Funding would also be used to update curriculum to the new Idaho Standards.

“We need new textbooks. Some are very old,” said Tubbs.

New computer labs at the high school, middle school and elementary would be a step towards meeting software requirements for the computerized Common Core test.

“We need to have upgraded materials in order to provide that test for the students,” said Deerla Bollschweiler, a computer teacher.

Some view the levy as a replace for the expiring middle school bond. That 15 year-bond will be paid off in June, and Tubbs says the impact to tax payers for the supplemental levy would be comparable to the bond payments. It’s about $130 for $100,000 assessed value.

“It should wash out. It should not affect taxes,” said Tubbs.

Fifty percent of voters plus one need to agree to pass the supplemental levy.

Firth School District Levy breakdown: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZDU5LmsxMi5pZC51c3xmaXJ0aC1kaXN0cmljdHxneDoyNjRmNzVjNDRjYTNlMzZj